Ocean currents and genetic connectedness in a complex archipelago. To what extent are marine coastal communities ?open?, i.e. how often do the oceans carry larvae far from their point of spawning, and what influence does such ocean transport have on the spread of genetic information? These are some of the most fundamental questions of biological oceanography; the project will provide new answers by using an extremely detailed genetic data set from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands off Western Austra ....Ocean currents and genetic connectedness in a complex archipelago. To what extent are marine coastal communities ?open?, i.e. how often do the oceans carry larvae far from their point of spawning, and what influence does such ocean transport have on the spread of genetic information? These are some of the most fundamental questions of biological oceanography; the project will provide new answers by using an extremely detailed genetic data set from the Houtman Abrolhos Islands off Western Australian together with an advanced numerical ocean model especially suited to that environment and developed in Australia.Read moreRead less
Chemical warfare at small scales: does eukaryotic chemical defense theory fit biofilms? The ecology of bacteria has long been treated separately from the ecology of higher organisms. Thus we do not know whether the ecology of bacteria operates by the same general rules as those of plants and animals. This significantly diminishes our understanding of the natural world, and our capacity to manage our environment. In this project we will systematically test ecological defense theories in bacterial ....Chemical warfare at small scales: does eukaryotic chemical defense theory fit biofilms? The ecology of bacteria has long been treated separately from the ecology of higher organisms. Thus we do not know whether the ecology of bacteria operates by the same general rules as those of plants and animals. This significantly diminishes our understanding of the natural world, and our capacity to manage our environment. In this project we will systematically test ecological defense theories in bacterial systems. Our aim is to merge our understanding of the ecology of these very different organisms. This integration of plant and animal ecology and environmental microbiology is new for both fields, and thus studies such as this one have the potential to put Australia at the forefront of this exciting new approach to our environment.Read moreRead less
The role of natural selection in macroevolution: a case study examining convergence of form and function in marine predator guilds. Darwin's theory of evolution natural selection is one of the most successful in the history of science and provides the framework for modern biology: however, areas of debate or uncertainty are often misinterpreted by non-scientists as indication of fundamental flaws in the theory. New 'hi-tech' tools provide the opportunity to re-examine these areas, and also to de ....The role of natural selection in macroevolution: a case study examining convergence of form and function in marine predator guilds. Darwin's theory of evolution natural selection is one of the most successful in the history of science and provides the framework for modern biology: however, areas of debate or uncertainty are often misinterpreted by non-scientists as indication of fundamental flaws in the theory. New 'hi-tech' tools provide the opportunity to re-examine these areas, and also to demonstrate the process of science to the public. The new tool is Computational Biomechanics, the future of studying biological form, and this project will further develop the leading role of Australian research in this technology which has applications for palaeontology, environmental management, medical science, and the next generation of engineering using 'biomaterials'.Read moreRead less
Host plant choice by marine herbivores: ecological, genetic and historical constraints. Understanding the factors that determine plant choice by herbivores is crucial to predicting the ecological effects of herbivores on plants and herbivore adaptation to plants. This proposal aims to establish how evolution of host choice by a marine herbivore is constrained by ecological, genetic and historical factors. It will determine how the spatial arrangement of plants modifies host use, and whether evol ....Host plant choice by marine herbivores: ecological, genetic and historical constraints. Understanding the factors that determine plant choice by herbivores is crucial to predicting the ecological effects of herbivores on plants and herbivore adaptation to plants. This proposal aims to establish how evolution of host choice by a marine herbivore is constrained by ecological, genetic and historical factors. It will determine how the spatial arrangement of plants modifies host use, and whether evolutionary change by herbivores is constrained by genetic relationships among herbivore traits. The generality of important evolutionary hypotheses that predict plant choice by herbivores will be tested by extending such theory to new organisms and environments.Read moreRead less
Stress, virulence and bacterial disease in temperate seaweeds: the rise of the microbes. Climate change is predicted to increase the spread and virulence of pathogens, and decrease the resistance to disease via temperature stress on the hosts. Combined with other human impacts (higher nutrients, pollution), we may be facing a major rise in the effect of disease on natural communities. However, these effects are largely unstudied. We will investigate the impact of marine pathogens on kelps and ....Stress, virulence and bacterial disease in temperate seaweeds: the rise of the microbes. Climate change is predicted to increase the spread and virulence of pathogens, and decrease the resistance to disease via temperature stress on the hosts. Combined with other human impacts (higher nutrients, pollution), we may be facing a major rise in the effect of disease on natural communities. However, these effects are largely unstudied. We will investigate the impact of marine pathogens on kelps and other seaweeds when they are stressed by temperature, elevated nutrients or other anthropogenic stressors. Kelp are the 'trees of the oceans', the organisms responsible for creating much of the habitat that fishes and other organisms live in. The loss of kelp forests due to disease would radically change these environments.Read moreRead less
Chemical Defenses Against Microbial Colonisation of Living Marine Surfaces. Microorganisms have a major impact on all ecosystems. Many of these effects are due to the formation of biofilms - cell clusters and their slime matrix - on living and non-living surfaces. Biofilm formation is often regulated by chemical signals. The aim of this project is to understand how naturally produced chemical signals mediate the formation of biofilms on surfaces of marine macroalgae (seaweeds) at both the eco ....Chemical Defenses Against Microbial Colonisation of Living Marine Surfaces. Microorganisms have a major impact on all ecosystems. Many of these effects are due to the formation of biofilms - cell clusters and their slime matrix - on living and non-living surfaces. Biofilm formation is often regulated by chemical signals. The aim of this project is to understand how naturally produced chemical signals mediate the formation of biofilms on surfaces of marine macroalgae (seaweeds) at both the ecological and molecular levels. By understanding colonisation of natural living surfaces, this project will lead directly to significant advances in control of microorganisms in a variety of applied areas (water treatment, biomaterials, antifouling).Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE100100107
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$400,000.00
Summary
Purchase of a multi-purpose Schottky field emission gun scanning electron microscope. Scanning electron microscopy is a basic analytical tool for imaging surfaces of natural and synthetic materials and identification of nanometre-scale features and their compositions. At the University of Tasmania, it supports four of our six designated priority research themes: Antarctic and Marine Studies, Environment, Frontier Technologies, and Sustainable Primary Production. Our research depending on this te ....Purchase of a multi-purpose Schottky field emission gun scanning electron microscope. Scanning electron microscopy is a basic analytical tool for imaging surfaces of natural and synthetic materials and identification of nanometre-scale features and their compositions. At the University of Tasmania, it supports four of our six designated priority research themes: Antarctic and Marine Studies, Environment, Frontier Technologies, and Sustainable Primary Production. Our research depending on this technique includes many fundamental and applied topics from a wide range of disciplines, such as developing portable detection devices for explosives, finding more efficient and sustainable ways to explore for ore, investigating the effects of climate change on marine ecosystems and improving salinity and drought tolerance of crops.Read moreRead less