Projects
We study acoustic communication in birds, particularly communication about danger, vocal mimicry and duetting.
Theme
- Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology
Temperature determines species distributions and affects functions, reproduction, and survival. This project will assess the thermal sensitivity of different life stages and plant tissues to heat stress and will develop models to assess how Australian plant species will respond to a warmer and more extreme climate.
Theme
- Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology
- Photosynthesis and plant energy biology
- Plant environmental biology and functional ecology
Student intake
Open for Summer scholar, Honours, PhD students
Status
Current
People
- Adrienne Nicotra, Principal investigator
- Danielle Way, Principal investigator
- Pieter Arnold, Principal investigator
- Sabrina De Zen, Scholar
The ARMF willsupport research to assess the extent and effects of changing climate, water and fire regimes on ecosystem processes and their feedbacks and provide a structure for integrated research, management and governance of Australia's mountains.
Theme
- Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology
- Evolutionary genetics and genomics
- Phylogenetics, population genetics and biodiversity
- Plant environmental biology and functional ecology
- Plant-microbe interactions
Student intake
Open for Bachelor, Honours, Master, PhD students
Status
Current
People
- Adrienne Nicotra, Principal investigator
- James King, Scholar
- Nathan Battey, Support officer
- Thomas Hanley, Scholar
- Zachary Brown, Researcher
All domains of modern biology are increasingly dependent on computation and this dependence on algorithms is most readily apparent in the disciplines that utilise genetic data.
Theme
- Bioinformatics and bio-mathematical modelling
- Evolutionary genetics and genomics
- Phylogenetics, population genetics and biodiversity
Student intake
Open for Bachelor, Honours, Master, PhD students
Status
Current
People
- Gavin Huttley, Principal investigator
Many wild herbivores show seasonal preferences for different plants or plant parts.
Theme
- Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology
Student intake
Open for Summer scholar, Honours students
Status
Current
People
- Karen Marsh, Supervisor
This project examines drivers of dieback impact between species, within species, between habitats, within habitats, across the landscape, as well as interactions between these components at Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park.
Theme
- Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology
- Plant environmental biology and functional ecology
Student intake
Open for Honours students
Status
Current
People
- Adrienne Nicotra, Principal investigator
- Jaylen Nicholson, Principal investigator
Evolving with sexually transmitted infections.
Theme
- Evolutionary genetics and genomics
To address the urgent threat to pollination posed by the establishment of Varroa mites in Australia, which will decimate honey bee populations, we aim to domesticate native Australian bees to use as alternative pollinators.
Theme
- Evolutionary genetics and genomics
- Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology
This project aims to improve understanding of the capacity for resilience and response to warming and drying conditions and extreme events in vulnerable alpine communities: interacting suites of alpine plants, soil invertebrates, fungi, and microbes.
Theme
- Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology
- Evolutionary genetics and genomics
- Phylogenetics, population genetics and biodiversity
- Plant environmental biology and functional ecology
- Plant-microbe interactions
Student intake
Open for Summer scholar, Honours, Master, PhD students
Status
Current
People
- Adrienne Nicotra, Principal investigator
- Celeste Linde, Researcher
- James King, Scholar
- Kate Farkas, Scholar
- Megan Head, Researcher
- Pieter Arnold, Researcher
- Salma Sarker, Scholar
- Thomas Hanley, Scholar
We are a dynamic group of researchers interested in understanding climate change ecology, in particular how form and function evolve and will determine performance and persistence of Australian native plant species and communities under rapidly changingclimate regimes. Student projects are available!
Theme
- Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology
- Evolutionary genetics and genomics
- Plant environmental biology and functional ecology
Student intake
Open for Summer scholar, Honours, Master, PhD students
Status
Current
People
- Adrienne Nicotra, Principal investigator
- Callum Bryant , Researcher
- Hilary Rose Dawson, Researcher
- Pieter Arnold, Researcher
- Zachary Brown, Researcher
If you're interested in working in the iconic landscape of Kosciuszko National Park this project may be for you. We seek PhD or Honours students to join a collaborative project with NSW DPE to explore drivers of variation of growth and establishment of the montane and alpine species in rehabilitated sites.
Theme
- Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology
- Plant environmental biology and functional ecology
Student intake
Open for Summer scholar, Honours, Master, PhD students
Status
Current
People
- Adrienne Nicotra, Supervisor
Australian honey bee populations will collapse after the recent establishment of Varroa mites. This project aims to track Varroa invasion and the subsequent evolution or resistance in feral honey bee populations. This is chance to participate in a once-in-a-lifetime natural experiment with national implications.
Theme
- Bioinformatics and bio-mathematical modelling
- Evolutionary genetics and genomics
- Host-microbe biology
- Parasitology
Student intake
Open for PhD students
Status
Current
People
- Professor Sasha (Alexander) Mikheyev, Supervisor
My primary research interest is the study and evaluation of evolutionary processes and we work mostly on reptile and frog systems because they are the animals I know the most about.
Theme
- Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology
- Evolutionary genetics and genomics
- Phylogenetics, population genetics and biodiversity
Student intake
Open for Honours, Master, PhD students
Status
Current
People
- Professor Scott Keogh, Supervisor
Potential PhD students: please contact Dan Noble for more information on this project.
Theme
- Evolutionary genetics and genomics
- Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology
Pollination is essential for the reproductive success of many plants, with numerous species dependent on animals for pollen transfer.
Theme
- Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology
- Evolutionary genetics and genomics
- Phylogenetics, population genetics and biodiversity
- Plant genetics and gene regulation
Student intake
Open for Bachelor, Summer scholar, Honours, Master, PhD students
Status
Current
People
- Rod Peakall, Supervisor
Next generation genome sequencing provide multiple opportunities to compare genomes of fungi which are either pathogens or mycorrhizae, in an attempt to gain an understanding of the genes involved in beneficial plant-fungus interactions.
Theme
- Bioinformatics and bio-mathematical modelling
- Evolutionary genetics and genomics
- Host-microbe biology
Student intake
Open for PhD students
Status
Current
People
- Celeste Linde, Supervisor
- Rod Peakall, Supervisor
Surprisingly, many large-scale patterns of biodiversity (such as the latitudinal diversity gradient) are still poorly understood.
Theme
- Phylogenetics, population genetics and biodiversity
Student intake
Open for Honours, PhD students
Status
Current
People
- Marcel Cardillo, Principal investigator
Explore the impact thermal environments have on physiological development in lizards.
Theme
- Evolutionary genetics and genomics
- Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology
Our lab is investigating adaptations that confer resilience to drought and aridity in Eucalyptus, with the aim of assisting conservation genetic management and restoration of
Australian forests. In particular, our current project is delving below ground to uncover variation in root growth strategies.
Theme
- Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology
- Bioinformatics and bio-mathematical modelling
- Photosynthesis and plant energy biology
- Phylogenetics, population genetics and biodiversity
- Plant environmental biology and functional ecology
- Plant genetics and gene regulation
Potential Honours students: please contact Dan Noble for more information on this project.
Theme
- Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology
- Evolutionary genetics and genomics