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.
Does climatic thermal variability matter? This project aims to research how annual and daily variability in temperature effects the distribution of species, their tolerance to temperature, their dispersal ability and genetic structuring. Expected outcomes include more accurate assessment of the ecological risk of climate change, which is expected to result in altered average temperatures and temperature variability. Such assessments will result in better management of species and ecosystems faci ....Does climatic thermal variability matter? This project aims to research how annual and daily variability in temperature effects the distribution of species, their tolerance to temperature, their dispersal ability and genetic structuring. Expected outcomes include more accurate assessment of the ecological risk of climate change, which is expected to result in altered average temperatures and temperature variability. Such assessments will result in better management of species and ecosystems facing threats from climate change.Read moreRead less
Drought-induced mortality in arid-zone tree species: a mechanistic study. This project aims to determine the relative importance of elevated temperature and increased vapour pressure deficit during drought in causing drought induced mortality (DIM). The outcomes of this project will be an enhanced ability to predict future mortality in response to a warmer and atmospherically drier climate. This will benefit the development of future management strategies and our ability to predict drought impac ....Drought-induced mortality in arid-zone tree species: a mechanistic study. This project aims to determine the relative importance of elevated temperature and increased vapour pressure deficit during drought in causing drought induced mortality (DIM). The outcomes of this project will be an enhanced ability to predict future mortality in response to a warmer and atmospherically drier climate. This will benefit the development of future management strategies and our ability to predict drought impacts on landscape function and productivity.Read moreRead less
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
Will trees get enough nitrogen to sustain productivity in elevated CO2? The project proposes to explore how tissue nitrogen declines in future elevated carbon dioxide (eCO2) by studying the availability of soil nitrogen to plants and use of nitrogen by Eucalyptus woodland trees. Plant canopy nitrogen concentrations decline in nearly every large-scale eCO2 study done on native soils. The project plans to explore how changes in ecosystem nitrogen balance occur, by investigating if leaf nitrogen de ....Will trees get enough nitrogen to sustain productivity in elevated CO2? The project proposes to explore how tissue nitrogen declines in future elevated carbon dioxide (eCO2) by studying the availability of soil nitrogen to plants and use of nitrogen by Eucalyptus woodland trees. Plant canopy nitrogen concentrations decline in nearly every large-scale eCO2 study done on native soils. The project plans to explore how changes in ecosystem nitrogen balance occur, by investigating if leaf nitrogen declines under eCO2 due to the balance of plant activity versus changes in soil nitrogen availability. The outcomes are central to knowing the extent to which extra nitrogen ‘feeds’ the eCO2 fertilisation response and sustains long-term increases in productivity. Expected outcomes may support the development of management options to sustain future forest productivity.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
How climate-resilient are our temperate fisheries species? This project assesses the resilience of our temperate fisheries species to climate change. Using natural warming hotspots and volcanic CO2 vents we study populations of fisheries species that are already pre-adapted to future climate, and therefore could act as key populations for replenishment of future fisheries stocks. An innovative and interdisciplinary approach combines the ecology, genetics, behaviour, and physiology of fisheries s ....How climate-resilient are our temperate fisheries species? This project assesses the resilience of our temperate fisheries species to climate change. Using natural warming hotspots and volcanic CO2 vents we study populations of fisheries species that are already pre-adapted to future climate, and therefore could act as key populations for replenishment of future fisheries stocks. An innovative and interdisciplinary approach combines the ecology, genetics, behaviour, and physiology of fisheries species to evaluate their climate resilience. An advanced food web model will be developed to forecast changes to fisheries production in a future world. This provides a much-improved forecast of climate adaptation and managing future biodiversity and fisheries species through resilient genes and populations.Read moreRead less
Methane uptake of forest soils. This project will provide a detailed understanding of capacity of soils in Australia to sequester the greenhouse gas methane. It will identify the main factors and processes controlling methane uptake in soils and improve predictive models will allow us to predict methane uptake in the future.
Climate model validation and generation of probabilistic climate projections using data from Phase 5 of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project. New climate model results will be compared with observations to test model skill. Probabilistic projections of regional-scale climate change will be developed and used to investigate a number of ecosystem impact case studies.
Resilience of eucalypts to future droughts. This project aims to examine how resilient Eucalyptus species are to future droughts by combining data synthesis, manipulative experiments and modelling. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency, magnitude and duration of future droughts, with major environmental and socio-economic consequences for Australia. Current predictive capacity is extremely limited: experiments are limited in scale and cannot capture important global change interac ....Resilience of eucalypts to future droughts. This project aims to examine how resilient Eucalyptus species are to future droughts by combining data synthesis, manipulative experiments and modelling. Climate change is expected to increase the frequency, magnitude and duration of future droughts, with major environmental and socio-economic consequences for Australia. Current predictive capacity is extremely limited: experiments are limited in scale and cannot capture important global change interactions, whilst models do not represent the functional characteristics and adaptions of eucalypts. This project will develop a strong evidence- and process-based understanding to quantify the functional behaviour of drought-adapted Eucalyptus species and leverage this insight to make future model projections.Read moreRead less