Predicting genetic exchange between species under climate change. This project aims to resolve the factors that lead to the mixing of species’ gene pools, with a focus on whether climate change will increase such mixing, possibly leading to extinction by genetic swamping.
The significance is that the project would improve our understanding of speciation and species’ vulnerability to rapid climate change through genetic mixing; a largely overlooked process.
Key outcomes would be to generate new k ....Predicting genetic exchange between species under climate change. This project aims to resolve the factors that lead to the mixing of species’ gene pools, with a focus on whether climate change will increase such mixing, possibly leading to extinction by genetic swamping.
The significance is that the project would improve our understanding of speciation and species’ vulnerability to rapid climate change through genetic mixing; a largely overlooked process.
Key outcomes would be to generate new knowledge of a fundamental evolutionary process and extend the toolbox of biodiversity managers facing rapid environmental change.
The project would benefit Australia by highlighting our unique biodiversity and scientific capability, and by training early career researchers in advanced evolutionary biology.Read moreRead less
The Impact of Water Stress on Early Humans in the Kalahari Desert. This project aims to understand the impacts of water stressed environments for early modern human behaviour through state-of-the-art excavation techniques and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction at two new archaeological sites in the Kalahari. How humans mitigated water stress during a major technological transition is significant because adaptability to arid environments was crucial for humans expanding beyond Africa and into Aus ....The Impact of Water Stress on Early Humans in the Kalahari Desert. This project aims to understand the impacts of water stressed environments for early modern human behaviour through state-of-the-art excavation techniques and palaeoenvironmental reconstruction at two new archaeological sites in the Kalahari. How humans mitigated water stress during a major technological transition is significant because adaptability to arid environments was crucial for humans expanding beyond Africa and into Australia. The expected outcome of this project is creation of new knowledge on the origins of human resilience to water stress. The benefit lies in the potential to gain insights into meeting future climate challenges by exploring the adaptive strategies developed by early modern humans in the southern Kalahari.Read moreRead less
Wild eco-evolutionary dynamics: the decline of an iconic Australian bird. This project aims to dissect the ecological and evolutionary processes causing a decline in an iconic Australian bird species. Studies that can properly test explanations for declines in wild populations are rare. This project aims to test how environmental and genetic processes shape individual traits, how these traits determine fitness and how changes in individual fitness affect population dynamics. The project expects ....Wild eco-evolutionary dynamics: the decline of an iconic Australian bird. This project aims to dissect the ecological and evolutionary processes causing a decline in an iconic Australian bird species. Studies that can properly test explanations for declines in wild populations are rare. This project aims to test how environmental and genetic processes shape individual traits, how these traits determine fitness and how changes in individual fitness affect population dynamics. The project expects to provide essential information for the improved management of Australian bird populations, and for understanding the effects of environmental change on natural systems globally.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE190100160
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$410,175.00
Summary
The environment and human origins in the Kalahari, South Africa. This project aims to test and expand on existing understandings of early modern human origins and human-environment interaction. South Africa has a rich archaeological record documenting the origins of our species. However, current research is biased toward coastal rockshelter sites. This project will expand the narrative of modern human origins away from the coast to investigate the distribution and success of early modern humans ....The environment and human origins in the Kalahari, South Africa. This project aims to test and expand on existing understandings of early modern human origins and human-environment interaction. South Africa has a rich archaeological record documenting the origins of our species. However, current research is biased toward coastal rockshelter sites. This project will expand the narrative of modern human origins away from the coast to investigate the distribution and success of early modern humans in the deep interior of the country. Through the excavation and dating of newly discovered deposits at Gamohana Hill North Rockshelter, archaeological materials analysis, and local studies of palaeohydrology, this study will generate a new record of early human-environment interaction. Its methods will inform the study of comparable sites in Australia.Read moreRead less