Predicting the movement speeds of animals. The project seeks to reveal how marsupials modify their movement patterns and speeds as they navigate risky environments, and show how movement contributes to vulnerability and resilience. Movement is central to animal behaviour and the survival of species, because it underlies feeding, mating and the ability to escape from predators. However, we lack a framework for predicting how fast animals should move through their habitats given their needs to con ....Predicting the movement speeds of animals. The project seeks to reveal how marsupials modify their movement patterns and speeds as they navigate risky environments, and show how movement contributes to vulnerability and resilience. Movement is central to animal behaviour and the survival of species, because it underlies feeding, mating and the ability to escape from predators. However, we lack a framework for predicting how fast animals should move through their habitats given their needs to conserve energy, avoid detection by predators and minimise risks of injury or death. This project aims to develop mathematical models to predict how fast animals should move and then test these predictions using native species of conservation concern. This is expected to extend the field of performance ecology as well as inform management strategies for vulnerable marsupials.Read moreRead less
Reading the isotopic archive: carbon and oxygen stable isotope ratios as recorders of plant physiological processes. This project will investigate how plant physiological processes are reflected in stable isotope ratios of carbon and oxygen in plant tissues. Results will contribute towards a mechanistic understanding of the processes that cause isotopic modifications, thereby enabling an improved interpretation of naturally occurring stable isotope signals.
Understanding the importance of lianas for forest health and management. This project aims to assess the impact of lianas (woody vines) and their removal on forest health and value. New field infrastructure, removal experiments and global datasets will be used to compare forest health under varying liana dominance, determine whether lianas are preventing recovery, and to predict regional and global impacts. The project expects to generate new knowledge regarding ecosystem function and global cha ....Understanding the importance of lianas for forest health and management. This project aims to assess the impact of lianas (woody vines) and their removal on forest health and value. New field infrastructure, removal experiments and global datasets will be used to compare forest health under varying liana dominance, determine whether lianas are preventing recovery, and to predict regional and global impacts. The project expects to generate new knowledge regarding ecosystem function and global change biology, building collaboration between ecologists, economists and forest managers. The project expects to have significant implications for forest health and the global economy. The expected benefit will be implementation of restoration methods in priority areas and subsequently improved forest health.Read moreRead less
How will the biodiversity crisis affect vital ecosystem functions? Loss of biodiversity due to environmental change is a potentially serious issue for the sustainability of ecosystems. Predictions on how biodiversity loss will affect ecosystem functions and services require a well-developed understanding of its effects on plant litter decomposition, because this process is a key component of the global carbon cycle. This project will advance this understanding by addressing several key questions ....How will the biodiversity crisis affect vital ecosystem functions? Loss of biodiversity due to environmental change is a potentially serious issue for the sustainability of ecosystems. Predictions on how biodiversity loss will affect ecosystem functions and services require a well-developed understanding of its effects on plant litter decomposition, because this process is a key component of the global carbon cycle. This project will advance this understanding by addressing several key questions (for example, relative importance of decomposition versus other drivers of environmental change; and temporal variation in biodiversity effects on decomposition), using forest streams as model systems. These experiments will mimic realistic extinction events across climatic gradients, enabling predictions to be made at large scales.Read moreRead less
Going beyond genetics: the shape of marsupial evolution and conservation. This project aims to explain the past and protect the present biodiversity of endangered marsupial mammals such as bilbies and koalas. It will generate new knowledge using an interdisciplinary combination of 3D analysis of skull shape, reflecting a mammal’s ability to feed and sense its surrounds, with the fast-moving fields of marsupial conservation and evolutionary genetics. This will help to anticipate if, and how, chan ....Going beyond genetics: the shape of marsupial evolution and conservation. This project aims to explain the past and protect the present biodiversity of endangered marsupial mammals such as bilbies and koalas. It will generate new knowledge using an interdisciplinary combination of 3D analysis of skull shape, reflecting a mammal’s ability to feed and sense its surrounds, with the fast-moving fields of marsupial conservation and evolutionary genetics. This will help to anticipate if, and how, changing environments and declining numbers reduce these species’ ability to adapt. Benefits include better information to support improved conservation decisions and identification of genes underlying the evolution of marsupial skull diversity.Read moreRead less
From prediction to adaptation: responding to rapid ecosystem shifts under climate change. Nobody knows exactly how climate change will affect the ecosystems on which we depend for our own existence, though negative impacts are widely predicted. This project integrates mathematical, economic and ecological approaches to learn about the most effective way to spend limited funds for sustaining ecosystems threatened by climate change.