The bipolarity of Late Palaeozoic marine faunal distributions: origin, processes and implications for modern global marine biogeography. The fossil record of 'deep-time' ecological processes provides the only tangible tool and material to probe into the dynamics of past biotic responses to global environmental perturbations at a temporal scale extending well beyond the human impact. It is in this context that the project is linked to the National Research Priority Goal 1.5 (Australia's biodivers ....The bipolarity of Late Palaeozoic marine faunal distributions: origin, processes and implications for modern global marine biogeography. The fossil record of 'deep-time' ecological processes provides the only tangible tool and material to probe into the dynamics of past biotic responses to global environmental perturbations at a temporal scale extending well beyond the human impact. It is in this context that the project is linked to the National Research Priority Goal 1.5 (Australia's biodiversity), Goal 1.7 (climate change and variability) and Goal 3.1 (breakthrough new knowledge). In addition, the project will enhance Australia's global research profile through multinational and multidisciplinary research collaborations, and, importantly, also provide a crucial training opportunity for the next generation of Australian palaeobiologists.Read moreRead less
Was there an unusual environment with equally remarkable inhabitants in Early Cretaceous southeast Australia? After more than two decades of effort, there is strong evidence that Early Cretaceous southeastern Australia was inhabited by a remarkably diverse polar terrestrial vertebrate fauna adapted to the coldest environment known to have existed anywhere in the late Mesozoic. In this unusual terrestrial habitat for that time, temnospondyl amphibians and allosaurid dinosaurs survived long ....Was there an unusual environment with equally remarkable inhabitants in Early Cretaceous southeast Australia? After more than two decades of effort, there is strong evidence that Early Cretaceous southeastern Australia was inhabited by a remarkably diverse polar terrestrial vertebrate fauna adapted to the coldest environment known to have existed anywhere in the late Mesozoic. In this unusual terrestrial habitat for that time, temnospondyl amphibians and allosaurid dinosaurs survived long after becoming extinct elsewhere. Here, too, are found what may be the oldest known and yet remarkably advanced placental mammals, the group to which we belong. To further corroborate or refute these hypotheses, some of which are highly contentious, is the aim of this project.Read moreRead less
Old brains, new data - early evolution of structural complexity in the vertebrate head. Of the all the complex structures biology has provided, the evolution of the vertebrate brain and its sensory organs is perhaps the most enigmatic. The fossil record occasionally provides a chance to trace this evolution, but only with the use of novel X-ray scanning techniques can these secrets be detailed in three dimensions. Exploiting the exceptional fossil record from Australia and China, this team will ....Old brains, new data - early evolution of structural complexity in the vertebrate head. Of the all the complex structures biology has provided, the evolution of the vertebrate brain and its sensory organs is perhaps the most enigmatic. The fossil record occasionally provides a chance to trace this evolution, but only with the use of novel X-ray scanning techniques can these secrets be detailed in three dimensions. Exploiting the exceptional fossil record from Australia and China, this team will for the first time collect a vast comparative data base which will yield clues on the early evolution of the ear, eye and brain. Read moreRead less
Origin of jaws - the greatest unsolved mystery of early vertebrate evolution. The 2008 discovery of an unborn embryo in the 380 million-year-old "Mother Fish" from the famous Gogo fossil deposit in NW Australia has attracted a collaboration of Australian, American and Chinese scientists to a new international collaboration. The team will study spectacular new fossils from central Australia and southern China, the oldest known back-boned animals with jaws and a hard skeleton. Innovative 3D X-ray ....Origin of jaws - the greatest unsolved mystery of early vertebrate evolution. The 2008 discovery of an unborn embryo in the 380 million-year-old "Mother Fish" from the famous Gogo fossil deposit in NW Australia has attracted a collaboration of Australian, American and Chinese scientists to a new international collaboration. The team will study spectacular new fossils from central Australia and southern China, the oldest known back-boned animals with jaws and a hard skeleton. Innovative 3D X-ray computer tomography, and the Australian synchrotron, will be used to investigate ancient cells and preserved soft tissue structures, to search for evidence that copulation and internal fertilization, as in modern mammals, might have originated when jaws first evolved. Read moreRead less
Unravelling the last great Gondwanan mystery: the first land vertebrate fauna from the Tertiary of New Zealand. This project will dramatically increase knowledge about Australia's and New Zealand's shared biodiversity and the history of trans-Tasman dispersals. By comparing Australian and New Zealand fossil records, it will be possible to assess the speed at which evolving vertebrates of one landmass invade another, as well as the biotic consequences of such events, and provide data important fo ....Unravelling the last great Gondwanan mystery: the first land vertebrate fauna from the Tertiary of New Zealand. This project will dramatically increase knowledge about Australia's and New Zealand's shared biodiversity and the history of trans-Tasman dispersals. By comparing Australian and New Zealand fossil records, it will be possible to assess the speed at which evolving vertebrates of one landmass invade another, as well as the biotic consequences of such events, and provide data important for predicting and responding to future potentially-damaging events of this kind. Developing understanding about the timing and intensity of antipodean faunal response to past climate change will improve ability to anticipate and manage processes that threaten ecosystem resilience in both lands.Read moreRead less
Predicting Biodiversity from Population Dynamics. This research aims to deepen our understanding of how changes to the environment, including those attributable to human activities, influence the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that generate and maintain biodiversity. This understanding is of urgent importance, in light of the predicted changes in climate and habitat over the next century, because biodiversity is critical to the proper functioning of ecosystems that human societies depend ....Predicting Biodiversity from Population Dynamics. This research aims to deepen our understanding of how changes to the environment, including those attributable to human activities, influence the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that generate and maintain biodiversity. This understanding is of urgent importance, in light of the predicted changes in climate and habitat over the next century, because biodiversity is critical to the proper functioning of ecosystems that human societies depend upon. The graduate student involved in this research will have the opportunity to receive in-depth training as part of a cross-disciplinary collaboration that combines mathematics, ecology, evolution, and paleontology.
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