Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101904
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$385,481.00
Summary
Interactions of sexual selection & ecological divergence during speciation. Understanding the processes driving speciation is fundamental to understanding how biodiversity is generated. The two main forces underlying speciation, ecological divergence and sexual selection, are well characterised, yet how they interact during the speciation process is remarkably poorly understood. This project aims to test hypotheses regarding how ecological divergence and sexual selection interact during speciati ....Interactions of sexual selection & ecological divergence during speciation. Understanding the processes driving speciation is fundamental to understanding how biodiversity is generated. The two main forces underlying speciation, ecological divergence and sexual selection, are well characterised, yet how they interact during the speciation process is remarkably poorly understood. This project aims to test hypotheses regarding how ecological divergence and sexual selection interact during speciation, from its inception to its completion. In doing so, this research aims to identify genomic regions underlying divergence in colour patterns, which are important for ecological and sexual interactions. Consequently, this project will significantly enhance our understanding of ecological and genetic mechanisms underlying speciation.Read moreRead less
The role of leaf veins in vascular plant evolution. Leaves are continuously irrigated by a system of internal plumbing that defines their maximum photosynthetic output, and angiosperms are the most productive plants on earth largely by virtue of a uniquely efficient system of leaf plumbing. This project will identify how such an important modification of leaf water transport came to evolve.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101773
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$369,536.00
Summary
Bayesian Hierarchical Model for Biogeography. Species Distribution Models (SDMs) are crucial tools for conservation and planning, but they assume that environmental variables (e.g. temperature) are the only controls on distributions, when historical factors, like dispersal limitation and phylogenetic niche conservatism, are also important. A Bayesian Hierarchical Model (BHM) will be constructed to jointly estimate dispersal history, niche evolution, and present-day SDMs for each species in a cla ....Bayesian Hierarchical Model for Biogeography. Species Distribution Models (SDMs) are crucial tools for conservation and planning, but they assume that environmental variables (e.g. temperature) are the only controls on distributions, when historical factors, like dispersal limitation and phylogenetic niche conservatism, are also important. A Bayesian Hierarchical Model (BHM) will be constructed to jointly estimate dispersal history, niche evolution, and present-day SDMs for each species in a clade. BHMs will be tested against traditional SDMs using Australian clades (e.g. frogs) and simulations. BHMs will advance scientific understanding of how species and biogeography coevolve and provide practical improvements in predictions for species that are rare, data-poor, or in changed climates.Read moreRead less
The evolutionary genetics of adaptation in species with separate sexes. This project aims to provide new theory and analysis methods for studying the genetic basis of female and male fitness. The project expects to provide new insights into the evolutionary, genetic and demographic mechanisms that influence evolutionary genetic diversity within populations. The project will reveal how sex differences in selection affect adaptation, and provide a framework for predicting whether populations with ....The evolutionary genetics of adaptation in species with separate sexes. This project aims to provide new theory and analysis methods for studying the genetic basis of female and male fitness. The project expects to provide new insights into the evolutionary, genetic and demographic mechanisms that influence evolutionary genetic diversity within populations. The project will reveal how sex differences in selection affect adaptation, and provide a framework for predicting whether populations with separate sexes are able to persist under changing environmental conditions. By developing a rigorous theoretical foundation for sex-specific adaptation – including genome inference methods that follow logically from the theory – the proposal will define new approaches for studying evolutionary processes in natural populations.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE170100354
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$372,000.00
Summary
How adaptation increases the intensity of sexual conflict. This project aims to test a theory that a species’ adaptation to its environment may cause sexual conflicts where gene variants increase the fitness of one sex but decrease it in the other. When populations harbour large numbers of these sexually antagonistic genes, adaptation is hampered and extinction becomes more likely. This project will fuse experimental evolution with quantitative genetic approaches to test this theory. Understandi ....How adaptation increases the intensity of sexual conflict. This project aims to test a theory that a species’ adaptation to its environment may cause sexual conflicts where gene variants increase the fitness of one sex but decrease it in the other. When populations harbour large numbers of these sexually antagonistic genes, adaptation is hampered and extinction becomes more likely. This project will fuse experimental evolution with quantitative genetic approaches to test this theory. Understanding sex differences in adaptation and the evolution of sexual dimorphism could enable scientists to predict levels of sexually deleterious variation under changing environmental conditions. Its findings are expected to provide new insights into sex differences in adaptation.Read moreRead less
Sex-specific selection and adaptation in spatially variable environments. This project aims to outline a broadly applicable approach for estimating sex-specific selection, which is based on an extension of the theory of local adaptation with gene flow. Adaptive evolution can be constrained when patterns of selection differ between the sexes. Experiments using model organisms provide strong evidence for adaptive constraints due to sex differences in selection. Outside of these model systems, sex- ....Sex-specific selection and adaptation in spatially variable environments. This project aims to outline a broadly applicable approach for estimating sex-specific selection, which is based on an extension of the theory of local adaptation with gene flow. Adaptive evolution can be constrained when patterns of selection differ between the sexes. Experiments using model organisms provide strong evidence for adaptive constraints due to sex differences in selection. Outside of these model systems, sex-specific selection estimates are difficult to obtain because methods for estimating selection are not easily applied to natural populations. Experiments, using a clinally variable Drosophila population from Eastern Australia constitute the first tests of the new theory.Read moreRead less
Detecting sex differences in natural selection. This project aims to develop new genomic approaches for understanding how genetic mutations can differentially affect reproductive success in males and females. Applying novel tests, this project aims to uncover previously hidden genetic conflicts between the sexes. This will provide significant benefits, such as new tools that will be broadly applicable to the wider research community, and help to answer key questions in genetics and evolutionary ....Detecting sex differences in natural selection. This project aims to develop new genomic approaches for understanding how genetic mutations can differentially affect reproductive success in males and females. Applying novel tests, this project aims to uncover previously hidden genetic conflicts between the sexes. This will provide significant benefits, such as new tools that will be broadly applicable to the wider research community, and help to answer key questions in genetics and evolutionary biology in the current genomic era.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100836
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Oxidative stress as a physiological constraint on the pace of life histories. The project will draw on several areas of biology to answer a fundamental question: which mechanisms underlie the link between vital processes, like growth and reproduction, and rates of biological ageing? This research is needed to understand the basis of trade-offs that cause some individuals or species to age faster than others.
The evolution of parental care in leeches: costs and benefits in a clade of hermaphroditic, invertebrate ectotherms. Parental care is a basic element of reproduction in many species. Nearly everything we know about parental care comes from study of vertebrates, especially birds and mammals. Leech is synonymous with exploitation, but many of these annelid worms are devoted parents. Because they differ dramatically from most vertebrates, leeches present an excellent, but as yet unused, opportunity ....The evolution of parental care in leeches: costs and benefits in a clade of hermaphroditic, invertebrate ectotherms. Parental care is a basic element of reproduction in many species. Nearly everything we know about parental care comes from study of vertebrates, especially birds and mammals. Leech is synonymous with exploitation, but many of these annelid worms are devoted parents. Because they differ dramatically from most vertebrates, leeches present an excellent, but as yet unused, opportunity to test our theories and understanding of the evoluton of parental care. We will examine the evolution of degrees of care and sibling competition in leech families, and use molecular markers to better understand the genetic structure of populations of these invertebrates.Read moreRead less
The genetic architecture of colour polymorphism and speciation. Speciation, the process by which populations diverge and become distinct, is the engine that drives biodiversity and Darwin's 'mystery of mysteries'. Speciation is accelerated in species with multiple, discrete, coexisting colour forms; yet the genetic mechanisms underpinning this pattern are not known. This project aims to identify the genes underlying different colour forms and how they are distributed across the genome. The proj ....The genetic architecture of colour polymorphism and speciation. Speciation, the process by which populations diverge and become distinct, is the engine that drives biodiversity and Darwin's 'mystery of mysteries'. Speciation is accelerated in species with multiple, discrete, coexisting colour forms; yet the genetic mechanisms underpinning this pattern are not known. This project aims to identify the genes underlying different colour forms and how they are distributed across the genome. The project plans to test the prediction that these same areas of the genome show marked divergence between lineages that are in the process of becoming distinct species. Doing so may contribute significantly to our understanding of speciation, underlying genetic mechanisms, and genes generating colour variation in vertebrates.Read moreRead less