Discovery Projects - Grant ID: DP140100363

Funding Activity

Website
http://dataportal.arc.gov.au/NCGP/Web/Grant/Grant/DP140100363

Funding Status
Closed

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Funded Activity Summary

Get tough, get toxic or get a bodyguard: how root herbivores shape grass defences. The weight of root-feeding beetles can exceed that of sheep on Australian pastures and can result in significant losses in productivity. Grasses fight back against aboveground herbivores using toughness (physical defence), toxicity (chemical defence) and bodyguards (recruitment of the herbivore’s enemies). Little is known about belowground defences however, but grasses depend on roots for re-growth so good root defences seem essential. This study will apply optimal defence theory to consider these three defences against belowground herbivory across a range of grasses. The project will ask whether domestication has disarmed grass species and if defensive traits differ between photosynthetic pathways, before field-testing these patterns with root herbivore populations.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 28-04-2014

End Date: 30-09-2017

Funding Scheme: Discovery Projects

Funding Amount: $370,000.00

Funder: Australian Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Terrestrial Ecology | Ecology | Invertebrate Biology | Soil Biology

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

Sparseland, Permanent Grassland and Arid Zone Soils | Control of Pests, Diseases and Exotic Species in Sparseland, Permanent Grassland and Arid Zone Environments |

Other Keywords

Control of Pests, Diseases and Exotic Species in Sparseland, Permanent Grassland and Arid Zone Environments | Ecology | Invertebrate Biology | Soil Biology | Sparseland, Permanent Grassland and Arid Zone Soils | Terrestrial Ecology

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