2018 Seminar Series

Genes to Ecosystems: The problem of complex traits - Dr Casten Kulheim

Genes to Ecosystems: The problem of complex traits.

Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra 2601, Australia

Ecologists often talk about “genes to ecosystems” to describe how genetic variation influences ecological interactions. Many of the traits of interest are “complex” and controlled by many genes. Understanding the architecture of these complex traits is a major roadblock in integrating molecular approaches in ecology. In this talk I will describe the molecular basis of variation in an important group of plant secondary metabolites, the terpenes, in Australian Myrtaceae.

Using a candidate gene approach, I was able to discover genetic variants that explained some, but not all of the genetic component of trait variation, showing that much of the trait heritability remains unaccounted for. To test whether the “missing heritability” was caused by variants outside known candidate genes I changed to a whole genome sequencing approach, which discovered both novel genes involved in secondary metabolite variation and increased the amount of variation that could be accounted for.

While Genome-wide Association Studies allow to dissect the genetic architecture of complex traits, Genomic Selection is the only method in non-model organisms that can integrate whole genome variation and account for the vast majority of the heritability. This approach also allows for efficient and fast selection of individuals for use in breeding programs.

Carsten Külheim
Email: carsten.kulheim@anu.edu.au

Animal-Fungal Interactions and How They Shape the Forest Ecosytems - Todd Elliot

Friday May 28th, 2018

This week Todd Elliott will be taking us on a globetrotting adventure illustrated with his nature photography. He will share insights, adventures, and entertaining stories from his latest research into the role of the fungal kingdom in forest ecosystems around the world. He will shed light on the ecological importance of the fungal Kingdom in Australia and beyond.

Biography

Todd Elliott’s passion for the natural world has taken him on research expeditions to remote corners of the world to explore tropical rainforests, temperate woodlands, deserts, beaches, and high mountains on six continents. Todd has collaborated on many publications covering this research, and his new book Mushrooms of the Southeast (USA) was released this year. Todd is currently a PhD candidate in Environmental and Rural Science here at UNE, focusing on the role of macrofungi in vertebrate diets. To see some of Todd’s wildlife photography from his adventures, visit his Instagram: @toddfelliott

Rainforest with flowing water fall

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The Sex Life of Grasses: Why 'Local Is Best' Doesnt Work For Revegetation With Australian Native Grasses - Associate Professor Ralph Whalley

Friday May 25th

Studies of the breeding systems of native Australian grasses have shown that self-pollination is very common and that no specific mechanisms (except for a few dioecious species) preventing self-pollination have been recorded. In dioecious species, vegetative reproduction may be more common than seedling establishment. The implications of these findings with respect to the adaptive plasticity of individual species and choice of seed sources for revegetation material are far-reaching.

Biography

Assoc Prof Whalley started out as a Research Agronomist with NSW Agriculture at Trangie, spreading buffel grass in the Western Division of NSW. He went to the Riverside campus of University of California for a PhD and then joined UNE as a Lecturer in Botany in September, 1965. Ralph started his research on native grasses and weeds and has been doing so ever since!

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New Evidence On The Origin Of Modern Crocodiles: Who Wins The Game Of Crocs? Lachlan Hart

Friday June 15th

Compared to most other parts of the world, Australia’s record of the crocodilians that lived during the Mesozoic Era (the time of the dinosaurs) is quite sparse. Apart from the species Isisfordiaduncanifrom the Cretaceous of Queensland, all other Mesozoic crocodiliform remains are inconclusive. Here, new evidence will be presented on other crocodiliform fossils, found at Lightning Ridge, NSW, and their significance in the evolutionary story of crocodiles will be discussed.

Collection of fossils

Biography

Lachlan is a 3rd year Masters student who has been studying the origin and evolution of fossil crocodilians in Australia, under the supervision of Dr Phil Bell. He was the UNE representative at the Asia-Pacific Finals of the 3 Minute Thesis competition last year.

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Pollination In A Changing World - Dr Jamie Stavert

Friday June 22nd

Worldwide, there is great concern about the decline of pollinators. However, despite ever-increasing research interest and media attention, we still know very little about how human activities impact pollinators and pollination services. Using a case study from New Zealand, I will show how human-mediated environmental change has produced both “winners” and “losers” in pollinator communities. Further, I will discuss how exotic species can provide important pollination services, particularly in highly modified environments where native species have declined. Finally, I will present recent findings on historic pollinator declines, and show that we still know very little about long-term pollinator population trends in most parts of the world.

Biography

Dr Jamie Stavert is an Endeavour Postdoctoral Research Fellow based at the University of New England. His research focuses on how ecological communities and species interactions are impacted by anthropogenic disturbances. In particular, Jamie is interested in how pollinators respond to land-use change and how landscape management can be improved to ensure the delivery and security of pollination services.

From Plant Traits To Ecosystem - Case Studies From Asian Forests - Dr Sabine Both

Friday July 27th

Borneo’s rainforests are 140 million years old and home to iconic species like orang-utans and Pygmy elephants. However, they are severely threatened by logging and conversion to agriculture. Selective logging is a widely used procedure in which valuable timber species are removed but the rest of the forest remains. Little is known about how the functional composition of tree communities changes after this disturbance. Based on data from 284 tree species and a wide variety of functional plant traits, I show how trait expression varies across landscapes as a result of anthropogenic disturbance and what that implies for plant functional diversity across human-modified tropical forests.

Biography

Dr Sabine Both is a plant ecologist focusing on tropical and subtropical species-rich forest ecosystems and the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functions. Her main interest lies in the interactions between tree species richness and functional diversity of forest ecosystems and the interplay with other trophic levels. Her observational and experimental studies have been conducted in south-eastern China and Malaysian Borneo. Sabine recently came from the UK to join ERS and looks forward to collaborating with fellow researchers at UNE!

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Walking With Dinosours: Investigating Locomotion Biomechanics In Sauropods - Ada Klinkhamer

Friday July 20th

Sauropods represent the ‘iconic’ dinosaur because of their gigantic size and distinctive long neck and tail. Growing to masses exceeding 50 tonnes and lengths of over 30 meters, the way they moved around and supported their weight has long been a topic of discussion. With the development of many new computational modelling techniques we can now look at this area in a whole new way. Using musculoskeletal modelling and Finite Element Analysis I have investigated muscle function and mechanical performance in both the forelimb and hindlimb of sauropod dinosaurs, looking specifically at the effect of changes in posture over their evolutionary history.

Biography

Ada is a vertebrate palaeontologist who has recently completed her PhD at UNE studying sauropod dinosaur biomechanics in the Function, Evolution and Anatomy Research (FEAR) lab. Her research involves digitally reconstructing dinosaur limbs in order to learn how they moved. Much of her research is done in conjunction with the Australian Age of Dinosaur Museum in Winton QLD.

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Let's Talk About The Birds and The Bees, The Flowers and The Trees: A Landscape Perspective - Mark Hall

Friday July 13th

Throughout the world, extensive conversion of natural environments for agricultural production has drastically reduced the amount, quality and configuration of habitats for wildlife in rural environments. A characteristic feature of rural landscapes globally is the presence of linear strips of (semi)natural vegetation, often forming networks amongst farmland. I used a landscape-level natural experiment to investigate the relative importance to birds and wild bees of these linear features and other habitat components, and systematically surveyed taxa in each of 44 landscapes. I show that by examining both site and landscape-level effects of landscape modification, we can better inform management of these landscapes for the conservation of multiple taxa.

Biography

Mark completed his PhD at La Trobe University in Melbourne, investigating the role of remnant vegetation within agricultural landscapes—often occurring along linear roadsides and streams or as scattered paddock trees—for biodiversity conservation. He currently works on crop pollination with the Rader Lab at UNE.

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