Placental nutrient transport shows how complex traits evolve. This project aims to use amino acid transport in the vertebrate placenta as a model to demonstrate how genes are recruited and modified to produce a major organ. Using an innovative combination of a new technology, selected reaction monitoring, and transcriptomic and molecular approaches, plus carefully selected Australian species pairs, this project will study the evolution of a complex trait (placental amino acid transport). The pr ....Placental nutrient transport shows how complex traits evolve. This project aims to use amino acid transport in the vertebrate placenta as a model to demonstrate how genes are recruited and modified to produce a major organ. Using an innovative combination of a new technology, selected reaction monitoring, and transcriptomic and molecular approaches, plus carefully selected Australian species pairs, this project will study the evolution of a complex trait (placental amino acid transport). The project will provide fundamental advances in our knowledge of the nutrient transport during pregnancy that is required to produce a healthy baby.Read moreRead less
Lags and legacies: antecedent effects on grassland biomass response to carbon dioxide. This project aims to assess how past conditions influence grassland responses to the rising atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. High CO2 concentrations should stimulate productivity but in grasslands this is rarely realised because other, mostly unknown, factors constrain the response. By synthesising data from past experiments, this project aims to determine exactly why grasslands fail to realise the ....Lags and legacies: antecedent effects on grassland biomass response to carbon dioxide. This project aims to assess how past conditions influence grassland responses to the rising atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. High CO2 concentrations should stimulate productivity but in grasslands this is rarely realised because other, mostly unknown, factors constrain the response. By synthesising data from past experiments, this project aims to determine exactly why grasslands fail to realise the full productivity benefits of increased CO2 and when this will happen. This should improve predictions of carbon exchange and indicating the best direction for climate change adaptation measures.Read moreRead less
Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. This project aims to develop and apply new methods to scale forest water use from plot to catchment-level, using relationships between plot-level annual evapotranspiration and biophysical and biochemical properties of stands detectable by unmanned aircraft systems and other remote sensing platforms. Australia's water security depends on understanding how changes in forests from disturbance and ....Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. Remotely sensed forest water use in space and time. This project aims to develop and apply new methods to scale forest water use from plot to catchment-level, using relationships between plot-level annual evapotranspiration and biophysical and biochemical properties of stands detectable by unmanned aircraft systems and other remote sensing platforms. Australia's water security depends on understanding how changes in forests from disturbance and climate change influence catchment water yields. This project will estimate water yields over time and space in ungauged catchments with disturbed eucalypt forests. This research is expected to enable more effective risk mitigation and planning for augmentations; improved fire management strategies; and better water management of the Murray Darling Basin.Read moreRead less
Dynamic resilience and stability properties of marine systems: the importance of environment-engineer feedbacks in kelp forests. Kelp forests form complex habitats that support diverse, productive and economically important food-webs. This project will determine whether healthy kelp forests engineer their environment to make conditions more suitable for their continued recruitment and survivorship, thus increasing their stability and resilience in response to anthropogenic threats.
ARC Research Network in Spatially Integrated Social Science. The ARC Research Network in Spatially Integrated Social Science (SISS) builds Australia's capacity and capability for innovative, collaborative, cross-disciplinary effort to investigate the impacts of change on the behaviour and well-being of people and the fortunes of places. SISS theories and research tools permit the integration of diverse and complex databases, the generation of new synthetic datasets, the incorporation of spatial ....ARC Research Network in Spatially Integrated Social Science. The ARC Research Network in Spatially Integrated Social Science (SISS) builds Australia's capacity and capability for innovative, collaborative, cross-disciplinary effort to investigate the impacts of change on the behaviour and well-being of people and the fortunes of places. SISS theories and research tools permit the integration of diverse and complex databases, the generation of new synthetic datasets, the incorporation of spatial concepts into statistical analysis and modelling, powerful visualisation of information, and the building spatial decision support systems, to provide an improved evidence base and better informed decision-making to address the significant challenges facing Australia's people and its places.Read moreRead less
Utilising plant-sediment-feedbacks to enhance seagrass restoration. This project aims to investigate the role of sediment microbes in promoting the health of threatened seagrass species across Australia. This project expects to create new knowledge for enhancing restoration success for seagrasses by integrating macro and micro-ecology, environmental genomics, plant ecology and ecosystem function (e.g. nutrient and biogeochemistry cycling). Expected outcomes are new knowledge to enhance seagrass ....Utilising plant-sediment-feedbacks to enhance seagrass restoration. This project aims to investigate the role of sediment microbes in promoting the health of threatened seagrass species across Australia. This project expects to create new knowledge for enhancing restoration success for seagrasses by integrating macro and micro-ecology, environmental genomics, plant ecology and ecosystem function (e.g. nutrient and biogeochemistry cycling). Expected outcomes are new knowledge to enhance seagrass restoration utilising sediment microbes that can be integrated into management and policy. This project should provide significant benefits, such as the development of key strategic alliances to enhance management of seagrasses, and the ecosystem services, and economic and social benefits they provide.Read moreRead less
Micro-electrofluidic platforms for monitoring 3D human biological models. The ability to study living cells and human biological models (cell cultures) delivers greater understanding of basic biological function and response to applied (bio)chemical stimuli. Creating the physical environments to sustain biological models, and mimic natural conditions and fluidic pathways, is immensely challenging, yet essential to deliver meaningful observational data. This project will deliver this capability t ....Micro-electrofluidic platforms for monitoring 3D human biological models. The ability to study living cells and human biological models (cell cultures) delivers greater understanding of basic biological function and response to applied (bio)chemical stimuli. Creating the physical environments to sustain biological models, and mimic natural conditions and fluidic pathways, is immensely challenging, yet essential to deliver meaningful observational data. This project will deliver this capability through the convergence of expertise and innovation in analytical chemistry, materials science and cellular biology, ultilising the latest technology and understanding of 3D micro/electrofluidics, to enable the study and stimulation of advanced biological models, sustained within precisely controlled 3D micro-environments.Read moreRead less
ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) will create next generation electrochemical devices via the precision assembly of nano/micro dimensional components into macroscopic structures. Through the discovery of new materials and structures, and understanding how spatial arrangement in 3D influences chemical, physical and biological properties, ACES will define the cutting edge of Electromaterials Science. The resultin ....ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science. The ARC Centre of Excellence for Electromaterials Science (ACES) will create next generation electrochemical devices via the precision assembly of nano/micro dimensional components into macroscopic structures. Through the discovery of new materials and structures, and understanding how spatial arrangement in 3D influences chemical, physical and biological properties, ACES will define the cutting edge of Electromaterials Science. The resulting technology breakthroughs will have a direct impact on some of today's most challenging global problems in clean energy, synthetic biosystems, diagnostics and soft robotics. National benefit to Australia will be realised through the creation of new manufacturing industries.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR120200004
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$30,000,000.00
Summary
Australian Synchrotron Access Program. The Australian Synchrotron epitomises scientific research excellence in Australian and New Zealand. Its impact spans nearly every research sector. This proposal brings together over 30 Australian universities working together to ensure that world-class peer-reviewed science continues to be performed at the Australian Synchrotron.
Understanding the mechanisms underpinning complex sociality. This project aims to investigate the mechanisms underlying the formation of complex social systems in vertebrates. Our understanding of these mechanisms is strongly biased towards a few model systems. We have identified a novel Australian model system with a wide range of sociality for this purpose. This project expects to generate new knowledge on how the social environment interacts with the brain during social organisation. Expected ....Understanding the mechanisms underpinning complex sociality. This project aims to investigate the mechanisms underlying the formation of complex social systems in vertebrates. Our understanding of these mechanisms is strongly biased towards a few model systems. We have identified a novel Australian model system with a wide range of sociality for this purpose. This project expects to generate new knowledge on how the social environment interacts with the brain during social organisation. Expected outcomes include the refinement of social theory and capacity building via international collaboration and postgraduate training. This work will provide significant benefits by increasing our understanding of how the brain and social environment interact to moderate aggression and enhance social associations.Read moreRead less