Asexual reproduction in honey bee invaders. This project aims to determine whether thelytokous parthenogenesis (the ability of queens and workers to clone themselves) is a critical factor in the successful establishment of invasive social insects in Australia and elsewhere. When an exotic social insect species arrives in Australia the population will usually expire due to a lack of conspecifics for mating, and severe inbreeding. Nonetheless, a few ant, bee and wasp species have managed to estab ....Asexual reproduction in honey bee invaders. This project aims to determine whether thelytokous parthenogenesis (the ability of queens and workers to clone themselves) is a critical factor in the successful establishment of invasive social insects in Australia and elsewhere. When an exotic social insect species arrives in Australia the population will usually expire due to a lack of conspecifics for mating, and severe inbreeding. Nonetheless, a few ant, bee and wasp species have managed to establish here and are among our worst invasive animals. The project plans to show how the Asian hive bee became established in Queensland and to assess the risks it poses to industry and the environment. This research should help the nation to respond more effectively to the next social insect invader.Read moreRead less
E. coli as an indicator of faecal contamination in the Australian context. The goal of this research is to improve our ability to use Escherichia coli as an indicator of water quality by determining the extent to which non-faecal sources of E. coli contribute to coliform counts and to develop a method to differentiate non-faecal E. coli from those that are faecal derived.
Why are complex habitats more diverse? This project aims to develop and test theory for the ubiquitous relationship between habitat complexity and biodiversity. Whether in forests, grasslands, kelp forests or coral reefs, habitat complexity is increasingly being flattened by natural and human-based processes. The project will integrate novel three-dimensional habitat models with established ecological theory, and then validate the theory on coral reefs that have undergone disturbances with diffe ....Why are complex habitats more diverse? This project aims to develop and test theory for the ubiquitous relationship between habitat complexity and biodiversity. Whether in forests, grasslands, kelp forests or coral reefs, habitat complexity is increasingly being flattened by natural and human-based processes. The project will integrate novel three-dimensional habitat models with established ecological theory, and then validate the theory on coral reefs that have undergone disturbances with different effects on complexity (cyclones and bleaching). This project will significantly advance the predictive capacity of biodiversity risk assessments of these threatened ecosystems and potentially others worldwide.Read moreRead less
What is killing the honeybees? The role of RNA viruses. This project aims to determine if the Varroa mite, the most important parasite of honeybees, selects for virulent strains of RNA viruses. Before Varroa’s inevitable arrival in Australia, this project will disentangle the effect of Varroa and the bees’ immune system on the evolution of virulence of bee viruses. Australia’s honeybees are Varroa-naïve and don’t carry virulent viruses. There is a known association between Varroa and colonies dy ....What is killing the honeybees? The role of RNA viruses. This project aims to determine if the Varroa mite, the most important parasite of honeybees, selects for virulent strains of RNA viruses. Before Varroa’s inevitable arrival in Australia, this project will disentangle the effect of Varroa and the bees’ immune system on the evolution of virulence of bee viruses. Australia’s honeybees are Varroa-naïve and don’t carry virulent viruses. There is a known association between Varroa and colonies dying from viruses; however, it is not known what is cause and effect. This project will clarify Varroa’s exact role in the evolution of virulence in RNA viruses. The intended outcome is increased knowledge allowing the design of an effective treatment to prevent the death of honeybee colonies.Read moreRead less
A stitch in time: evidence-based strategy to keep platypus from extinction. This project aims to assess the status of the iconic platypus, identified as ‘near-threatened’ in 2014. The project’s multidisciplinary approach plans to compare regulated and unregulated rivers to investigate metapopulation structure (via physical and genetic tagging), current condition and future adaptability of the species, as well as other threats and habitat quality. The project also links vulnerability of platypus ....A stitch in time: evidence-based strategy to keep platypus from extinction. This project aims to assess the status of the iconic platypus, identified as ‘near-threatened’ in 2014. The project’s multidisciplinary approach plans to compare regulated and unregulated rivers to investigate metapopulation structure (via physical and genetic tagging), current condition and future adaptability of the species, as well as other threats and habitat quality. The project also links vulnerability of platypus populations to conservation actions that reduce extinction risk, through rigorous decision analyses. It is anticipated that the project will deliver implementable conservation actions at relevant scales.Read moreRead less
An elemental hypothesis for sub-tropical refugia in reef corals. This project aims to discover the underlying traits that permit Australian reef corals to live near the edges of their ranges in relatively cool water. As ocean temperatures warm, novel communities are expected to develop in high latitude ecosystems, which might become important as thermal refugia for low latitude coral reefs. The project aims to test the role of elemental composition (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) in coral host ....An elemental hypothesis for sub-tropical refugia in reef corals. This project aims to discover the underlying traits that permit Australian reef corals to live near the edges of their ranges in relatively cool water. As ocean temperatures warm, novel communities are expected to develop in high latitude ecosystems, which might become important as thermal refugia for low latitude coral reefs. The project aims to test the role of elemental composition (carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus) in coral host and symbiont response to changing water temperature along a latitudinal gradient. The intended outcome of the project is to provide knowledge to support predictions of likely species migrations from tropical to subtropical waters, enabling managers to anticipate the future response of coral communities to seawater warming.Read moreRead less
Does mate choice play a role in the fertilization ecology of free-spawners? Botanists have long recognised the consequences of differential compatibility between mates for breeding programs and agriculture. In important aquaculture species such as abalone and sea-urchins, similar variation in mate compatibility has been observed but current theory struggles to explain this variation and its consequences. I have identified a new explanation for this variation and will test this explanation using ....Does mate choice play a role in the fertilization ecology of free-spawners? Botanists have long recognised the consequences of differential compatibility between mates for breeding programs and agriculture. In important aquaculture species such as abalone and sea-urchins, similar variation in mate compatibility has been observed but current theory struggles to explain this variation and its consequences. I have identified a new explanation for this variation and will test this explanation using a marine invertebrate that is a model system for study around the world. A positive result offers promise of explaining how females 'select' mates in free-spawning species and explaining the consequence of this mate selection.Read moreRead less
Population fluctuations: models, mechanisms and management. Changes in plant populations lead to extinctions and invasions in Australia and globally. The project will determine the drivers of plant population change and provide new tools to enable better population management.
Orientation in the pelagic environment: how do larval marine fish find their way home? This study will determine what senses tiny fish larvae use to orientate in the ocean and to influence where currents disperse them. Because larval dispersal determines the spatial extent of fish populations, this knowledge is important for management of marine fisheries and the design and operation of marine parks.
ARC Australia-New Zealand Research Network for Vegetation Function. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits, and in their relations to climate, soils and geography. Global generalizations are emerging. Vegetation Function network will reach from plant function into genomics and crop breeding, into palaeoecology and vegetation history, into landscape management for carbon, water and salinity outcomes, into forecasting future ecosystems under global change, and into phylogeny, ....ARC Australia-New Zealand Research Network for Vegetation Function. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits, and in their relations to climate, soils and geography. Global generalizations are emerging. Vegetation Function network will reach from plant function into genomics and crop breeding, into palaeoecology and vegetation history, into landscape management for carbon, water and salinity outcomes, into forecasting future ecosystems under global change, and into phylogeny, ecoinformatics and evolutionary theory. Across this span, working groups will target nine identified opportunities for breakthrough research. Each research target needs input from two or more disciplines. Together, the nine targets link across disciplines, as a network that spans from genomic to planetary scales.Read moreRead less