Population divergence and the thermal ecology of sexual conflict. This project aims to test how populations of introduced mosquitofish have adapted to local differences in water temperature (such as Tasmania versus Queensland). To what extent has natural selection (for survival) and sexual selection (the ability of males to acquire mates and/or females to resist unwanted matings) driven the local adaptation of populations? Many species have traits that evolve under intense sexual conflict – nota ....Population divergence and the thermal ecology of sexual conflict. This project aims to test how populations of introduced mosquitofish have adapted to local differences in water temperature (such as Tasmania versus Queensland). To what extent has natural selection (for survival) and sexual selection (the ability of males to acquire mates and/or females to resist unwanted matings) driven the local adaptation of populations? Many species have traits that evolve under intense sexual conflict – notably when males harass or coerce females into mating and females resist these attempts. It is assumed that sexual conflict traits are rarely affected by the local environment. The project will test the hypothesis that temperature can actually drive the evolution of such traits, specifically coercion and resistance to mating.Read moreRead less
The fitness consequences of age-dependent changes in cognitive abilities. This project aims to investigate health-related topics in invasive fish. The evolution of large brains suggests that smarter individuals have more offspring due to natural and sexual selection. This project aims to test if the ability to perform cognitively challenging tasks predicts reproductive success. In addition, many life history traits show a trade-off between early and late life performance. This project will test ....The fitness consequences of age-dependent changes in cognitive abilities. This project aims to investigate health-related topics in invasive fish. The evolution of large brains suggests that smarter individuals have more offspring due to natural and sexual selection. This project aims to test if the ability to perform cognitively challenging tasks predicts reproductive success. In addition, many life history traits show a trade-off between early and late life performance. This project will test this prediction to see if individuals with above average cognitive performance when young are below average when old, that is faster 'cognitive senescence', or whether some individuals stay relatively smarter than others throughout their lives.Read moreRead less
Evolutionary signficance of sexual conflict in orb-web spiders. Multiple mating by females creates intense competition between ejaculates over the fertilisation of her eggs, and has a profound influence on male and female life history and mating strategies. In orb-web spiders, sexual cannibalism creates further conflicts of interest because the male may forfeit future matings. This project examines how life-history and mating strategies interact in these spiders, by identifying the mechanisms t ....Evolutionary signficance of sexual conflict in orb-web spiders. Multiple mating by females creates intense competition between ejaculates over the fertilisation of her eggs, and has a profound influence on male and female life history and mating strategies. In orb-web spiders, sexual cannibalism creates further conflicts of interest because the male may forfeit future matings. This project examines how life-history and mating strategies interact in these spiders, by identifying the mechanisms that determine the outcome of sperm competition; the selection pressures favouring sexual size dimorphism and male size variation; the influence of sexual cannibalism on male mating strategies; and the relationship between female feeding history and her mating behaviour.Read moreRead less
Life history constraints on sexual selection: an investigation using territoriality in butterflies. Contemporary studies into the evolution of male contest behaviour largely ignore the influence of life history. However, contest behaviour should be influenced by life history because the costs of fighting (injury or death) are extracted in a life history currency. Here I aim to measure reproductive value in a territorial butterfly, and to isolate the effects of this parameter, physiological condi ....Life history constraints on sexual selection: an investigation using territoriality in butterflies. Contemporary studies into the evolution of male contest behaviour largely ignore the influence of life history. However, contest behaviour should be influenced by life history because the costs of fighting (injury or death) are extracted in a life history currency. Here I aim to measure reproductive value in a territorial butterfly, and to isolate the effects of this parameter, physiological condition and fighting experience upon male aggression. I propose an innovative experimental approach to unraveling the effects of these covarying life history influences which promises exciting and highly original insights into the evolution of contest behaviour.Read moreRead less
Boom and bust: the role of fire and rain in driving the dynamics of seeds and rodents in arid Australia. The arid Australian environment oscillates between spectacular boom periods, when biotic productivity and diversity are high, and busts, when biotic resources are depleted. This project first outlines a conceptual model of this dynamic and complex system. It then investigates the roles of rainfall and fire in driving boom-bust events, focusing particularly on food resources (seeds) and their ....Boom and bust: the role of fire and rain in driving the dynamics of seeds and rodents in arid Australia. The arid Australian environment oscillates between spectacular boom periods, when biotic productivity and diversity are high, and busts, when biotic resources are depleted. This project first outlines a conceptual model of this dynamic and complex system. It then investigates the roles of rainfall and fire in driving boom-bust events, focusing particularly on food resources (seeds) and their consumers (desert rodents) in the hyper-variable Simpson Desert. We propose observations and experiments to quantify how these climatic events affect seed production, seed fate, and ultimately the dynamics of desert rodents, and outline their importance for effective management of the desert environment.Read moreRead less
The role of plant chemical defences in the population ecology of mammal herbivores. Plants defend themselves against herbivores by producing toxic compounds in their leaves. Many studies show that such compounds influence diet selection by mammal herbivores, but we understand much less about their effects on populations of such species. This project will investigate how concentrations of leaf toxins in eucalypts affect reproductive success, distribution and abundance of the marsupials that feed ....The role of plant chemical defences in the population ecology of mammal herbivores. Plants defend themselves against herbivores by producing toxic compounds in their leaves. Many studies show that such compounds influence diet selection by mammal herbivores, but we understand much less about their effects on populations of such species. This project will investigate how concentrations of leaf toxins in eucalypts affect reproductive success, distribution and abundance of the marsupials that feed on them. The knowledge gained by this study will be important in modelling populations of these marsupial species and predicting their responses to environmental change.Read moreRead less
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
Senescence, sociality and sex. As individuals age, their body functions and survival prospects decline. Why some individuals deteriorate slower and later in life, is a critical question we cannot adequately answer, although the social environment has been suggested to be important. Using a recently established molecular biomarker of aging, this project aims to experimentally investigate in a wild bird if age-related decline is faster when individuals lack social support or face sexual competitio ....Senescence, sociality and sex. As individuals age, their body functions and survival prospects decline. Why some individuals deteriorate slower and later in life, is a critical question we cannot adequately answer, although the social environment has been suggested to be important. Using a recently established molecular biomarker of aging, this project aims to experimentally investigate in a wild bird if age-related decline is faster when individuals lack social support or face sexual competition. Expected outcomes are insights into key determinants of delayed aging and longer lifespan. Potential benefits include improved understanding of drivers of healthy aging, and improved ability to predict population persistence and identify conservation priorities. Read moreRead less
Can inbreeding avoidance cause the evolution of sex-biased dispersal? This project aims to combine unique long-term data with a novel Citizen Science approach to seek to provide the first complete test of the hypothesis that inbreeding avoidance can cause one of the best known patterns in mammal and bird societies - sex differences in when and how far juveniles disperse. Dispersal is a critically important ecological and evolutionary process, as it influences the fate of populations, and also de ....Can inbreeding avoidance cause the evolution of sex-biased dispersal? This project aims to combine unique long-term data with a novel Citizen Science approach to seek to provide the first complete test of the hypothesis that inbreeding avoidance can cause one of the best known patterns in mammal and bird societies - sex differences in when and how far juveniles disperse. Dispersal is a critically important ecological and evolutionary process, as it influences the fate of populations, and also determines the individuals with which a disperser will spend the remainder of its life. It therefore shapes the likelihood that kin will interact to cooperate or compete, and determines the pool of individuals with which the disperser can mate.Read moreRead less
Constrained or strategic? Causes and consequences of variation in self-maintenance in wild birds. To live long and healthy lives, animals must defend themselves from diseases and repair damage due to wear and tear. This project will address what prevents animals from achieving optimal defences, and what the consequences are for ageing and survival.