Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101773
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$369,536.00
Summary
Bayesian Hierarchical Model for Biogeography. Species Distribution Models (SDMs) are crucial tools for conservation and planning, but they assume that environmental variables (e.g. temperature) are the only controls on distributions, when historical factors, like dispersal limitation and phylogenetic niche conservatism, are also important. A Bayesian Hierarchical Model (BHM) will be constructed to jointly estimate dispersal history, niche evolution, and present-day SDMs for each species in a cla ....Bayesian Hierarchical Model for Biogeography. Species Distribution Models (SDMs) are crucial tools for conservation and planning, but they assume that environmental variables (e.g. temperature) are the only controls on distributions, when historical factors, like dispersal limitation and phylogenetic niche conservatism, are also important. A Bayesian Hierarchical Model (BHM) will be constructed to jointly estimate dispersal history, niche evolution, and present-day SDMs for each species in a clade. BHMs will be tested against traditional SDMs using Australian clades (e.g. frogs) and simulations. BHMs will advance scientific understanding of how species and biogeography coevolve and provide practical improvements in predictions for species that are rare, data-poor, or in changed climates.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120101954
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Discovering Trans-New Guinea: revealing the prehistory of New Guinea. The third largest language family in the world is Trans-New Guinea spoken throughout New Guinea. The origins of this family are unknown. This project will uncover the history of these peoples by applying computational phylogenetic methods to data from these languages, leading to a deeper understanding of human prehistory in the Pacific.
Predicting genetic exchange between species under climate change. This project aims to resolve the factors that lead to the mixing of species’ gene pools, with a focus on whether climate change will increase such mixing, possibly leading to extinction by genetic swamping.
The significance is that the project would improve our understanding of speciation and species’ vulnerability to rapid climate change through genetic mixing; a largely overlooked process.
Key outcomes would be to generate new k ....Predicting genetic exchange between species under climate change. This project aims to resolve the factors that lead to the mixing of species’ gene pools, with a focus on whether climate change will increase such mixing, possibly leading to extinction by genetic swamping.
The significance is that the project would improve our understanding of speciation and species’ vulnerability to rapid climate change through genetic mixing; a largely overlooked process.
Key outcomes would be to generate new knowledge of a fundamental evolutionary process and extend the toolbox of biodiversity managers facing rapid environmental change.
The project would benefit Australia by highlighting our unique biodiversity and scientific capability, and by training early career researchers in advanced evolutionary biology.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE140101675
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$395,220.00
Summary
Integrating Evolutionary History into Ecological Modeling. Ecological niche models are used across evolution, ecology and conservation to estimate species' environmental tolerances. However, these methods suffer from a near-universal assumption that may be flawed; that the species is the appropriate evolutionary grouping for study. This project will develop methods for using evolutionary information to improve estimates of species' environmental tolerances, and will demonstrate those methods in ....Integrating Evolutionary History into Ecological Modeling. Ecological niche models are used across evolution, ecology and conservation to estimate species' environmental tolerances. However, these methods suffer from a near-universal assumption that may be flawed; that the species is the appropriate evolutionary grouping for study. This project will develop methods for using evolutionary information to improve estimates of species' environmental tolerances, and will demonstrate those methods in simulation and empirical studies. This will significantly improve our understanding of evolutionary ecology and will also result in improved conservation outcomes, addressing the national priority of an environmentally sustainable Australia and the goal of responding to environmental change and variability.Read moreRead less
Multi-trait plasticity in response to a changing climate. This project aims to understand the effect of climate change on natural populations. Phenotypic plasticity (the ability to change phenotype with environment) determines natural populations’ immediate response to environmental change. However, studies of plasticity frequently rely on simplifying assumptions, and understanding the genomic and epigenomic mechanisms underlying plasticity is only just emerging. This project will combine a fine ....Multi-trait plasticity in response to a changing climate. This project aims to understand the effect of climate change on natural populations. Phenotypic plasticity (the ability to change phenotype with environment) determines natural populations’ immediate response to environmental change. However, studies of plasticity frequently rely on simplifying assumptions, and understanding the genomic and epigenomic mechanisms underlying plasticity is only just emerging. This project will combine a fine-scale temperature-manipulation experiment with genomic and multivariate statistical analyses of a native Australian alpine plant. The intended outcome is a comprehensive analysis of whether multi-trait phenotypic plasticity is adaptive; whether it can evolve; and the epigenomic mechanisms that drive it. The project will predict the likely effect of temperature change on alpine plants, and so generate information internationally relevant to the management of populations adapting to climate change and locally relevant to the conservation of Australian montane flora.Read moreRead less
Adapting to a changing world: mothers as drivers of evolutionary change. This project will improve our understanding of how organisms will adapt to the unprecedented speed and magnitude of human-induced environmental change. By identifying how mothers modify their offspring to better match the prevailing environment, it will address the role of mothers in directing and accelerating adaptation in our changing world.
Wild eco-evolutionary dynamics: the decline of an iconic Australian bird. This project aims to dissect the ecological and evolutionary processes causing a decline in an iconic Australian bird species. Studies that can properly test explanations for declines in wild populations are rare. This project aims to test how environmental and genetic processes shape individual traits, how these traits determine fitness and how changes in individual fitness affect population dynamics. The project expects ....Wild eco-evolutionary dynamics: the decline of an iconic Australian bird. This project aims to dissect the ecological and evolutionary processes causing a decline in an iconic Australian bird species. Studies that can properly test explanations for declines in wild populations are rare. This project aims to test how environmental and genetic processes shape individual traits, how these traits determine fitness and how changes in individual fitness affect population dynamics. The project expects to provide essential information for the improved management of Australian bird populations, and for understanding the effects of environmental change on natural systems globally.Read moreRead less
Evolving rates: foundations for the next generation of molecular clocks. This project aims to investigate the causes and consequences of variation in rate of DNA sequence evolution across three kingdoms of life. Dates estimated from DNA sequences have a wide range of applications, including evolutionary biology, conservation prioritisation and epidemiology. These methods rely on accurate rate estimates, but current models lack information about the biological drivers of rates of genomic change. ....Evolving rates: foundations for the next generation of molecular clocks. This project aims to investigate the causes and consequences of variation in rate of DNA sequence evolution across three kingdoms of life. Dates estimated from DNA sequences have a wide range of applications, including evolutionary biology, conservation prioritisation and epidemiology. These methods rely on accurate rate estimates, but current models lack information about the biological drivers of rates of genomic change. This project will test reliability of current methods, identify potentially misleading estimates of disease origin or conservation priorities, and develop new approaches with empirically-informed models of rate change.Read moreRead less
Are evolutionary refugia traps for endemic species? This project aims to determine whether species that have small geographic ranges and which live in historically stable refugia have evolved narrow climatic tolerances. The project will compare such species with more widespread, related species living in the same areas and combine field- and lab-based estimates of physiological tolerances with genomic estimates of population history and diversity. The expected outcome is to test the prediction f ....Are evolutionary refugia traps for endemic species? This project aims to determine whether species that have small geographic ranges and which live in historically stable refugia have evolved narrow climatic tolerances. The project will compare such species with more widespread, related species living in the same areas and combine field- and lab-based estimates of physiological tolerances with genomic estimates of population history and diversity. The expected outcome is to test the prediction from evolutionary theory that small-range, refugial species are intrinsically more sensitive to climatic change. The project expects to provide improved guidance for ecological management of biodiversity hotspots.Read moreRead less
Diversification and conservation of Australian frogs. Australia's 216 known species of frogs are exceptionally diverse, 98 per cent are found nowhere else in the world and many of them are in trouble. This project will test ideas concerning the tempo of Australian frog diversification, identify previously cryptic new species and provide information critical to the conservation of Australia's declining frogs.