A life-course approach to the nutrition-lifespan-reproduction nexus. This project aims to address the “cost of reproduction”, where lifespan and fecundity are negatively correlated. Bringing together nutritional geometry and evolutionary theory, to the project will produce an over-arching theory of why animals have finite lifespans and limited reproductive capacity. Benefits include developing research strategies for managing the nexus between diet, reproduction and lifespan in animals and human ....A life-course approach to the nutrition-lifespan-reproduction nexus. This project aims to address the “cost of reproduction”, where lifespan and fecundity are negatively correlated. Bringing together nutritional geometry and evolutionary theory, to the project will produce an over-arching theory of why animals have finite lifespans and limited reproductive capacity. Benefits include developing research strategies for managing the nexus between diet, reproduction and lifespan in animals and humans, placing Australia at the forefront of a paradigm shift in understanding the relationship between diet, reproduction and lifespan.Read moreRead less
Discovering nature's photonic devices to control light and heat. This project aims to discover how and why beetles and butterflies reflect near-infrared light. Reflection of near-infrared radiation may be critical to prevent overheating, yet its role in thermal protection remains largely unexplored. The project will integrate evolutionary biology, optical physics and biophysics to reveal the diversity, mechanism, function and evolution of near-infrared signatures. Expected outcomes include the d ....Discovering nature's photonic devices to control light and heat. This project aims to discover how and why beetles and butterflies reflect near-infrared light. Reflection of near-infrared radiation may be critical to prevent overheating, yet its role in thermal protection remains largely unexplored. The project will integrate evolutionary biology, optical physics and biophysics to reveal the diversity, mechanism, function and evolution of near-infrared signatures. Expected outcomes include the discovery of nature’s solutions to selection for both optical (camouflage, communication) and thermal functions. The project will have significant benefits such as creating opportunities to develop biomimetic and bioinspired materials to enhance energy efficiency, which will have significant economic and environmental benefits.Read moreRead less
Inflammation as an early form of maternal-fetal signalling in pregnancy. The project aims to understand the role of inflammatory signalling in marsupial pregnancy. This project is expected to explain why inflammation, a processes normally confined to injury and infection, is a part of reproduction in live-bearing mammals. Outcomes of this project include robust measures of the capacity for, impact of, and evolution of, inflammatory signalling in marsupial pregnancy. The project will provide new ....Inflammation as an early form of maternal-fetal signalling in pregnancy. The project aims to understand the role of inflammatory signalling in marsupial pregnancy. This project is expected to explain why inflammation, a processes normally confined to injury and infection, is a part of reproduction in live-bearing mammals. Outcomes of this project include robust measures of the capacity for, impact of, and evolution of, inflammatory signalling in marsupial pregnancy. The project will provide new knowledge about the unique biology of Australia's marsupial fauna.This project will provide significant benefits, including enhanced capacity for reproduction research in Australia, new international collaborations between Melbourne and Yale, and a new explanation for the puzzling role of inflammation in pregnancy.Read moreRead less
Exploring the unseen: the adaptive significance of animal-visible and infrared colour change. Our research on benefits of rapid colour change in cold-blooded animals, spanning the full spectrum of solar energy, will provide novel insights into the adaptive significance of animal colour patterns. It will also provide a natural model for development of advanced colour-changing materials with a wide range of applications.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE180100306
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,058.00
Summary
Does spurious maternal-fetal signalling support the evolution of a placenta. This project aims to test a model that explains how the placenta has evolved as a new organ more than 100 times in fishes, reptiles, and mammals including our own ancestors. The project will assess whether regulatory components of the placenta evolve as a result of spurious maternal-fetal signalling following egg retention and eggshell loss in viviparous reptiles. Expected outcomes of this project include a new understa ....Does spurious maternal-fetal signalling support the evolution of a placenta. This project aims to test a model that explains how the placenta has evolved as a new organ more than 100 times in fishes, reptiles, and mammals including our own ancestors. The project will assess whether regulatory components of the placenta evolve as a result of spurious maternal-fetal signalling following egg retention and eggshell loss in viviparous reptiles. Expected outcomes of this project include a new understanding of how complex organs originate and evolve in animals. This will benefit society through a broader depth of understanding of our own evolutionary history and provides a framework for future studies to investigate the origin and evolution of organs more broadly in animals.Read moreRead less
The evolution of light detection and its impacts on early vertebrate evolution. The eye is a complex organ crucial for survival. Tracing the evolution of the eye will not only provide basic concepts of how building visual complexity is achieved in nature but also enhance the understanding of the selection pressures driving the radiation of early vertebrates.
Unlocking telomere effects on life, death and fitness in a warming world. Few things in biology provoke such a strong desire for understanding as when adult death and fatal disease can be predicted early in life. A common factor linking early life stress, disease, ageing and time of death are telomeres, the protective regions at the end of each chromosome. This project aims to explicitly link telomere dynamics in free-living ectotherm populations with experimental approaches to advance our under ....Unlocking telomere effects on life, death and fitness in a warming world. Few things in biology provoke such a strong desire for understanding as when adult death and fatal disease can be predicted early in life. A common factor linking early life stress, disease, ageing and time of death are telomeres, the protective regions at the end of each chromosome. This project aims to explicitly link telomere dynamics in free-living ectotherm populations with experimental approaches to advance our understanding of parental and environmental effects on offspring telomeres and their effects later in life. This project will take advantage of one of the world’s longest datasets on ectotherm responses to climate to provide new knowledge of how telomeres affect fitness and the role that the environment plays.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE110100134
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$160,240.00
Summary
Sydney basin multi-purpose spectral analysis facility for evolutionary and ecological studies. This near infrared spectroscopy facility at The University of New South Wales will serve the Sydney area biological research community. Near infrared spectroscopy provides quick and robust estimates of key properties of animal and plant tissues, such as age, species and chemical composition.
Global differentiation of the conifer flora. Conifers are among the most widely recognised and well-loved group of plants. This project will place a global perspective on the evolutionary significance of the southern conifers. Furthermore conifers such as the Wollemi Pine, bunyas, kauris and huon pine are of considerable ecotourism value, and this project will provide a basis for interpretation of these important plants.
Drought and death: past, present and future survival limits in the Australian vegetation landscape. Science cannot predict the point at which water stress becomes lethal for plants. This research into plant water transport aims to find a new way to understand whether plant species will die or adapt to a future drier climate.