Sea Snake Diversification: Why Are Certain Taxa And Regions Species-Rich? By generating new knowledge of ecologically and medically important Australasian organisms, this project will benefit biodiversity management, snakebite therapy and pharmaceutical research. Sea snakes reach peak diversity in the Indo-Australian hotspot and are threatened by habitat degradation, fisheries bycatch and rising sea temperatures. Sea snake conservation and marine reserve management strategies will directly ben ....Sea Snake Diversification: Why Are Certain Taxa And Regions Species-Rich? By generating new knowledge of ecologically and medically important Australasian organisms, this project will benefit biodiversity management, snakebite therapy and pharmaceutical research. Sea snakes reach peak diversity in the Indo-Australian hotspot and are threatened by habitat degradation, fisheries bycatch and rising sea temperatures. Sea snake conservation and marine reserve management strategies will directly benefit from a better understanding of local endemism, species boundaries and possible cryptic species. Sea snakes are highly venomous and pose a significant health risk in fishing communities; venom variation has a strong phylogenetic component and is of vital importance in antivenom preparation and bioprospecting. 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.
Evolution, adaptation and resilience of Australian freshwater fishes. This project will integrate comparative ecological genomics (in the wild and in the lab), phenotypic data and spatially-explicit modelling approaches to assess adaptation and vulnerability of aquatic biodiversity to environmental change. It focuses on a family of Australian freshwater fishes that evolved in response to hydrological disturbance and shows contemporary patterns of biodiversity shaped by hydroclimatic variation an ....Evolution, adaptation and resilience of Australian freshwater fishes. This project will integrate comparative ecological genomics (in the wild and in the lab), phenotypic data and spatially-explicit modelling approaches to assess adaptation and vulnerability of aquatic biodiversity to environmental change. It focuses on a family of Australian freshwater fishes that evolved in response to hydrological disturbance and shows contemporary patterns of biodiversity shaped by hydroclimatic variation and anthropogenic pressures. The project expects to disclose a positive correlation between family-wide adaptive capacity and variance in ecological disturbance. This work will address fundamental and novel questions about factors shaping adaptation and resilience along naturally and anthropogenically disturbed ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Species and gene turnover across environmental gradients - a landscape-level approach to quantify biodiversity and resilience for climate adaptation. Biodiversity corridor planning in Australia desperately needs to progress beyond the simple linking up of remnant vegetation, based on aerial maps and start incorporating ecosystem features which will promote climate adaptation. This project will develop a new genomics method to assess ecosystem resilience for use in national biodiversity corridor ....Species and gene turnover across environmental gradients - a landscape-level approach to quantify biodiversity and resilience for climate adaptation. Biodiversity corridor planning in Australia desperately needs to progress beyond the simple linking up of remnant vegetation, based on aerial maps and start incorporating ecosystem features which will promote climate adaptation. This project will develop a new genomics method to assess ecosystem resilience for use in national biodiversity corridor planning.Read moreRead less
Evolution of the unique fauna of the Great Artesian Basin mound springs: the impact of aridification and climate change. The mound springs of the Great Artesian Basin represent one of Australia's most unique environments and are of national biodiversity, cultural and economic significance. Their conservation is a major issue following listing of the springs as a threatened ecological community. As economic productivity in the GAB intensifies, the mound springs are under increasing threat from es ....Evolution of the unique fauna of the Great Artesian Basin mound springs: the impact of aridification and climate change. The mound springs of the Great Artesian Basin represent one of Australia's most unique environments and are of national biodiversity, cultural and economic significance. Their conservation is a major issue following listing of the springs as a threatened ecological community. As economic productivity in the GAB intensifies, the mound springs are under increasing threat from escalating groundwater use. The results of this study on the evolution of two crustacean groups will provide significant biological information for management plans, facilitating conservation of mound springs communities, and helping to understand the impacts of water extraction and climate change on this unique habitat.Read moreRead less
Developing best-practice approaches for restoring forest ecosystems that are resilient to climate change. Existing restoration practices for forests tend to rely on ad hoc rules of thumb that lack a firm scientific basis and risk failure due to climate change. The project will model biodiversity, genetic and growth performance data to develop best-practice restoration guidelines for forest ecosystems to enable them to become resilient to climate change and maximise biodiversity and carbon captur ....Developing best-practice approaches for restoring forest ecosystems that are resilient to climate change. Existing restoration practices for forests tend to rely on ad hoc rules of thumb that lack a firm scientific basis and risk failure due to climate change. The project will model biodiversity, genetic and growth performance data to develop best-practice restoration guidelines for forest ecosystems to enable them to become resilient to climate change and maximise biodiversity and carbon capture outcomes.Read moreRead less
The role of epigenetic modifications in bovid adaptation to environmental change. This project will explore the role of epigenetic change, where gene expression is regulated without changing the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence, in how animals adapt to rapid climate change. This project will trace epigenetic markers in ancient bison and cows through 30,000 years of climate change, and identify key adaptive genes for the cattle industry.
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE130100115
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$180,000.00
Summary
Confocal microscope for high-resolution microtopographic analysis of surfaces in historical, forensic and polymer sciences. High-resolution analyses of microscopic patterns on surfaces using confocal microscopy can provide vital clues into the nature of ancient diets and environments, adaptive evolution, weapons used in crimes, and properties of polymers. This instrument will heighten Australia’s capacity for world-leading research in areas of major national importance.
Reconstructing the impact of climate change on Australian native species. This project will explore the impact of past climate change on Australian native animals to identify species and ecosystems at greatest potential risk, and to help predict and minimise the effects of future change.
The physiology of biome shifts and macroevolutionary change: how did Australian skinks colonise the arid zone so successfully? This project will examine two of Australia's most diverse lizard lineages, Lerista and Ctenotus, and will identify the physiological and morphological traits that enabled them to adaptively radiate within the arid zone. It will highlight those traits likely to be adaptive for environments predicted to become widespread under climate change.