ARC Australia-New Zealand Research Network for Vegetation Function. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits, and in their relations to climate, soils and geography. Global generalizations are emerging. Vegetation Function network will reach from plant function into genomics and crop breeding, into palaeoecology and vegetation history, into landscape management for carbon, water and salinity outcomes, into forecasting future ecosystems under global change, and into phylogeny, ....ARC Australia-New Zealand Research Network for Vegetation Function. Plant species vary widely in quantitative functional traits, and in their relations to climate, soils and geography. Global generalizations are emerging. Vegetation Function network will reach from plant function into genomics and crop breeding, into palaeoecology and vegetation history, into landscape management for carbon, water and salinity outcomes, into forecasting future ecosystems under global change, and into phylogeny, ecoinformatics and evolutionary theory. Across this span, working groups will target nine identified opportunities for breakthrough research. Each research target needs input from two or more disciplines. Together, the nine targets link across disciplines, as a network that spans from genomic to planetary scales.Read moreRead less
Conservation biology of the largest Australian freshwater tortoise, the broad-shelled tortoise, Chelodina expansa - rare and endangered or cryptic and secure? The Murray is a highly managed river, with flows controlled by catchments and diversions. The combined impacts of water resource development, habitat modification and introduced species are astonishingly diverse, and include extinctions of some fish and invertebrates and depression of populations of many other species. Australia's largest ....Conservation biology of the largest Australian freshwater tortoise, the broad-shelled tortoise, Chelodina expansa - rare and endangered or cryptic and secure? The Murray is a highly managed river, with flows controlled by catchments and diversions. The combined impacts of water resource development, habitat modification and introduced species are astonishingly diverse, and include extinctions of some fish and invertebrates and depression of populations of many other species. Australia's largest chelid turtle, the broad-shelled turtle, is a high-level consumer thought to be particularly sensitive to these changes. We will use an innovative combination of non-destructive technologies to investigate the conservation biology of this species in the Lower Murray, where it is regarded as rare and where its biology is virtually unknown to inform conservation management and restoration initiativesRead moreRead less
The evolution of egg retention and sex allocation: a phylogenetic contrasts study using facultatively ovoviviparous thrips. Australian idolothripine thrips provide an unparalleled opportunity for investigating the evolution of reproduction. They constitute the only group to contain many species in which the females choose among live birth, egg laying or both. They also choose the sex of each offspring. We will use phylogenetics and experimentation to understand the evolutionary pressures that le ....The evolution of egg retention and sex allocation: a phylogenetic contrasts study using facultatively ovoviviparous thrips. Australian idolothripine thrips provide an unparalleled opportunity for investigating the evolution of reproduction. They constitute the only group to contain many species in which the females choose among live birth, egg laying or both. They also choose the sex of each offspring. We will use phylogenetics and experimentation to understand the evolutionary pressures that led to and maintain live birth and the allocation of sex. This will produce new insights into fundamental questions about the evolution of animal reproduction. Our collaborative approach will make Australian thrips and research an international cornerstone in the biology of reproductive evolution.Read moreRead less