Mapping a complete visual circuit in zebrafish. Our senses perceive the outside world and permit appropriate behaviours, but the underlying brain circuits are poorly understood. This project will use new technologies to observe all active brain cells in zebrafish during the important behaviour of visual predator avoidance and characterise the underlying circuits comprehensively. This approach's significance is in its breadth, spanning functional imaging, anatomy, computational modelling, and beh ....Mapping a complete visual circuit in zebrafish. Our senses perceive the outside world and permit appropriate behaviours, but the underlying brain circuits are poorly understood. This project will use new technologies to observe all active brain cells in zebrafish during the important behaviour of visual predator avoidance and characterise the underlying circuits comprehensively. This approach's significance is in its breadth, spanning functional imaging, anatomy, computational modelling, and behaviour, with the major outcome of producing the first complete map of a visual behaviour at the level of brain circuits and the individual brain cells composing them. Benefits will include new insights into visual processing and the refinement of new genetic, optical, and informatics approaches.Read moreRead less
Quantifying environmental constraints on animal behaviour. This project aims to determine how habitat structure, weather and motion vision influence animal behaviour. Motion vision controls locomotion, foraging, evading predators and communicating. However, information on the conditions for motion vision in natural environments is limited. To address this, this project will combine field techniques with tools from 3D animation and computer vision. The project will focus on Australia’s dragon liz ....Quantifying environmental constraints on animal behaviour. This project aims to determine how habitat structure, weather and motion vision influence animal behaviour. Motion vision controls locomotion, foraging, evading predators and communicating. However, information on the conditions for motion vision in natural environments is limited. To address this, this project will combine field techniques with tools from 3D animation and computer vision. The project will focus on Australia’s dragon lizards, and place their motion displays in a visual-ecological context. The expected outcome is a more complete picture of the signalling context, which could advance sensory ecology, vision science and animal behaviour, with practical applications in artificial intelligence and derived benefits for education and community engagement in biology.Read moreRead less
Understanding How the Hungry Brain Regulates Metabolism. Energy homeostasis is essential for life as it ensures an adequate supply of fuel to cells of the body. This process is orchestrated by neurons in the hypothalamus of the brain. This project aims to determine the role of the extracellular matrix that surrounds hypothalamic neurons and how this regulates energy homeostasis, an area of science that is completely unexplored. This project expects to identify the composition the extracellular m ....Understanding How the Hungry Brain Regulates Metabolism. Energy homeostasis is essential for life as it ensures an adequate supply of fuel to cells of the body. This process is orchestrated by neurons in the hypothalamus of the brain. This project aims to determine the role of the extracellular matrix that surrounds hypothalamic neurons and how this regulates energy homeostasis, an area of science that is completely unexplored. This project expects to identify the composition the extracellular matrix within the hypothalamus and discover how it regulates energy homeostasis. The outcomes of this project are to provide new knowledge in understanding how the brain regulates metabolism, to promote population health & wellbeing, develop new technologies and training the next generation of researchers.Read moreRead less
Revisiting the ontogeny of vocal learning in birds: from neuron to fitness. This project aims to test the hypothesis that acoustic exposure prior to hatching directly affects gene expression, neural development, behaviour and consequently fitness, in wild populations of songbirds. Recent research suggests that animals are receptive to acoustic parental signals long before birth and may use such previously unrecognised signals to make adaptive developmental decisions. This project will quantify t ....Revisiting the ontogeny of vocal learning in birds: from neuron to fitness. This project aims to test the hypothesis that acoustic exposure prior to hatching directly affects gene expression, neural development, behaviour and consequently fitness, in wild populations of songbirds. Recent research suggests that animals are receptive to acoustic parental signals long before birth and may use such previously unrecognised signals to make adaptive developmental decisions. This project will quantify the effect on neural development and vocal learning in embryonic birds, employing a model songbird species. The outcomes of this study will transform our understanding of the adaptive potential of prenatal vocal learning, which will have significant benefits for human speech and language development.Read moreRead less
Avian embryonic perception: what role for good vibrations? It has long been recognised that animals perceive environmental information before they are born. This project will test for the first time whether such avian communication systems rely on vibrations. We will test the hypothesis that cryptic communication using rhythmic vibration, is essential for embryonic birds to sense parental cues regarding rising temperatures, by measuring neural control in adults, as well as embryonic perception a ....Avian embryonic perception: what role for good vibrations? It has long been recognised that animals perceive environmental information before they are born. This project will test for the first time whether such avian communication systems rely on vibrations. We will test the hypothesis that cryptic communication using rhythmic vibration, is essential for embryonic birds to sense parental cues regarding rising temperatures, by measuring neural control in adults, as well as embryonic perception and response. By experimentally manipulating family communication we will demonstrate the potential for prenatal vibrations to alter developmental outcomes, enriching our understanding of avian sensory development.These data are important for the commercial poultry industry and for captive breeding programs. Read moreRead less
Social and environmental selection on female ornaments and armaments. Darwin's theory of sexual selection is remarkably successful in explaining how elaborate signals evolved in male animals, but it is unclear whether similar processes drive the evolution of female signals. This project aims to conduct empirical and comparative tests of hypotheses for female trait elaboration, capitalising on inter- and intra-specific variation in female signal form, social organisation and signalling environmen ....Social and environmental selection on female ornaments and armaments. Darwin's theory of sexual selection is remarkably successful in explaining how elaborate signals evolved in male animals, but it is unclear whether similar processes drive the evolution of female signals. This project aims to conduct empirical and comparative tests of hypotheses for female trait elaboration, capitalising on inter- and intra-specific variation in female signal form, social organisation and signalling environments. The project could generate new insight into the processes that promote and constrain phenotypic diversity in nature.Read moreRead less
The danger within: assessing the threats to an endangered finch from genetic incompatibility, limited dispersal and effective population size. The Gouldian finch has declined dramatically over the past half century and remains one of Australia's most threatened birds. This project will use some cutting edge genetic techniques to understand some of the processes that undermine the species' recovery and our ability to monitor current populations.
Mapping and defining inter-organ cross talk during exercise. This project aims to examine precisely how organs communicate and interact. These interactions are particularly important during exercise, when continued movement demands intricate organ communication, and have major ramifications for the whole organism as it ages. Precisely how this communication takes place is unclear, but we now know that the movement of cargo with extracellular vesicles (EVs) plays an integral role in organ to orga ....Mapping and defining inter-organ cross talk during exercise. This project aims to examine precisely how organs communicate and interact. These interactions are particularly important during exercise, when continued movement demands intricate organ communication, and have major ramifications for the whole organism as it ages. Precisely how this communication takes place is unclear, but we now know that the movement of cargo with extracellular vesicles (EVs) plays an integral role in organ to organ communication. This project expects to build upon unprecedented recent developments we have made in the biology of inter-organ communication via EVs. The expected outcomes will have broad impact across life science and biotechnology.Read moreRead less
Self-organised communication as a foundation of large, complex societies. This Project aims to investigate how evolution has shaped the self-organisation of robust communication networks that emerge in large animal collectives from the actions of individuals following only simple, local rules. It expects to generate new knowledge into the fundamental principles guiding the self-organisation of networks that can sustain a complex society. Empirical work with ant colonies will inform the construct ....Self-organised communication as a foundation of large, complex societies. This Project aims to investigate how evolution has shaped the self-organisation of robust communication networks that emerge in large animal collectives from the actions of individuals following only simple, local rules. It expects to generate new knowledge into the fundamental principles guiding the self-organisation of networks that can sustain a complex society. Empirical work with ant colonies will inform the construction of simulation models to push the investigation beyond experimental limits. The Project should significantly advance our understanding of how communication networks enable the development of large societies, and thus of how to better manage autonomous man-made networks, most importantly the Internet-of-Things.Read moreRead less
Maximizing male fertility: the role of CRISP proteins. This project aims to investigate the function of cysteine rich secretory protein (CRISP) family members in fertility. It is expected to generate new knowledge on the role CRISP1 and 4 play in sperm competition in vivo, and thus, evolutionary processes; to define the role seminal plasma CRISPs play in fertility; and identify the mechanism underpinning their biological activities. This will be achieved using a range of innovative, state-of-the ....Maximizing male fertility: the role of CRISP proteins. This project aims to investigate the function of cysteine rich secretory protein (CRISP) family members in fertility. It is expected to generate new knowledge on the role CRISP1 and 4 play in sperm competition in vivo, and thus, evolutionary processes; to define the role seminal plasma CRISPs play in fertility; and identify the mechanism underpinning their biological activities. This will be achieved using a range of innovative, state-of-the-art approaches. Expected outcomes and benefits include an enhanced knowledge of the mechanisms underpinning fertility and infertility, enhanced collaboration and research knowhow, and an evidence base for future applied projects aimed enhancing fertility in agricultural species.Read moreRead less