Impacts of climate change on biogenic habitat-forming seaweeds in south east Australia. Seaweed-based systems on rocky reefs in south east Australia support high levels of biodiversity, endemism and economic activity (fisheries). We will provide important insight into how climate change is likely to affect the key habitat-forming seaweeds in this system, and a first assessment of how other marine species will respond to any shift in abundance of the habitat-forming seaweeds. These predictions ar ....Impacts of climate change on biogenic habitat-forming seaweeds in south east Australia. Seaweed-based systems on rocky reefs in south east Australia support high levels of biodiversity, endemism and economic activity (fisheries). We will provide important insight into how climate change is likely to affect the key habitat-forming seaweeds in this system, and a first assessment of how other marine species will respond to any shift in abundance of the habitat-forming seaweeds. These predictions are critical if human adaptation to effects of climate change are to be proactive and not reactive. We will also test a basic assumption of most bio-climate envelope models that are the basis of many current predictions of the effect of climate change on species distributions. The project will provide the basis for training of two PhD students.Read moreRead less
Lags and legacies: antecedent effects on grassland biomass response to carbon dioxide. This project aims to assess how past conditions influence grassland responses to the rising atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. High CO2 concentrations should stimulate productivity but in grasslands this is rarely realised because other, mostly unknown, factors constrain the response. By synthesising data from past experiments, this project aims to determine exactly why grasslands fail to realise the ....Lags and legacies: antecedent effects on grassland biomass response to carbon dioxide. This project aims to assess how past conditions influence grassland responses to the rising atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. High CO2 concentrations should stimulate productivity but in grasslands this is rarely realised because other, mostly unknown, factors constrain the response. By synthesising data from past experiments, this project aims to determine exactly why grasslands fail to realise the full productivity benefits of increased CO2 and when this will happen. This should improve predictions of carbon exchange and indicating the best direction for climate change adaptation measures.Read moreRead less
Post-invasion trait-mediated indirect interactions: ecological and evolutionary impacts of the invasive European green crab. A multitude of ecological interactions determine the success and impacts of invasive species. We will advance current knowledge of the impacts of invasive European green crabs in Australia by detailing ecological and evolutionary interactions with native molluscs. This information will be useful in understanding the crab's invasion success and impacts on native communiti ....Post-invasion trait-mediated indirect interactions: ecological and evolutionary impacts of the invasive European green crab. A multitude of ecological interactions determine the success and impacts of invasive species. We will advance current knowledge of the impacts of invasive European green crabs in Australia by detailing ecological and evolutionary interactions with native molluscs. This information will be useful in understanding the crab's invasion success and impacts on native communities in Australia and other regions invaded by the crab worldwide. More broadly, this work will provide an evolutionary perspective of post-invasion processes that has been substantiated in terrestrial systems but is often lacking in marine systems. Read moreRead less