Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354582
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,000.00
Summary
Australia-NZ Network for Vegetation Function and Futures. Plants shape our landscapes and drive ecosystem processes from local to global scale. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits. Global datasets about functional variation are emerging, with Australian and NZ leadership. A network would be supported in both Australia and NZ and with strong links elsewhere. It would target seven ambitious but achievable research developments. Each of them demands intensive conversation be ....Australia-NZ Network for Vegetation Function and Futures. Plants shape our landscapes and drive ecosystem processes from local to global scale. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits. Global datasets about functional variation are emerging, with Australian and NZ leadership. A network would be supported in both Australia and NZ and with strong links elsewhere. It would target seven ambitious but achievable research developments. Each of them demands intensive conversation between separate disciplines. Networking across all seven strands will create a broader linkage, spanning across palaeobiology, ecosystem function, vegetation structure, global change, ecophysiology, phylogeny, genomics, ecoinformatics and evolutionary theory.Read moreRead less
Stepping-Stones or Barrier: The Movement and Impact of People throughout the Far Eastern Pacific Islands. The vast ocean of the far eastern Pacific divides two great migratory peoples, the Amerindians and Polynesians. Whether or not members of either group overcame this barrier remains one of the greatest uncertainties in Pacific prehistory. We focus on the remote islands of the far eastern Pacific Ocean and combine fine-resolution archaeology, palaeoecology, and dating techniques to determine t ....Stepping-Stones or Barrier: The Movement and Impact of People throughout the Far Eastern Pacific Islands. The vast ocean of the far eastern Pacific divides two great migratory peoples, the Amerindians and Polynesians. Whether or not members of either group overcame this barrier remains one of the greatest uncertainties in Pacific prehistory. We focus on the remote islands of the far eastern Pacific Ocean and combine fine-resolution archaeology, palaeoecology, and dating techniques to determine the antiquity and nature of occupation on these islands. Their role as stepping-stones for human migration and material exchange will be determined and the notion of these islands as pristine and unspoilt at the time of European discovery will be challenged.Read moreRead less