Avian embryonic perception: what role for good vibrations? It has long been recognised that animals perceive environmental information before they are born. This project will test for the first time whether such avian communication systems rely on vibrations. We will test the hypothesis that cryptic communication using rhythmic vibration, is essential for embryonic birds to sense parental cues regarding rising temperatures, by measuring neural control in adults, as well as embryonic perception a ....Avian embryonic perception: what role for good vibrations? It has long been recognised that animals perceive environmental information before they are born. This project will test for the first time whether such avian communication systems rely on vibrations. We will test the hypothesis that cryptic communication using rhythmic vibration, is essential for embryonic birds to sense parental cues regarding rising temperatures, by measuring neural control in adults, as well as embryonic perception and response. By experimentally manipulating family communication we will demonstrate the potential for prenatal vibrations to alter developmental outcomes, enriching our understanding of avian sensory development.These data are important for the commercial poultry industry and for captive breeding programs. Read moreRead less
Decoding the geochemical record of early human fossils. This project aims to reconstruct the infanthood records of early hominin species in South Africa, using cutting-edge geochemical imaging of fossil teeth. The research is at the forefront of human evolution and will transform our understanding of hominin adaptations to their ecological niches. The project will shine light on adaptive strategies of early Homo which allowed our genus to outcompete other hominin species at a time of climate var ....Decoding the geochemical record of early human fossils. This project aims to reconstruct the infanthood records of early hominin species in South Africa, using cutting-edge geochemical imaging of fossil teeth. The research is at the forefront of human evolution and will transform our understanding of hominin adaptations to their ecological niches. The project will shine light on adaptive strategies of early Homo which allowed our genus to outcompete other hominin species at a time of climate variability. The results will pioneer new analytical approaches to extract early-childhood geochemical archives such as breastfeeding behaviour, diet, seasonality and physiological adaptations of each species and thereby gain novel perspectives on the environmental conditions of our ancestors.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100087
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$411,567.00
Summary
Illuminating the function and evolution of iridescence. This project seeks to reveal how dynamic colour signals enable effective communication by connecting the production, transmission, and perception of visual information through space and time. By integrating innovative analyses of behaviour, physiology, and optics, it will offer original insight into how information is encoded and fluidly exchanged under real-world conditions, and produce new tools for interrogating the subjective visual wor ....Illuminating the function and evolution of iridescence. This project seeks to reveal how dynamic colour signals enable effective communication by connecting the production, transmission, and perception of visual information through space and time. By integrating innovative analyses of behaviour, physiology, and optics, it will offer original insight into how information is encoded and fluidly exchanged under real-world conditions, and produce new tools for interrogating the subjective visual world of animals. This work promises benefits to our understanding of how the universal process of communication drives adaptation amidst environmental change, with significant scope for bio-inspired solutions to contemporary problems of vision and efficient information processing, including among humans.Read moreRead less
The mobilome of the anaerobic methanotrophic archaea Methanoperedenaceae. Microorganisms play a critical role in regulating Earth’s climate, but how they are affected by our rapidly changing environment is not well understood. This Discovery project will study a group of microorganisms found in freshwater sediment that can consume the potent greenhouse gas methane before it is released into the atmosphere. We have developed new methods to investigate how genetic material is exchanged between mic ....The mobilome of the anaerobic methanotrophic archaea Methanoperedenaceae. Microorganisms play a critical role in regulating Earth’s climate, but how they are affected by our rapidly changing environment is not well understood. This Discovery project will study a group of microorganisms found in freshwater sediment that can consume the potent greenhouse gas methane before it is released into the atmosphere. We have developed new methods to investigate how genetic material is exchanged between microorganisms, and how this helps them adapt to environmental changes. Together, this will ultimately help us develop better climate change prediction models and contribute to our understanding of microbial communities that are crucial for environmental health.Read moreRead less
Sumatra’s role in ancient human movements and evolution. This project aims to test whether humans moving through Southeast Asia used a savannah corridor, facilitating their migrations into Sumatra and Java, and examine the effect of rainforests on human movements and evolution. This will be accomplished by examining ecological proxies from vertebrate remains found in established and newly identified fossil sites in Sumatra. These results are expected to provide a new understanding of the environ ....Sumatra’s role in ancient human movements and evolution. This project aims to test whether humans moving through Southeast Asia used a savannah corridor, facilitating their migrations into Sumatra and Java, and examine the effect of rainforests on human movements and evolution. This will be accomplished by examining ecological proxies from vertebrate remains found in established and newly identified fossil sites in Sumatra. These results are expected to provide a new understanding of the environmental context of human evolution in Asia, and identify routes ancient people took as they moved south through Asia and into Australia.Read moreRead less
How are visual gene pathways lost and restored during reptile evolution? This project aims to investigate how complex traits are lost during evolution, and once lost if they can be regained. The project will use the diverse visual systems of snakes and lizards to shed light on the process of gene loss in degenerative lineages, and discover the mechanisms that compensate for gene losses in taxa with secondarily evolved visual capabilities- providing a case of evolutionary re-innovation in complex ....How are visual gene pathways lost and restored during reptile evolution? This project aims to investigate how complex traits are lost during evolution, and once lost if they can be regained. The project will use the diverse visual systems of snakes and lizards to shed light on the process of gene loss in degenerative lineages, and discover the mechanisms that compensate for gene losses in taxa with secondarily evolved visual capabilities- providing a case of evolutionary re-innovation in complex traits.Read moreRead less
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE230100067
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$460,233.00
Summary
Predicting the future threat of mosquitoes under climate change. This project aims to predict the future distributions of local and invasive mosquito species under climate change by testing their ability to adapt to hot, cold and dry environments. The project expects to generate new knowledge by identifying traits that underpin climate change adaptation in mosquitoes. Expected outcomes of this project include an enhanced understanding of future mosquito distributions through new predictive model ....Predicting the future threat of mosquitoes under climate change. This project aims to predict the future distributions of local and invasive mosquito species under climate change by testing their ability to adapt to hot, cold and dry environments. The project expects to generate new knowledge by identifying traits that underpin climate change adaptation in mosquitoes. Expected outcomes of this project include an enhanced understanding of future mosquito distributions through new predictive models that incorporate adaptive changes. This should provide significant social and economic benefits, with outcomes intended to improve the management of local pest mosquitoes and prepare Australia to tackle invasive mosquito threats.Read moreRead less
The mighty ape’s last stand. This project aims to study the fate of primates in southern Asia, where evidence for megafaunal extinction is rare. Why Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest ever primate, disappeared is unknown, while humans in the region survived. This project will model dating techniques across sites to identify a precise extinction window and compare behaviour and past environmental conditions to determine why the ape failed and man persevered. Outcomes will generate a new understa ....The mighty ape’s last stand. This project aims to study the fate of primates in southern Asia, where evidence for megafaunal extinction is rare. Why Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest ever primate, disappeared is unknown, while humans in the region survived. This project will model dating techniques across sites to identify a precise extinction window and compare behaviour and past environmental conditions to determine why the ape failed and man persevered. Outcomes will generate a new understanding of past environmental change as a driver of megafaunal extinction in comparison with human adaption and survival.Read moreRead less
Managing infectious disease through partial wildlife social networks. This project aims to investigate the dynamics of the spread of infectious disease in wildlife, derived from incomplete information about contact networks. Infectious diseases in wildlife are difficult to track and control, because it is not feasible to monitor each individual in a population and know the contact network for a population. The project will create ways to best utilise incomplete observational data of contact netw ....Managing infectious disease through partial wildlife social networks. This project aims to investigate the dynamics of the spread of infectious disease in wildlife, derived from incomplete information about contact networks. Infectious diseases in wildlife are difficult to track and control, because it is not feasible to monitor each individual in a population and know the contact network for a population. The project will create ways to best utilise incomplete observational data of contact networks to develop robust predictions of disease spread and population fate, and to reliably predict the outcomes of management interventions. These robust prediction methods will provide better insights for conservation of Australian wildlife.Read moreRead less
Transitions between modes of sex-determination in a changing world. Sex-determination controls the largest variation within animals—the division into males and females. While the different systems of sex-determination—involving genetic or environmental control—are fairly well understood, transitions between these systems remain enigmatic in evolutionary biology. This project aims to address this gap by revealing the molecular change required to transition between systems, using one of only two k ....Transitions between modes of sex-determination in a changing world. Sex-determination controls the largest variation within animals—the division into males and females. While the different systems of sex-determination—involving genetic or environmental control—are fairly well understood, transitions between these systems remain enigmatic in evolutionary biology. This project aims to address this gap by revealing the molecular change required to transition between systems, using one of only two known lizard species exhibiting both genetic and temperature control of sex. This knowledge will have important implications for species conservation, facilitating predictions of highly biased sex ratios under climate change, plus potential commercial applications for species where production of one sex is favoured.Read moreRead less