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
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 cooperative breeding in birds. The incidence of cooperative breeding in birds varies from 0 to 100% between families of birds, and from <1 to >25% among birds from different regions. However, there has been no theory that successfully predicts these differences. Recent comparative analysis shows the differences result largely from the early evolution of obligate cooperative breeding in some groups, and their subsequent slow rates of speciation. I will use model systems to investiga ....Evolution of cooperative breeding in birds. The incidence of cooperative breeding in birds varies from 0 to 100% between families of birds, and from <1 to >25% among birds from different regions. However, there has been no theory that successfully predicts these differences. Recent comparative analysis shows the differences result largely from the early evolution of obligate cooperative breeding in some groups, and their subsequent slow rates of speciation. I will use model systems to investigate how birds can become committed to cooperative breeding despite the inevitable conflicts, and how one group of birds have been freed from the general rules governing the evolution of sociality.Read moreRead less
A framework linking tree species coexistence, zonation and patterns of species richness in forests. Our curiosity-driven proposal capitalizes on a superb opportunity afforded by the occurrence of forest vegetation across a wide range of climates and soils in eastern Australia, an ideal setting for testing ideas about how environment shapes plant evolution as well as forest structure and dynamics. This research will contribute to international interchange of ideas by promoting interaction with co ....A framework linking tree species coexistence, zonation and patterns of species richness in forests. Our curiosity-driven proposal capitalizes on a superb opportunity afforded by the occurrence of forest vegetation across a wide range of climates and soils in eastern Australia, an ideal setting for testing ideas about how environment shapes plant evolution as well as forest structure and dynamics. This research will contribute to international interchange of ideas by promoting interaction with collaborators in New Zealand, and will generate a series of publications in high-impact international journals. We will help Australians better understand the forces that shape patterns of woody vegetation across local landscapes, and our carbon-balance framework may shed light on the causes of rarity of some tree species with conservation problems.Read moreRead less
Why do females mate with multiple partners? Tests of key hypotheses in the wild. Female animals commonly mate with several males at each reproductive cycle, but we do not know why. Six plausible, testable hypotheses have been proposed to explain how females could benefit directly, or by obtaining advantageous genes for their offspring. The few empirical investigations so far carried out have been in captivity and have not considered all alternative explanations. I propose to experimentally test ....Why do females mate with multiple partners? Tests of key hypotheses in the wild. Female animals commonly mate with several males at each reproductive cycle, but we do not know why. Six plausible, testable hypotheses have been proposed to explain how females could benefit directly, or by obtaining advantageous genes for their offspring. The few empirical investigations so far carried out have been in captivity and have not considered all alternative explanations. I propose to experimentally test the key hypotheses in the wild, using a small mammal uniquely-suited to this purpose because of its unusual, but well-known reproductive strategy. The results will improve our understanding of the role of female behaviour in evolutionary processes.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE150101625
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$385,536.00
Summary
The evolutionary significance of ejaculate-female interactions. The way that ejaculates interact with the female reproductive tract is thought to have profound evolutionary implications in internal fertilizers. Yet we currently lack clear insights into these processes in most taxa, precisely because such ejaculate-female interactions are hidden from view inside the female's reproductive tract. In this project an integrated series of experiments on a model vertebrate (the guppy) will overcome the ....The evolutionary significance of ejaculate-female interactions. The way that ejaculates interact with the female reproductive tract is thought to have profound evolutionary implications in internal fertilizers. Yet we currently lack clear insights into these processes in most taxa, precisely because such ejaculate-female interactions are hidden from view inside the female's reproductive tract. In this project an integrated series of experiments on a model vertebrate (the guppy) will overcome the inherent challenges in studying ejaculate-female interactions. The project aims to shed new light on the role that ejaculate-female interactions play in sperm competition, and will explore the consequences of these interactions at different evolutionary levels and across varying social environments.Read moreRead less