Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100218
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$373,172.00
Summary
Can species interactions drive diversification? Species interactions may drive the evolution of species diversity but we currently lack the empirical evidence to demonstrate conclusively how this occurs. Using a group of closely-related species native to Australia's rainforest, this study will test how species interactions drive the evolution of mating traits and the formation of new species.
Drivers of phenotypic evolution in a vulnerable alpine ecosystem. This project aims to deliver a comprehensive, integrated understanding of the capacity for resilience and drivers of response of highly vulnerable alpine species and communities to climate change. The project aims to determine how communities of interacting alpine plants, soil invertebrates and microbes can cope with or evolve to novel climatic conditions. The mountains are water towers critical to power supply and Australia's agr ....Drivers of phenotypic evolution in a vulnerable alpine ecosystem. This project aims to deliver a comprehensive, integrated understanding of the capacity for resilience and drivers of response of highly vulnerable alpine species and communities to climate change. The project aims to determine how communities of interacting alpine plants, soil invertebrates and microbes can cope with or evolve to novel climatic conditions. The mountains are water towers critical to power supply and Australia's agricultural productivity. Understanding physiological tolerance and the potential for rapid evolutionary responses of plants, animals and communities is necessary to predict impacts of climate change on the future productivity of the vulnerable Australian Alps and to provide novel options for climate adaptation. Read moreRead less
Testing the links between ecological processes and evolutionary radiations. This project aims to apply recent analytical advances to massive databases of the phylogeny and spatial distributions of mammals, birds and plants, to explore the role of small-scale ecological processes in generating large-scale macroevolutionary patterns. The processes involved in generating large-scale patterns of biodiversity are still not fully understood, but large new biodiversity databases and recent advances in ....Testing the links between ecological processes and evolutionary radiations. This project aims to apply recent analytical advances to massive databases of the phylogeny and spatial distributions of mammals, birds and plants, to explore the role of small-scale ecological processes in generating large-scale macroevolutionary patterns. The processes involved in generating large-scale patterns of biodiversity are still not fully understood, but large new biodiversity databases and recent advances in analytical methods put us in a good position to make significant progress. By integrating two separate research fields, community ecology and macroevolution, this project aims to make a significant contribution to biodiversity theory, and help to develop a more robust scientific foundation for long-range, process-based conservation planning.Read moreRead less
Comparative Biogeography of Australasian biota. Establishing an internationally recognised biogeographical research program will help scientists, policy makers and the public understand the past and future distribution patterns of the plants and animals of Australia. Discovering these patterns will help conservation biologists and government implement the right policies and practices to deal with biodiversity loss and climate change.
Evolution at extremes: Macroevolutionary responses to harsh environments. The project seeks to investigate the capacity of iconic Australian plant groups (Eucalyptus, Acacia, Banksia, Grevillea, Hakea) to adapt to increases in extreme conditions. Australia presents many extreme conditions for plant survival, such as drought, heat, or salt-affected soils. Are some lineages better able to adapt and diversify in these conditions? This project aims to develop new methods to identify lineages most to ....Evolution at extremes: Macroevolutionary responses to harsh environments. The project seeks to investigate the capacity of iconic Australian plant groups (Eucalyptus, Acacia, Banksia, Grevillea, Hakea) to adapt to increases in extreme conditions. Australia presents many extreme conditions for plant survival, such as drought, heat, or salt-affected soils. Are some lineages better able to adapt and diversify in these conditions? This project aims to develop new methods to identify lineages most tolerant of extreme environments, detect enabling traits that contribute to stress resistance, and test whether plant assemblages in extreme environments are formed from colonisation by specialist tolerators, or by local species adapting. These methods may allow the prediction of species or communities best able to adapt to conditions expected under global environmental change.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
Biodiversity and population genetics of groundwater calcrete ecosystems of central Western Australia. This project will lead to documentation of a unique subterranean ecosystem of world acclaim, representing a significant component of the biodiversity of the Australian arid zone. It will further contribute to sustainable management of groundwater ecosystems and provide information that can be used to predict and monitor how future water use and climate change may impact on these ecosystems. Resu ....Biodiversity and population genetics of groundwater calcrete ecosystems of central Western Australia. This project will lead to documentation of a unique subterranean ecosystem of world acclaim, representing a significant component of the biodiversity of the Australian arid zone. It will further contribute to sustainable management of groundwater ecosystems and provide information that can be used to predict and monitor how future water use and climate change may impact on these ecosystems. Results generated will provide the knowledge base required to improve the efficiency and scientific rigour of the environmental review process for major resource projects, leading to economic benefits to the mining and environmental consultancy industries, and to Australia in general.Read moreRead less
Assessment of the diversity, distribution and uniqueness of subterranean animals from calcrete aquifers in central western Australia. Recently a rich and diverse subterranean invertebrate fauna (stygofauna) was unexpectedly discovered from numerous isolated calcrete aquifers associated with palaeodrainage channels in central Western Australia. Our recent taxonomic and molecular studies have suggested that stygofaunas within each aquifer may be highly endemic. We aim to test this hypothesis by in ....Assessment of the diversity, distribution and uniqueness of subterranean animals from calcrete aquifers in central western Australia. Recently a rich and diverse subterranean invertebrate fauna (stygofauna) was unexpectedly discovered from numerous isolated calcrete aquifers associated with palaeodrainage channels in central Western Australia. Our recent taxonomic and molecular studies have suggested that stygofaunas within each aquifer may be highly endemic. We aim to test this hypothesis by investigating the diversity, distribution and uniqueness of stygofauna from three major calcrete regions. We further aim to document the environmental conditions and variability within the aquifers and to develop rigorous sampling protocols. Such data are essential for the development of appropriate strategies for sustainable management of subterranean water and their ecosystems.Read moreRead less
Environmental stress profiling (ESP): Molecular profiling of sediment microbial communities for improved biological monitoring in aquatic ecosystems. Water resource management is a key issue for environmental sustainability in Australia and strategies that include ecological principles are important to improve present conditions and reduce further degradation. Current biomonitoring methods suffer from a low degree of sensitivity that can seriously impact their effectiveness as early warning sign ....Environmental stress profiling (ESP): Molecular profiling of sediment microbial communities for improved biological monitoring in aquatic ecosystems. Water resource management is a key issue for environmental sustainability in Australia and strategies that include ecological principles are important to improve present conditions and reduce further degradation. Current biomonitoring methods suffer from a low degree of sensitivity that can seriously impact their effectiveness as early warning signals of ecological disturbance. We propose to combine molecular and ecotoxicological assessment of the effect of zinc toxicity on microbial communities to provide rapid pollution sensitive bioassessment. Our research will lead to a better understanding of the cause and effect of heavy metal pollution within aquatic ecosystems and greater insight on how to reduce and repair the negative effects.Read moreRead less