When fire and water mix: do carbon dioxide-related water savings drive woody plant thickening and fire dynamics in a grassy woodland? Australia's woodland landscapes have experienced widespread shrub expansion in the last century due to changes in fire, grazing and atmospheric carbon dioxide. This project will endevour to fill critical gaps in the nexus between carbon dioxide-induced effects on vegetation and fire disturbance to help explain this phenomenon and help manage Australian woodlands i ....When fire and water mix: do carbon dioxide-related water savings drive woody plant thickening and fire dynamics in a grassy woodland? Australia's woodland landscapes have experienced widespread shrub expansion in the last century due to changes in fire, grazing and atmospheric carbon dioxide. This project will endevour to fill critical gaps in the nexus between carbon dioxide-induced effects on vegetation and fire disturbance to help explain this phenomenon and help manage Australian woodlands into the future.Read moreRead less
Phyloinformatics and biodiversity: developing bioinformatic tools for understanding the dynamics of extinction and invasion within species assemblages. DNA sequence data provides an exciting new way to study biodiversity, because the genome of each organism records its evolutionary history. By analysing DNA sequences co-existing species, we can reconstruct the ecological and evolutionary history of a biological community. This allows us to track biodiversity changes over time, and examine how th ....Phyloinformatics and biodiversity: developing bioinformatic tools for understanding the dynamics of extinction and invasion within species assemblages. DNA sequence data provides an exciting new way to study biodiversity, because the genome of each organism records its evolutionary history. By analysing DNA sequences co-existing species, we can reconstruct the ecological and evolutionary history of a biological community. This allows us to track biodiversity changes over time, and examine how the state of a species assemblage determines which species are lost through extinction or gained through the invasion of exotic species. Understanding the factors that govern changes in biodiversity over time is essential for planning for future conservation in the face of a rapidly changing environment. Read moreRead less
Predicting climate change impacts on the biodiversity of Lord Howe Island: an approach using experimental and historical data. Climate change will have profound impacts on biodiversity. We will investigate both recent and future impacts of climate change on invertebrate and plant assemblages on Lord Howe Island, an important World Heritage Area. We will 1. compare current assemblages with a unique set of historical databases spanning the past 150 years, to investigate whether recent warming has ....Predicting climate change impacts on the biodiversity of Lord Howe Island: an approach using experimental and historical data. Climate change will have profound impacts on biodiversity. We will investigate both recent and future impacts of climate change on invertebrate and plant assemblages on Lord Howe Island, an important World Heritage Area. We will 1. compare current assemblages with a unique set of historical databases spanning the past 150 years, to investigate whether recent warming has affected community composition and 2. experimentally assess impacts of increasing temperature and CO2 on Lord Howe's unique flora and fauna. Our assessment of species vulnerability to climate change threats will be used to inform future conservation policy and species management on Lord Howe. Read moreRead less
Optimal photosynthetic traits on ecological time-scales. This project aims to understand how soils and climate shape plant ecological strategies for nutrient and water use in photosynthesis. Terrestrial biosphere models (including ecosystem, land surface and vegetation models) are based on a biochemical model for photosynthesis that accurately represents processes on physiological time-scales but lacks the ecological-evolutionary perspective needed to understand species’ adaptations along geogra ....Optimal photosynthetic traits on ecological time-scales. This project aims to understand how soils and climate shape plant ecological strategies for nutrient and water use in photosynthesis. Terrestrial biosphere models (including ecosystem, land surface and vegetation models) are based on a biochemical model for photosynthesis that accurately represents processes on physiological time-scales but lacks the ecological-evolutionary perspective needed to understand species’ adaptations along geographic gradients of soils and climate. This project will integrate theory based on microeconomic and optimality principles with empirical analysis of local- and global-scale trait datasets. This knowledge is intended to form the core of a ‘next-generation’ global vegetation model. This will allow government agencies to discover the likely effects of future climate and carbon dioxide changes on Australian vegetation structure, function and composition, forest productivity, and biodiversity.Read moreRead less
Drought and Salinity Tolerance in Metal Hyperaccumulating Plants: A Functional Role for the Metals? A few plant species can ?hyperaccumulate? metal ions to 100-1000 times the concentrations seen in ?normal? plants. Just why these plants have evolved such an extreme response to metalliferous soils remains an enigma. Many of the hyperaccumulators so far described are endemic to xeric environments, or saline soils prone to rapid drying. We hypothesize that the metals might act as osmotica, enha ....Drought and Salinity Tolerance in Metal Hyperaccumulating Plants: A Functional Role for the Metals? A few plant species can ?hyperaccumulate? metal ions to 100-1000 times the concentrations seen in ?normal? plants. Just why these plants have evolved such an extreme response to metalliferous soils remains an enigma. Many of the hyperaccumulators so far described are endemic to xeric environments, or saline soils prone to rapid drying. We hypothesize that the metals might act as osmotica, enhancing plant survival during water stress. This will be tested for Australian native and non-native hyperaccumulator plants. The study will clarify our understanding of the evolutionary significance of hyperaccumulation, and has important applications for extracting metals from contaminated soils.Read moreRead less
From genes to ecosystems: does genetic divergence in eucalyptus alter biodiversity and ecosystem function? The project will use a dominant tree species of south-eastern Australia to examine how genetic based variation in its traits influences community organisation, biodiversity and ecosystem processes. Outcomes from this research will be important for responding to an uncertain future environment and maintaining the services ecosystems provide.
The future of fruit fly control: making the Sterile Insect Technique work for Queensland fruit fly. The future of fruit fly control in Australia lies in the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT): it is the only non-pesticide option that can totally eliminate pest populations. Millions of dollars have already been invested to establish an SIT program against Queensland fruit fly (Q-fly) in southern and eastern Australia, but this program is currently largely ineffective due to the poor performance of t ....The future of fruit fly control: making the Sterile Insect Technique work for Queensland fruit fly. The future of fruit fly control in Australia lies in the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT): it is the only non-pesticide option that can totally eliminate pest populations. Millions of dollars have already been invested to establish an SIT program against Queensland fruit fly (Q-fly) in southern and eastern Australia, but this program is currently largely ineffective due to the poor performance of the mass-reared sterile flies. This project will apply genetic, ecological and technical solutions to the problems facing the current Q-fly control program. Effective control of Q-fly will enhance the international competitiveness of Australia's horticultural industries.Read moreRead less
Impacts of climate change on sustainability of temperate native pasture: an experiment. The sustainable use of temperate native pastures is important economically because of grazing and for biodiversity since they are home to many threatened plants. Native pasture sustainability depends on maintaining species diversity and vegetation productivity. Climate change is likely to have major impacts on both factors. The aims of this project are to elucidate the impacts of climate change on the species ....Impacts of climate change on sustainability of temperate native pasture: an experiment. The sustainable use of temperate native pastures is important economically because of grazing and for biodiversity since they are home to many threatened plants. Native pasture sustainability depends on maintaining species diversity and vegetation productivity. Climate change is likely to have major impacts on both factors. The aims of this project are to elucidate the impacts of climate change on the species composition, productivity and nutritional quality of a grazed native pasture. This is important, as it will allow us to predict likely problems caused by global climate change and increase our understanding of the mechanisms underlying these changes.Read moreRead less
The renaissance predator: complex predator-prey interactions and vertebrate diversity in arid Australia. This project will greatly increase understanding of how predators influence the ecology and diversity of their prey in Australia's deserts, and thus improve our ability to conserve and manage our iconic but fragile inland landscapes. It will increase awareness locally about the richness of desert life and stimulate national and international interest by contributing to emerging debate about h ....The renaissance predator: complex predator-prey interactions and vertebrate diversity in arid Australia. This project will greatly increase understanding of how predators influence the ecology and diversity of their prey in Australia's deserts, and thus improve our ability to conserve and manage our iconic but fragile inland landscapes. It will increase awareness locally about the richness of desert life and stimulate national and international interest by contributing to emerging debate about how predators influence diversity. It will also establish an unparalleled 24-year time series of ecological data, and thus provide a key resource to chart the biological effects of climate change and assist sustainable management of biodiversity across the continent's vast interior. Read moreRead less
The pharmacokinetics of plant secondary metabolites and their effects on feeding in the brushtail possum. Plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) are considered to protect against herbivory, although the mechanisms are not well understood. This project will determine how marsupial folivores avoid toxicity when browsing on Eucalyptus leaf. Blood levels of terpenes, phenols and their metabolites will be measured in the brushtail possum while it feeds on a diet of varying PSM content. We expect to be ab ....The pharmacokinetics of plant secondary metabolites and their effects on feeding in the brushtail possum. Plant secondary metabolites (PSMs) are considered to protect against herbivory, although the mechanisms are not well understood. This project will determine how marsupial folivores avoid toxicity when browsing on Eucalyptus leaf. Blood levels of terpenes, phenols and their metabolites will be measured in the brushtail possum while it feeds on a diet of varying PSM content. We expect to be able to show relationships between the ingestion and blood levels of PSMs and feeding behaviour. This will give a greater understanding of the effect of plant toxins on browsing behaviour, enabling improved foraging models and more effective habitat management.Read moreRead less