Metabolic engineered tobacco plants accumulating oil in vegetative tissues have been developed to meet future plant oil demands.

Visual insect navigation is an active research topic. Insects have low resolution eyes and a tiny brain, yet they continuously solve very complex navigational problems; an ability that underpins fundamental biological processes such as pollination and parental care.

Sexual selection is an important evolutionary force, driving the evolution of striking traits that can appear not only beautiful, but also counter-intuitive and even ridiculous.

Photosynthetic improvement has become a major focus for researchers seeking to increase yields of crop plants.

10th May Anne Conibear, University of Queensland

Around twenty percent of all calories consumed by humans are derived from rice. Rice is of particular importance in Asia, where the vast majority of the crop is grown and consumed.

Despite conservation efforts, the number of species that have recovered after management remain small. Low success rate in species management can be attributed to severe lack of funding for conservation and ‘evidence complacency’ (i.e. use of anecdotes rather than evidence) by many conservation practitioners.

How animals adapt to environmental stress has long been of concern. Studies looking at effects of resource limitation often focus on food. Water is also essential for life and can often be limiting in the environment.

Ecology and Evolution Discussions Down Under: The speed of evolution