ORCID Profile
0000-0002-2414-6990
Current Organisations
University of Sydney
,
Southern Cross University
,
University of Western Australia
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Terrestrial Ecology | Ecology | Behavioural Ecology | Biological Adaptation
Environmentally Sustainable Plant Production not elsewhere classified | Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences | Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity at Regional or Larger Scales |
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 17-02-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2004
Publisher: Inter-Research Science Center
Date: 10-02-2011
DOI: 10.3354/MEPS08990
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 06-2011
Abstract: Ocean acidification is predicted to affect marine ecosystems in many ways, including modification of fish behaviour. Previous studies have identified effects of CO 2 -enriched conditions on the sensory behaviour of fishes, including the loss of natural responses to odours resulting in ecologically deleterious decisions. Many fishes also rely on hearing for orientation, habitat selection, predator avoidance and communication. We used an auditory choice chamber to study the influence of CO 2 -enriched conditions on directional responses of juvenile clownfish ( Amphiprion percula ) to daytime reef noise. Rearing and test conditions were based on Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predictions for the twenty-first century: current-day ambient, 600, 700 and 900 µatm p CO 2 . Juveniles from ambient CO 2 -conditions significantly avoided the reef noise, as expected, but this behaviour was absent in juveniles from CO 2 -enriched conditions. This study provides, to our knowledge, the first evidence that ocean acidification affects the auditory response of fishes, with potentially detrimental impacts on early survival.
Publisher: eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Date: 10-09-2020
DOI: 10.7554/ELIFE.61141
Abstract: In 2016 we reported evidence for associative learning in plants (Gagliano et al., 2016). In view of the far-reaching implications of this finding we welcome the attempt made by Markel to replicate our study (Markel, 2020). However, as we discuss here, the protocol employed by Markel was unsuitable for testing for associative learning.
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 27-10-2023
Publisher: The Company of Biologists
Date: 15-03-2010
DOI: 10.1242/JEB.037895
Abstract: Expert opinion was canvassed to identify crucial knowledge gaps in current understanding of climate change impacts on coral reef fishes. Scientists that had published three or more papers on the effects of climate and environmental factors on reef fishes were invited to submit five questions that, if addressed, would improve our understanding of climate change effects on coral reef fishes. Thirty-three scientists provided 155 questions, and 32 scientists scored these questions in terms of: (i) identifying a knowledge gap, (ii) achievability, (iii) applicability to a broad spectrum of species and reef habitats, and (iv) priority. Forty-two per cent of the questions related to habitat associations and community dynamics of fish, reflecting the established effects and immediate concern relating to climate-induced coral loss and habitat degradation. However, there were also questions on fish demographics, physiology, behaviour and management, all of which could be potentially affected by climate change. Irrespective of their in idual expertise and background, scientists scored questions from different topics similarly, suggesting limited bias and recognition of a need for greater interdisciplinary and collaborative research. Presented here are the 53 highest-scoring unique questions. These questions should act as a guide for future research, providing a basis for better assessment and management of climate change impacts on coral reefs and associated fish communities.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2014
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 02-12-2016
DOI: 10.1038/SREP38427
Abstract: In complex and ever-changing environments, resources such as food are often scarce and unevenly distributed in space and time. Therefore, utilizing external cues to locate and remember high-quality sources allows more efficient foraging, thus increasing chances for survival. Associations between environmental cues and food are readily formed because of the tangible benefits they confer. While ex les of the key role they play in shaping foraging behaviours are widespread in the animal world, the possibility that plants are also able to acquire learned associations to guide their foraging behaviour has never been demonstrated. Here we show that this type of learning occurs in the garden pea, Pisum sativum. By using a Y-maze task, we show that the position of a neutral cue, predicting the location of a light source, affected the direction of plant growth. This learned behaviour prevailed over innate phototropism. Notably, learning was successful only when it occurred during the subjective day, suggesting that behavioural performance is regulated by metabolic demands. Our results show that associative learning is an essential component of plant behaviour. We conclude that associative learning represents a universal adaptive mechanism shared by both animals and plants.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 30-07-2013
DOI: 10.4161/CIB.24586
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 12-12-2008
Abstract: Vertebrate animals localize sounds by comparing differences in the acoustic signal between the two ears and, accordingly, ear structures such as the otoliths of fishes are expected to develop symmetrically. Sound recently emerged as a leading candidate cue for reef fish larvae navigating from open waters back to the reef. Clearly, the integrity of the auditory organ has a direct bearing on what and how fish larvae hear. Yet, the link between otolith symmetry and effective navigation has never been investigated in fishes. We tested whether otolith asymmetry influenced the ability of returning larvae to detect and successfully recruit to favourable reef habitats. Our results suggest that larvae with asymmetrical otoliths not only encountered greater difficulties in detecting suitable settlement habitats, but may also suffer significantly higher rates of mortality. Further, we found that otolith asymmetries arising early in the embryonic stage were not corrected by any compensational growth mechanism during the larval stage. Because these errors persist and phenotypic selection penalizes asymmetrical in iduals, asymmetry is likely to play an important role in shaping wild fish populations.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 17-08-2012
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 15-05-2010
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 08-04-2009
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-009-1335-8
Abstract: In most egg-laying vertebrates, maternal responses to stressful conditions are translated into the release of glucocorticoid hormones such as cortisol, which are then transmitted to their developing embryos. Although such maternally transmitted hormonal resources have been shown to influence or even interfere with the optimal developmental trajectories of offspring in many taxa, their influence on the dynamics of wild fish populations remains largely unexplored. Here, we examined the extent to which simulated hormonally mediated maternal effects influence the development and early survival of the coral reef damselfish, Pomacentrus amboinensis. Concentrations of cortisol in the eggs were manipulated within naturally occurring limits by immersion. We found that the proportion of embryos that delayed hatching when exposed to high levels of cortisol was considerably lower than in the other two treatments (low cortisol dose and control). High cortisol levels in P. amboinensis eggs resulted in increased egg mortality and greater asymmetry in hatchlings. For embryos that successfully hatched, in iduals from the elevated cortisol treatments (especially low dose) survived longer after hatching. Although in iduals that originated from eggs with elevated cortisol levels survived longer after hatching, they may not gain an overall survival advantage. Our results suggest that subtle increases in the allocation of maternally derived hormones, such as cortisol, to offspring are a direct way for stressed mothers to endow their young with an immediate survival advantage. We propose that this immediate benefit outweighs the developmental costs which may be expressed as reduced fitness at later life stages.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2023
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.9759
Abstract: Flowers have many traits to appeal to pollinators, including ultraviolet (UV) absorbing markings, which are well‐known for attracting bees at close proximity (e.g., m). While striking UV signals have been thought to attract pollinators also from far away, if these signals impact the plant pollinia removal over distance remains unknown. Here, we report the case of the Australian orchid Diuris brumalis , a nonrewarding species, pollinated by bees via mimicry of the rewarding pea plant Daviesia decurrens . When distant from the pea plant, Diuris was hypothesized to enhance pollinator attraction by exaggeratedly mimicking the floral ultraviolet (UV) reflecting patterns of its model. By experimentally modulating floral UV reflectance with a UV screening solution, we quantified the orchid pollinia removal at a variable distance from the model pea plants. We demonstrate that the deceptive orchid Diuris attracts bee pollinators by emphasizing the visual stimuli, which mimic the floral UV signaling of the rewarding model Daviesia . Moreover, the exaggerated UV reflectance of Diuris flowers impacted pollinators' visitation at an optimal distance from Da. decurrens , and the effect decreased when orchids were too close or too far away from the model. Our findings support the hypothesis that salient UV flower signaling plays a functional role in visual floral mimicry, likely exploiting perceptual gaps in bee neural coding, and mediates the plant pollinia removal at much greater spatial scales than previously expected. The ruse works most effectively at an optimal distance of several meters revealing the importance of salient visual stimuli when mimicry is imperfect.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-01-2007
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-006-0647-1
Abstract: Selective mortality within a population, based on the phenotype of in iduals, is the foundation of the theory of natural selection. We examined temperature-induced shifts in the relationships among early life history traits and survivorship over the embryonic and larval stages of a tropical damselfish, Pomacentrus amboinensis. Our experiments show that temperature determines the intensity of selective mortality, and that this changes with ontogeny. The size of energy stores determined survival through to hatching, after which egg size became a good indicator of fitness as predicted by theoretical models. Yet, the benefits associated with egg size were not uniform among test temperatures. Initial egg size positively influenced larval survival at control temperature (29 degrees C). However, this embryonic trait had no effect on post-hatching longevity of in iduals reared at the higher (31 degrees C) and lower (25 degrees C) end of the temperature range. Overall, our findings indicate that the outcome of selective mortality is strongly dependent on the interaction between environment conditions and intrinsic developmental schedules.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-04-2017
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-017-3862-Z
Abstract: Because water is essential to life, organisms have evolved a wide range of strategies to cope with water limitations, including actively searching for their preferred moisture levels to avoid dehydration. Plants use moisture gradients to direct their roots through the soil once a water source is detected, but how they first detect the source is unknown. We used the model plant Pisum sativum to investigate the mechanism by which roots sense and locate water. We found that roots were able to locate a water source by sensing the vibrations generated by water moving inside pipes, even in the absence of substrate moisture. When both moisture and acoustic cues were available, roots preferentially used moisture in the soil over acoustic vibrations, suggesting that acoustic gradients enable roots to broadly detect a water source at a distance, while moisture gradients help them to reach their target more accurately. Our results also showed that the presence of noise affected the abilities of roots to perceive and respond correctly to the surrounding soundscape. These findings highlight the urgent need to better understand the ecological role of sound and the consequences of acoustic pollution for plant as well as animal populations.
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 04-2013
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 20-10-2019
DOI: 10.1093/AOB/MCZ155
Abstract: The drive to survive is a biological universal. Intelligent behaviour is usually recognized when in idual organisms including plants, in the face of fiercely competitive or adverse, real-world circumstances, change their behaviour to improve their probability of survival. This article explains the potential relationship of intelligence to adaptability and emphasizes the need to recognize in idual variation in intelligence showing it to be goal directed and thus being purposeful. Intelligent behaviour in single cells and microbes is frequently reported. In idual variation might be underpinned by a novel learning mechanism, described here in detail. The requirements for real-world circumstances are outlined, and the relationship to organic selection is indicated together with niche construction as a good ex le of intentional behaviour that should improve survival. Adaptability is important in crop development but the term may be complex incorporating numerous behavioural traits some of which are indicated. There is real biological benefit to regarding plants as intelligent both from the fundamental issue of understanding plant life but also from providing a direction for fundamental future research and in crop breeding.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-2006
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 07-12-2017
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 18-08-2015
DOI: 10.1038/SREP13193
Abstract: Most colour patterns in animals represent an elegant compromise between conspicuousness to ensure effective communication with preferred receivers and camouflage to avoid attracting the attention of unwanted predators. Many species, including several coral reef fishes, overcome this conflict by using ultraviolet (UV) colouration and signalling, as these colours are visible only over short distances and are often invisible to their predators. Despite a great interest in their behavioural significance and ecological influence on survival, little is known about when these colours first develop on the bodies of free-living animals. Here we show for the first time that the UV facial patterns of a coral reef fish do not develop in captivity but only when juveniles experience the socio-behavioural conditions of their natural environment. Using field and laboratory experiments, we determined that the onset and early development of these UV facial markings did not occur at metamorphosis. Instead, juveniles developed the UV markings during their first two weeks on the reef. Exposure to different reef environments revealed significant plasticity in the development of these markings. The direct or indirect (through intraspecific interactions) exposure to predators is a likely candidate trigger for the plastic development of these UV markings in the wild.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-05-2007
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-12-2007
DOI: 10.1111/J.1365-2656.2006.01187.X
Abstract: 1. Environmentally induced maternal effects are known to affect offspring phenotype, and as a result, the dynamics and evolution of populations across a wide range of taxa. 2. In a field experiment, we manipulated maternal condition by altering food availability, a key factor influencing maternal energy allocation to offspring. We then examined how maternal condition at the time of gametogenesis affects the relationships among early life-history traits and survivorship during early development of the coral reef fish Pomacentrus amboinensis. 3. Maternal condition did not affect the number of embryos that hatched or the number of hatchlings surviving to a set time. 4. We found no significant difference in egg size in relation to the maternal physiological state. However, eggs spawned by supplemented mothers were provisioned with greater energy reserves (yolk-sac and oil globule size) than nonsupplemented counterparts, suggesting that provision of energy reserves rather than egg size more closely reflected the maternal environment. 5. Among offspring originating from supplemented mothers, those with larger yolk-sacs were more likely to successfully hatch and survive for longer periods after hatching. However, among offspring from nonsupplemented mothers, yolk-sac size was either inconsequential to survival or offspring with smaller yolk-sac sizes were favoured. Mothers appear to influence the physiological capacity of their progeny and in turn the efficiency of in idual offspring to utilize endogenous reserves. 6. In summary, our results show that the maternal environment influences the relationship between offspring characteristics and survival and suggest that energy-driven selective mechanisms may operate to determine progeny viability.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 2013
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2011
DOI: 10.1111/J.1095-8649.2010.02873.X
Abstract: Lipofuscin, an autofluorescent biomarker of physiological wear-and-tear, was concentrated in those areas of a fish's midbrain responsible for visual performance, suggesting a potentially strong link between physiological specialization, ecological adaptation and senescence.
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 25-02-2009
Abstract: The ubiquitous coenzyme Q (CoQ) is a powerful antioxidant defence against cellular oxidative damage. In fishes, differences in the isoprenoid length of CoQ and its associated antioxidant efficacy have been proposed as an adaptation to different thermal environments. Here, we examine this broad contention by a comparison of the CoQ composition and its redox status in a range of coral reef fishes. Contrary to expectations, most species possessed CoQ 8 and their hepatic redox balance was mostly found in the reduced form. These elevated concentrations of the ubiquinol antioxidant are indicative of a high level of protection required against oxidative stress. We propose that, in contrast to the current paradigm, CoQ variation in coral reef fishes is not a generalized adaptation to thermal conditions, but reflects species-specific ecological habits and physiological constraints associated with oxygen demand.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 22-05-2012
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2006
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 05-01-2014
DOI: 10.1007/S00442-013-2873-7
Abstract: The nervous system of animals serves the acquisition, memorization and recollection of information. Like animals, plants also acquire a huge amount of information from their environment, yet their capacity to memorize and organize learned behavioral responses has not been demonstrated. In Mimosa pudica-the sensitive plant-the defensive leaf-folding behaviour in response to repeated physical disturbance exhibits clear habituation, suggesting some elementary form of learning. Applying the theory and the analytical methods usually employed in animal learning research, we show that leaf-folding habituation is more pronounced and persistent for plants growing in energetically costly environments. Astonishingly, Mimosa can display the learned response even when left undisturbed in a more favourable environment for a month. This relatively long-lasting learned behavioural change as a result of previous experience matches the persistence of habituation effects observed in many animals.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 04-10-2007
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 17-04-2007
Abstract: For organisms with complex life cycles, variation among in iduals in traits associated with survival in one life-history stage can strongly affect the performance in subsequent stages with important repercussions on population dynamics. To identify which in idual attributes are the most influential in determining patterns of survival in a cohort of reef fish, we compared the characteristics of Pomacentrus amboinensis surviving early juvenile stages on the reef with those of the cohort from which they originated. In iduals were collected at hatching, the end of the planktonic phase, and two, three, four, six and eight weeks post-settlement. Information stored in the otoliths of in idual fish revealed strong carry-over effects of larval condition at hatching on juvenile survival, weeks after settlement (i.e. smaller-is-better). Among the traits examined, planktonic growth history was, by far, the most influential and long-lasting trait associated with juvenile persistence in reef habitats. However, otolith increments suggested that larval growth rate may not be maintained during early juvenile life, when selective mortality swiftly reverses its direction. These changes in selective pressure may mediate growth-mortality trade-offs between predation and starvation risks during early juvenile life. Ontogenetic changes in the shape of selectivity may be a mechanism maintaining phenotypic variation in growth rate and size within a population.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 06-2012
DOI: 10.1016/J.TPLANTS.2012.03.002
Abstract: Little is known about plant bioacoustics. Here, we present a rationale as to why the perception of sound and vibrations is likely to have also evolved in plants. We then explain how current evidence contributes to the view that plants may indeed benefit from mechanosensory mechanisms thus far unsuspected.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 13-02-2013
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 2008
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 03-04-2011
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 15-03-2013
DOI: 10.3390/SOC3010147
Start Date: 2013
End Date: 12-2015
Amount: $375,000.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
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