Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE130100467
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$374,823.00
Summary
Limbs and wings: reconstructing Australian environmental change through innovative analysis of ancient mammal skeletons. An animal's skeleton is the product of a complex relationship between its habits, habitat and evolutionary history. This project uses a vast resource of World Heritage fossil skeletons from Riversleigh to determine how behaviour and ecology of Australia's mammals have changed over the last 25 million years and will need to adapt in the future.
The Eocene high latitude Australasian 'tropics' in a changing climate: resolving conflicting evidence. Between 45 to 30 million years ago, high latitude subtropical floras in Australia and New Zealand experienced significant climate change, leading to the evolution of present day vegetation. Understanding the effects of this climate change on extinction and speciation will produce more accurate predictions about modern floras when faced with climate change.
Testing our knowledge on the dawn of animal life: evidence from the fossil record against modern ecological and morphological analogues. The Cambrian 'Explosion', half a billion years ago, is regarded as one of the most important events in the history of the Earth, when most major animal groups first appear in the rock record, and for which South Australia has recently become a significant source of spectacular fossils. However, important questions remain regarding their Ediacaran roots, the spe ....Testing our knowledge on the dawn of animal life: evidence from the fossil record against modern ecological and morphological analogues. The Cambrian 'Explosion', half a billion years ago, is regarded as one of the most important events in the history of the Earth, when most major animal groups first appear in the rock record, and for which South Australia has recently become a significant source of spectacular fossils. However, important questions remain regarding their Ediacaran roots, the speed of evolution at the time, and the environments in which the radiation took place. Studying the fossil evidence in the light of present-day ecological frameworks, and in comparison with modern behavioural and morphological analogues, as well as living relatives, can help us better assess our understanding of this first radiation of animals.Read moreRead less
Toward a complete view of life on earth via single cell genomics. Genome sequencing has revolutionised biology, but for most microorganisms this revolution has not arrived because the majority cannot be grown in the laboratory. This project will address this grand challenge by targeted sequencing of single cells from the environment that will fill in many major gaps in the microbial tree of life.
The developmental genetics of major evolutionary transitions: a multidisciplinary investigation of limb reduction and loss in lizards. The five-toed limb is an iconic evolutionary innovation of land vertebrates, yet has been lost repeatedly. This project will use anatomical, developmental and genetic approaches to understand how vertebrates lose their legs, whether limbs can be reacquired, and the degeneration of limb genes after they lose their function (analogous to 'vestigial organs').
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE120100957
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$375,000.00
Summary
Using ancient fossils and new methods to unravel Australian mammal evolution in deep time. This project will explore the evolution of Australia's unique mammal fauna by studying fossil mammals recently discovered at Tingamarra, a 55 million year old fossil site in north-eastern Queensland. In particular, it will help us understand the origin, radiation and diversification of Australia's iconic marsupials.
Science on the continental shelf: securing our deep-sea biodiversity for the future. This project signals the start of exciting new research using manned submersibles to explore and describe the rich biodiversity inhabiting Australia’s deep-sea continental shelf. The outcomes will provide a sound basis for managing these environmental treasures against the pressing need to use the oil and gas reserves that lie under the seabed.
Assessment of past biodiversity through DNA preserved in bulk bone. This project aims to make a unique study of fossils to determine how the composition and biodiversity of ecosystems have changed in response to anthropogenic influences. Fossil bones provide a window through which to study past environments and how they have changed, and the stories these fossils tell can be further enhanced by ancient DNA analyses. This project plans to use bulk bone metabarcoding where hundreds of low-value (f ....Assessment of past biodiversity through DNA preserved in bulk bone. This project aims to make a unique study of fossils to determine how the composition and biodiversity of ecosystems have changed in response to anthropogenic influences. Fossil bones provide a window through which to study past environments and how they have changed, and the stories these fossils tell can be further enhanced by ancient DNA analyses. This project plans to use bulk bone metabarcoding where hundreds of low-value (fragmented) bones are collectively ground together to provide a cost-effective genetic audit of fossil assemblages. Working on bone from across Oceania and south-east Asia, this project aims to provide a historical perspective on biodiversity. Understanding former ecosystem composition and extinction may facilitate effective restoration and conservation initiatives.Read moreRead less
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: DE180100629
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$365,058.00
Summary
Evolutionary impacts of climate change in Australia’s fossil record. This project aims to identify evolutionary responses to climate change in Australia's fossil record by comparing variation in lizard and frog communities across geological time. Using X-ray techniques on museum specimens, this project will generate a large-scale database for tracking evolutionary shifts in relation to historical climatic events. Expected outcomes include the first anatomical descriptions for many species, filli ....Evolutionary impacts of climate change in Australia’s fossil record. This project aims to identify evolutionary responses to climate change in Australia's fossil record by comparing variation in lizard and frog communities across geological time. Using X-ray techniques on museum specimens, this project will generate a large-scale database for tracking evolutionary shifts in relation to historical climatic events. Expected outcomes include the first anatomical descriptions for many species, filling major gaps in our ability to place fossils in a contemporary framework. This research will demonstrate the value of our national collections for addressing important environmental issues, such as biodiversity, extinction, and future habitat change.Read moreRead less