Transgenerational Consequences of Different Environmental Experiences. The project aims to deliver an integrative overview of behavioural, evolutionary and environmental epigenetics. In particular, by studying why stress-related experiences of organisms (e.g. exposure to toxins) can be passed onto the future generations regardless of its seemingly fitness-reducing impacts. It also aims to test if the seemingly beneficial effect of non-stress related experiences (e.g. environmental enrichment) ca ....Transgenerational Consequences of Different Environmental Experiences. The project aims to deliver an integrative overview of behavioural, evolutionary and environmental epigenetics. In particular, by studying why stress-related experiences of organisms (e.g. exposure to toxins) can be passed onto the future generations regardless of its seemingly fitness-reducing impacts. It also aims to test if the seemingly beneficial effect of non-stress related experiences (e.g. environmental enrichment) can be inherited transgenerationally. This project involves both research synthesis (e.g. meta-analysis) and experiments on zebrafish employing cutting-edge statistical, computational and molecular methods along with behavioural assays. Also, the outcomes of the synthesis are expected to guide future work in the field. Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101774
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
Early environmental effects on phenotypic development and evolution. Early developmental environments can profoundly influence the survival and reproductive success of organisms, including humans. The project aims to use an exceptional model lizard system to test a new theory about how personality and learning are influenced through the manipulation of offspring environment and how this affects lifetime fitness. Understanding these effects is important for predicting the responses to selection i ....Early environmental effects on phenotypic development and evolution. Early developmental environments can profoundly influence the survival and reproductive success of organisms, including humans. The project aims to use an exceptional model lizard system to test a new theory about how personality and learning are influenced through the manipulation of offspring environment and how this affects lifetime fitness. Understanding these effects is important for predicting the responses to selection imposed by changing environments, the success of re-introduction programs for threatened species, and for understanding the long-term viability of populations. This project aims to merge theoretical developments in life history theory and evolutionary biology and contribute important empirical advances to a new research field.Read moreRead less
Physiological effects of extreme hot weather on animals’ metabolism, development, body size and cell lifespan. This project aims to determine the physiological effects of extreme hot weather on animals’ metabolism, development, body size and cell lifespan. Body size in animals is negatively related to latitude; individuals are relatively small in hot climates. The project will test the idea that the adverse effects of heat during development constrain body size. The project will draw on physiolo ....Physiological effects of extreme hot weather on animals’ metabolism, development, body size and cell lifespan. This project aims to determine the physiological effects of extreme hot weather on animals’ metabolism, development, body size and cell lifespan. Body size in animals is negatively related to latitude; individuals are relatively small in hot climates. The project will test the idea that the adverse effects of heat during development constrain body size. The project will draw on physiology, endocrinology, behaviour and cell biology and study birds across Australian climates and in a temperature-controlled laboratory. The outcomes of the project will provide insight into regional variation in species vulnerabilities to climate variation and inform biodiversity management.Read moreRead less