Artificial light at night as a driver of evolutionary change. This project aims to investigate whether artificial light at night drives evolutionary change using a combination of field observations, laboratory experiments and advanced genetic techniques. This multi-disciplinary study expects to provide a significant advance in understanding of the impact of light at night for animals and will enhance our capacity to predict the outcome of future urban expansions for all species. The outcomes wil ....Artificial light at night as a driver of evolutionary change. This project aims to investigate whether artificial light at night drives evolutionary change using a combination of field observations, laboratory experiments and advanced genetic techniques. This multi-disciplinary study expects to provide a significant advance in understanding of the impact of light at night for animals and will enhance our capacity to predict the outcome of future urban expansions for all species. The outcomes will have broad implications for estimating the future biodiversity and health of our urban areas and will benefit both globally and within Australia by providing much needed data regarding the likely resilience of species currently residing in our major cities.Read moreRead less
Adaptive capacity of marine invertebrates in a climate change ocean. As the oceans simultaneously warm and acidify, prospects for marine biota are of concern. This project aims to determine the potential for phenotypic adjustment and evolutionary adaptation. To discern the roles of phenotype and genotype in marine invertebrate stress tolerance this project endeavours to use selection experiments, long-term rearing and quantitative genetics . A focus on vulnerable calcification systems could dete ....Adaptive capacity of marine invertebrates in a climate change ocean. As the oceans simultaneously warm and acidify, prospects for marine biota are of concern. This project aims to determine the potential for phenotypic adjustment and evolutionary adaptation. To discern the roles of phenotype and genotype in marine invertebrate stress tolerance this project endeavours to use selection experiments, long-term rearing and quantitative genetics . A focus on vulnerable calcification systems could determine genetic mechanisms underlying impaired growth. Investigation of species from the east Australia latitudinal thermal gradient, a global change hot spot could generate insights into biological responses and adaptive potential in a changing ocean and on time scales relevant to resource managers to understand the challenges faced by marine biota.Read moreRead less
Comparative Paleogenomics of the Arctic Tundra Ecosystem: the genetic response of plants and animals to climate change. This project will use DNA from deep-frozen seeds and bones 100,000 years old to record how species respond to climate change - by adapting and surviving or by shifting ranges and moving. Very large numbers of genes will be examined to identify changes across the genomes of four plant and two animal species, and contrast the responses to major climatic shifts.
Can endosymbionts alter climate change resilience in insects? This project aims to establish whether endosymbionts alter climate change vulnerability and investigate the potential for endosymbionts to be used as a tool to modify climate change resilience in insects. Heritable endosymbionts – microscopic bacteria living exclusively within host cells – are widespread in insects. A handful of studies indicate that endosymbionts may influence the thermal tolerance of their host, yet whether they al ....Can endosymbionts alter climate change resilience in insects? This project aims to establish whether endosymbionts alter climate change vulnerability and investigate the potential for endosymbionts to be used as a tool to modify climate change resilience in insects. Heritable endosymbionts – microscopic bacteria living exclusively within host cells – are widespread in insects. A handful of studies indicate that endosymbionts may influence the thermal tolerance of their host, yet whether they alter the upper thermal limits and climate change risk of insects is unknown. This fellowship will provide a greater understanding of the consequences of climate change on species persistence, as well as opening up avenues to utilise endosymbionts as a tool to manipulate the climate change resilience of insects.
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Using phylogenomics to record the impacts of climate change, extinction and population fragmentation. This project will use ancient DNA from permafrost-preserved Steppe bison bones and bovid exome capture systems to build a detailed record of the genomic impacts of rapid climate and environmental change at the end of the Pleistocene (30 to 11 kyr). The project will analyse how ancestral genetic diversity is distributed amongst surviving bison populations, and the role of nuclear loci under selec ....Using phylogenomics to record the impacts of climate change, extinction and population fragmentation. This project will use ancient DNA from permafrost-preserved Steppe bison bones and bovid exome capture systems to build a detailed record of the genomic impacts of rapid climate and environmental change at the end of the Pleistocene (30 to 11 kyr). The project will analyse how ancestral genetic diversity is distributed amongst surviving bison populations, and the role of nuclear loci under selection and drift. It will create a novel temporal dataset of genomic adaptation and evolution, and will generate critical data for studies of evolutionary processes such as extinctions, speciation and conservation biology and management.Read moreRead less
Predicting adaptive responses to climate change in Australian native bees. This project aims to understand how insects will adapt to climate change by examining a largely overlooked but economically important group of species: Australian native bees. Native bees are important pollinators of both crops and native plants, but their sensitivity to changes in climate are unknown. Expected outcomes include new knowledge of the resilience of native bees to climate change, and new effective tools for p ....Predicting adaptive responses to climate change in Australian native bees. This project aims to understand how insects will adapt to climate change by examining a largely overlooked but economically important group of species: Australian native bees. Native bees are important pollinators of both crops and native plants, but their sensitivity to changes in climate are unknown. Expected outcomes include new knowledge of the resilience of native bees to climate change, and new effective tools for predicting climate change resilience that can be applied to many species. The intended benefits include increasing our understanding of the potential for native bees to act as future pollinators in Australia’s natural and agro-ecosystems, and guide policy and management decisions to better protect and conserve our bee fauna.Read moreRead less
Interacting with change: inter-specific competition and climate change . The project aims to understand how species will adapt to climate change by examining a largely overlooked process: how competition shapes evolutionary responses. Rising temperatures will fundamentally alter where species live, re-shuffling communities. Yet, how changes in community composition will affect the way current assessments of species vulnerability to climate change is generally unknown. Expected outcomes include i ....Interacting with change: inter-specific competition and climate change . The project aims to understand how species will adapt to climate change by examining a largely overlooked process: how competition shapes evolutionary responses. Rising temperatures will fundamentally alter where species live, re-shuffling communities. Yet, how changes in community composition will affect the way current assessments of species vulnerability to climate change is generally unknown. Expected outcomes include improved species models for predicting responses to climate change through the integration of competitive effects with environmental data. The benefit will be an increased accuracy in predictions of species at risk to climate change which will guide policy and management decisions to protect vulnerable environments better.Read moreRead less
Australian Laureate Fellowships - Grant ID: FL100100183
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$2,168,370.00
Summary
Biological adaptation under natural and anthropogenic conditions. This project covers all four national priority areas. Nature abounds with conflicts between what is good for the individual or a larger entity (a population, a society, or a species). Researching them will explain why populations adapt or fail to adapt to novel conditions (e.g., climate change) and predict when interventions are beneficial. Similar rules govern the spread of invasive species. Even health problems, e.g., new virule ....Biological adaptation under natural and anthropogenic conditions. This project covers all four national priority areas. Nature abounds with conflicts between what is good for the individual or a larger entity (a population, a society, or a species). Researching them will explain why populations adapt or fail to adapt to novel conditions (e.g., climate change) and predict when interventions are beneficial. Similar rules govern the spread of invasive species. Even health problems, e.g., new virulent strains of human, animal or plant diseases, require such evolutionary thinking. Cutting-edge mathematical tools also prepare Australians for an era in the near future where genomic data are so cheap to acquire that training in complex mathematical and logical analysis becomes a factor limiting scientific progress.Read moreRead less
Impact of climate change stressors on calcifying and non-calcifying marine life stages: predicting tipping points for persistence in a changing ocean. Australia generates considerable prosperity from its oceans with marine invertebrate resources playing a key role. These resources are at risk due to climate change. This project will study early life stages of key marine species to determine sensitivities to ocean warming and acidification and inform assessment of risk in a changing ocean.