Islands of rocks: geckos as a model system to understand patterns of biodiversity, endemism and speciation in the Kimberley. Australia is renowned for its diversity of lizards, yet a plethora of new "cryptic" gecko species continue to be discovered. The project will densely sample the complex Kimberley to understand the evolution of its geckos, which will shed light on true levels of species diversity and the geological and environmental history of this biodiversity hotspot.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130101567
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$374,848.00
Summary
Skulls as machines: diversity and evolution in a group of charismatic Australian lizards. This project uses sophisticated computer software to analyse how the complex skulls of dragon lizards work. This will provide a greater understanding of the factors underlying their evolution and radiation in Australia where they are one of the most successful lizard groups and a vital part of the desert fauna.
Phylogenomic assessment of conservation priorities in two biodiversity hotspots: the Pilbara and the Kimberley. This project applies new sequencing and analytical methods to measure how much unique genetic diversity is represented in current and planned reserves across two biodiversity hotspots – the Pilbara and Kimberley of north-west Australia. It combines university, museum and conservation agency researchers to improve ongoing conservation planning.
Phenotypic plasticity and plant water use in a changing climate: a multi-species, multi-site investigation. Plants are highly responsive to the conditions under which they grow, but the combination of conditions they experience will be altered under climate change. This research into plant responses to the novel environments posed by climate change will examine plasticity in water-use-traits to better predict native plant tolerance of climate change.
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE160100614
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$363,612.00
Summary
Evolutionary genomics and origin of the molluscan biomineralisation toolkit. The project aims to use new genomes from understudied lineages of Mollusca to identify the genes involved in shell formation (biomineralisation) and infer their function and evolutionary history. The ability of molluscs to biofabricate intricate and robust skeletal structures from sea water is encoded in their genomes. Understanding the ancestral biomineralisation toolkit is of great interest to materials science, which ....Evolutionary genomics and origin of the molluscan biomineralisation toolkit. The project aims to use new genomes from understudied lineages of Mollusca to identify the genes involved in shell formation (biomineralisation) and infer their function and evolutionary history. The ability of molluscs to biofabricate intricate and robust skeletal structures from sea water is encoded in their genomes. Understanding the ancestral biomineralisation toolkit is of great interest to materials science, which seeks to replicate molluscan biomineralisation in vitro for biomedical and other applications. Understanding the toolkit is an important first step toward synthetic biology techniques to 'print' structures like bones in vitro. Moreover, new genomic resources from molluscs will be of interest to researchers in numerous fields.Read moreRead less
Resolving insect evolution. Our poor understanding of the evolution of insects, life’s most successful group, is a huge gap in our knowledge of nature. By analysing genomic data the project will resolve the insect evolutionary tree and discover what drove insect evolution. This will expand our knowledge of how evolution works - a vital part of conserving our biological diversity.
To eat or not to eat? How symbiotic bacteria manipulate the phagocytic behaviour of their eukaryotic host. Bacteria often live in close association with eukaryotic cells, ranging from simple amoeba to humans. This project will identify key factors that control their interactions and will yield important information on the evolution of beneficial or harmful relationships.
Evolution of Australia's globally unique hotspot of floral diversity. Australia has a globally recognised biodiversity hotspot, the southwest of Western Australia, but this unique eucalypt-dominated flora is threatened. This project will gain new insights into the evolutionary processes that generate and maintain such diversity, their vulnerability; and how the iconic eucalypts came to dominate the Australian landscape.
New approaches to understanding the forces driving convergent evolution. This project aims to address the evolutionary biology question of what drives convergent evolution of morphological phenotypes. Leveraging previous research on the phylogenetics of Australian reptiles and amphibians, the project will apply new methodological and analytical tools for quantifying and evaluating morphological diversity in a phylogenetic context. The project expects to test the influence of climate, habitat and ....New approaches to understanding the forces driving convergent evolution. This project aims to address the evolutionary biology question of what drives convergent evolution of morphological phenotypes. Leveraging previous research on the phylogenetics of Australian reptiles and amphibians, the project will apply new methodological and analytical tools for quantifying and evaluating morphological diversity in a phylogenetic context. The project expects to test the influence of climate, habitat and evolutionary history on driving convergent morphological evolution across multiple independent animal groups. The project will address fundamental theories on convergent evolution and will improve public awareness of Australia’s unique animals and their history.Read moreRead less
Phenotypic diversity dynamics at a continental scale. This project aims to build on previous research on the phylogenetics of Australian vertebrate animals to apply sophisticated new methodological and analytical tools for modelling species diversification. Australia is famous for the great diversity and uniqueness of its plants and animals, due in part to 40 million years of relative isolation. The project plans to test the influence of historical climate and habitat shifts on morphological evo ....Phenotypic diversity dynamics at a continental scale. This project aims to build on previous research on the phylogenetics of Australian vertebrate animals to apply sophisticated new methodological and analytical tools for modelling species diversification. Australia is famous for the great diversity and uniqueness of its plants and animals, due in part to 40 million years of relative isolation. The project plans to test the influence of historical climate and habitat shifts on morphological evolution and assembly of the Australian biota. This project could showcase Australia as the best place in the World to rigorously test hypotheses concerning rates of biological diversification at a continental scale.Read moreRead less