Quantifying the Tree of Life's Diversity with the Paleobiology Database. The Paleobiology Database is the Internet's key source of scientific data on the fossil record. It records names and classification of fossil organisms and the ages, locations, and environments of the places that yield these fossils. It has often been used to estimate the number of species existing at different points in geological time. Macquarie will house the Database as it is expanded to record evolutionary relations ....Quantifying the Tree of Life's Diversity with the Paleobiology Database. The Paleobiology Database is the Internet's key source of scientific data on the fossil record. It records names and classification of fossil organisms and the ages, locations, and environments of the places that yield these fossils. It has often been used to estimate the number of species existing at different points in geological time. Macquarie will house the Database as it is expanded to record evolutionary relationships of many species. This information will help to estimate dates of origination for major groups such as mammals and birds. It will also help to show whether mass extinctions tend to target old groups with few surviving species, which will help to predict which groups will survive the current mass extinction.Read moreRead less
Comparative phylogeography of mound springs-invertebrates: identifying genetically divergent populations for conservation and management. The mound springs of the Great Artesian Basin represent one of Australia's most unique and significant environments and are of national biodiversity, cultural and economic significance. The conservation of these unique environments is a national issue following their listing as a threatened ecological community. As economic productivity in the GAB intensifies, ....Comparative phylogeography of mound springs-invertebrates: identifying genetically divergent populations for conservation and management. The mound springs of the Great Artesian Basin represent one of Australia's most unique and significant environments and are of national biodiversity, cultural and economic significance. The conservation of these unique environments is a national issue following their listing as a threatened ecological community. As economic productivity in the GAB intensifies, the mound springs are under increasing threat from escalating groundwater use. The results of this study of genetic diversity in the spring communities will provide a means for the management groups to incorporate a significant biological information into their decision making and help facilitate the conservation of mound springs communities in the Lake Eyre regionRead moreRead less
Evolutionary history and conservation of an iconic Australian plant group. This project aims to strengthen biodiversity conservation using evolutionary biology. By using new DNA sequencing technologies the project aims to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the diverse and ecologically important plant family Proteaceae. This will be used to discover how past environmental changes have produced the biodiversity we see today, and forecast likely future changes to biodiversity under expected r ....Evolutionary history and conservation of an iconic Australian plant group. This project aims to strengthen biodiversity conservation using evolutionary biology. By using new DNA sequencing technologies the project aims to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the diverse and ecologically important plant family Proteaceae. This will be used to discover how past environmental changes have produced the biodiversity we see today, and forecast likely future changes to biodiversity under expected rapid environmental change. The key outcome will be a new methodology for a predictive, forward-looking conservation science that accounts explicitly for the dynamic, evolving nature of biodiversity. The key benefit will be a more robust scientific basis for strategic allocation of limited conservation resources.Read moreRead less
Conserving our native carnivores: the application of molecular genetics to the conservation management of quolls. Quolls, the largest native mammalian predators on mainland Australia, occupy a pivotal ecological niche. All species are declining and are threatened by a variety of interacting environmental processes. This program brings together seven wildlife agencies in a nationwide partnership for understanding and protecting quolls. We will provide new genetic data to test current populatio ....Conserving our native carnivores: the application of molecular genetics to the conservation management of quolls. Quolls, the largest native mammalian predators on mainland Australia, occupy a pivotal ecological niche. All species are declining and are threatened by a variety of interacting environmental processes. This program brings together seven wildlife agencies in a nationwide partnership for understanding and protecting quolls. We will provide new genetic data to test current population and conservation theories using four species of quolls as model taxa to inform us about past histories of populations and to measure parameters of importance to on-ground managers. Results of these projects will help guide management practices for both short- and long-term conservation of these species.Read moreRead less
Genetic evaluation of the diversity of the stygobitic fauna of the Pilbara, Western Australia. This study has two main aims, designed to help manage populations of the subterranean invertebrate fauna in an economically important region of Western Australia: 1) to provide phylogenetic and population genetic information on the structure of populations of amphipods and other groundwater fauna in the Pilbara, Western Australia, and 2) to investigate areas of the ecology of the fauna including respon ....Genetic evaluation of the diversity of the stygobitic fauna of the Pilbara, Western Australia. This study has two main aims, designed to help manage populations of the subterranean invertebrate fauna in an economically important region of Western Australia: 1) to provide phylogenetic and population genetic information on the structure of populations of amphipods and other groundwater fauna in the Pilbara, Western Australia, and 2) to investigate areas of the ecology of the fauna including response to changes in water chemistry. The genetic information will be used to gain an understanding of species diversity, distributions, and movement in order to help set conservation priorities in managing resources, habitats, and fauna. The ecological data will be used to study the effects of dewatering and changes in water chemsitry on morphology and survival.Read moreRead less
Quantifying the effects of western colonisation on Great Barrier Reef molluscan communities. Dead shells provide a record of the pre-colonisation Great Barrier Reef (GBR) ecosystem. Using this record this research will determine what the GBR looked like before James Cook and the first fleet arrived in Australia. This study will also sample living molluscs to quantify the current state of these communities. Together these data will provide environment managers and stakeholders with the first quan ....Quantifying the effects of western colonisation on Great Barrier Reef molluscan communities. Dead shells provide a record of the pre-colonisation Great Barrier Reef (GBR) ecosystem. Using this record this research will determine what the GBR looked like before James Cook and the first fleet arrived in Australia. This study will also sample living molluscs to quantify the current state of these communities. Together these data will provide environment managers and stakeholders with the first quantitative estimates of human impacts on this world heritage ecosystem. This project will address the questions: Do protected areas return to a pre-colonial state or do they represent another non-natural state? What type of management scheme results in communities most similar to the pre-colonial state?Read moreRead less