The intensity of sexual selection with density and age and its importance in the evolution of animal populations. Australia is internationally highly regarded for the quality of its research into the basic biology of its fauna. This study will provide information on the breeding biology of an endemic marine species distributed across the Northern tropics of Australia. It addresses a pure research question of great theoretical interest. However, it also provides valuable training opportunities fo ....The intensity of sexual selection with density and age and its importance in the evolution of animal populations. Australia is internationally highly regarded for the quality of its research into the basic biology of its fauna. This study will provide information on the breeding biology of an endemic marine species distributed across the Northern tropics of Australia. It addresses a pure research question of great theoretical interest. However, it also provides valuable training opportunities for postgraduate students in the practicalities of conducting tropical field biology and the execution of field experiments. These are essential skills that can readily be transferred to applied biological problems. Maintaining a pool of skilled field biologists is essential for the on-going success of programmes in conservation and ecosystem management. Read moreRead less
Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection: answering fundamental questions in evolutionary biology. This research will yield results that are at the cutting-edge in evolutionary biology, that will have a significant international impact, promoting the international profile of Australian science. The award will build on an existing world-class centre of excellence for research, and will train internationally competitive research scientists, adding to Australia's scientific capabilities. The researc ....Sperm Competition and Sexual Selection: answering fundamental questions in evolutionary biology. This research will yield results that are at the cutting-edge in evolutionary biology, that will have a significant international impact, promoting the international profile of Australian science. The award will build on an existing world-class centre of excellence for research, and will train internationally competitive research scientists, adding to Australia's scientific capabilities. The research centre's connections with local fertility clinics, and their work on human sperm quality, has the potential to inform those studying human fertility.Read moreRead less
Mutual sexual selection and sperm competition in the black swan. The proposed research is curiosity-driven and therefore its main benefit is in enhancing our understanding of the evolutionary processes that shape our natural environment. The proliferation of 'natural history' television programmes, magazines and books demonstrates the very substantial national interest in these topics. The Black Swan is a well-known bird of particular public affection. Its status as a national iconic symbol h ....Mutual sexual selection and sperm competition in the black swan. The proposed research is curiosity-driven and therefore its main benefit is in enhancing our understanding of the evolutionary processes that shape our natural environment. The proliferation of 'natural history' television programmes, magazines and books demonstrates the very substantial national interest in these topics. The Black Swan is a well-known bird of particular public affection. Its status as a national iconic symbol has been reflected in the degree of local and general community interest and involvement in our research in Ballarat to date.Read moreRead less
Sexual signalling and parental care: A life-history perspective. I will use a fish, the Australian desert goby, to gain pivotal insights into male reproductive investment. Under-appreciated as potential study subjects, desert gobies are ideal because males must make important reproductive decisions regarding how much effort to spend on mate attraction and parental care but, importantly, they must do so within the constraints imposed by desert-living. The likely impact of my work in the field of ....Sexual signalling and parental care: A life-history perspective. I will use a fish, the Australian desert goby, to gain pivotal insights into male reproductive investment. Under-appreciated as potential study subjects, desert gobies are ideal because males must make important reproductive decisions regarding how much effort to spend on mate attraction and parental care but, importantly, they must do so within the constraints imposed by desert-living. The likely impact of my work in the field of behavioural ecology will improve Australia's research capacity and profile. By using an Australian species, my research will also raise awareness and understanding of extraordinary fishes living in habitats vulnerable to human impact. Read moreRead less
Global differentiation of the conifer flora. Conifers are among the most widely recognised and well-loved group of plants. This project will place a global perspective on the evolutionary significance of the southern conifers. Furthermore conifers such as the Wollemi Pine, bunyas, kauris and huon pine are of considerable ecotourism value, and this project will provide a basis for interpretation of these important plants.
Fighting for space: How do weaker individuals compete? Animals fight for territories and larger, stronger individuals usually win. How then, in fiddler crabs, do small males and weaponless females defend their territories against larger males? I will investigate four contexts in which strength alone may not determine fighting success. I predict that: (a) positional and motivational advantages allow territory owners to repel intruders; (b) weak individuals compete with stronger neighbours by 'nag ....Fighting for space: How do weaker individuals compete? Animals fight for territories and larger, stronger individuals usually win. How then, in fiddler crabs, do small males and weaponless females defend their territories against larger males? I will investigate four contexts in which strength alone may not determine fighting success. I predict that: (a) positional and motivational advantages allow territory owners to repel intruders; (b) weak individuals compete with stronger neighbours by 'nagging' rather than by winning fights; (c) residents form coalitions to fend off intruders; and d) females, who lack the large claws of males, employ novel alternative tactics to maintain territories.This study will test important theories of territoriality and in so doing make a major contribution to behavioural ecology.
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Male risk-taking and female mate choice in birds: A synthesis of mechanism and function. Some avian alarm calls are produced only by males, and call rate corresponds closely with recent mating success. This relationship might reflect protection of descendant kin. Such ostentatious risk-taking might also be sexy. We will manipulate male reproductive success in natural social groups to measure the effect on production of costly calls. Parallel lab experiments will selectively change alarm call ....Male risk-taking and female mate choice in birds: A synthesis of mechanism and function. Some avian alarm calls are produced only by males, and call rate corresponds closely with recent mating success. This relationship might reflect protection of descendant kin. Such ostentatious risk-taking might also be sexy. We will manipulate male reproductive success in natural social groups to measure the effect on production of costly calls. Parallel lab experiments will selectively change alarm call rate to test whether this influences attractiveness to females. Results will test a controversial hypothesis, extend current models of parental investment and female mate choice, and permit a synthesis of work on sexual selection and animal cognition.Read moreRead less
Evolution of halophytes: a phyloinformatic approach to understanding and exploiting the traits underlying salt-tolerance in plants. Salinity is an increasing burden on the Australian economy & environment, with >2 million ha of salt-affected land, at an annual cost to agriculture over $187 million. One solution is to exploit naturally salt-tolerant plants to increase productive agricultural land and restore salt-affected environments. To do this, we must increase basic knowledge of the diversity ....Evolution of halophytes: a phyloinformatic approach to understanding and exploiting the traits underlying salt-tolerance in plants. Salinity is an increasing burden on the Australian economy & environment, with >2 million ha of salt-affected land, at an annual cost to agriculture over $187 million. One solution is to exploit naturally salt-tolerant plants to increase productive agricultural land and restore salt-affected environments. To do this, we must increase basic knowledge of the diversity & distribution of salt-tolerance. This project is the first to use DNA sequences from thousands of species to understand the evolution of salt-tolerance in order to provide the foundation for the development of new crop varieties, selection of species that can be developed for bioremediation, and identification of traits that will be profitable targets for breeding programs. Read moreRead less
Moving between day and night: Navigational strategies and foraging costs of temporal niche partitioning. This study involves fundamental research to identify the navigational strategies and the foraging cost in animals that occupy different temporal niches. It will make use of the unique research opportunities in Australia, by working with endemic fauna that allows scientists to address questions that would otherwise be hard to answer. The project will introduce the novel technique of differenti ....Moving between day and night: Navigational strategies and foraging costs of temporal niche partitioning. This study involves fundamental research to identify the navigational strategies and the foraging cost in animals that occupy different temporal niches. It will make use of the unique research opportunities in Australia, by working with endemic fauna that allows scientists to address questions that would otherwise be hard to answer. The project will introduce the novel technique of differential GPS to track the paths of ants which has the potential to revolutionise the field of insect navigation. Salience-dependent navigational strategies analysed in this study will be of great interest in the field of engineering and robotics.Read moreRead less
Moving to be seen: a comprehensive analysis of movement-based signal design. Papers on visual motion processing and animal signal design regularly feature in major journals, and the programs of international conferences. We can thus be confident that theoretical advances will attract international attention. We will develop further state-of-the-art methods in motion analysis, with our overall approach likely to serve as a framework for future research programs, although our techniques will have ....Moving to be seen: a comprehensive analysis of movement-based signal design. Papers on visual motion processing and animal signal design regularly feature in major journals, and the programs of international conferences. We can thus be confident that theoretical advances will attract international attention. We will develop further state-of-the-art methods in motion analysis, with our overall approach likely to serve as a framework for future research programs, although our techniques will have applications outside of biology. In addition, we will learn much about the social behaviour of a group of native reptiles about which relatively little is known. Research on the social behaviour of animals is readily comprehended by non-specialists and plays an important role in attracting young people to careers in science.Read moreRead less