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Behavioural, evolutionary and physiological ecology

Research at the Research School of Biology covers all aspects of the ecology-evolution cycle.

About

Ecologists often begin by asking how interactions between individual and the environment result in differential survival & reproductive output of organisms depending on their size, age, sex & which traits they possess. These can result in predictable changes in population size and composition that, at broader scales, generates variation in gene flow among populations and differences in species ranges. Natural selection operates whenever there is variation in reproductive output because organisms differ in their ‘fit’ with the environment. Evolutionary change feeds back to affect future ecological interactions. Research at the Research School of Biology covers all aspects of the ecology-evolution cycle. Our key research strengths include: ecophysiology of plants and mammals; behavioural ecology of crabs, birds, insects, reptiles & fish; sensory ecology of crabs & insects; functional ecology of fish & plants; evolutionary genetics of microbes, fungi and reptiles; and the epigenetics of bees. We also have a strong international reputation for developing theory in evolution & ecology that transcends specific study taxa.

Projects

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.

Student intake

Open for Honours students

People

Capacity to regenerate varies among animals, with “simple” animals, such as sponges, cnidarians and planarians often having higher regenerative capacity than the more complex ones, including insects and mammals.

Student intake

Open for Honours, PhD students

People

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.

Student intake

Open for PhD students

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.

Student intake

Open for Summer scholar, Honours, Master, PhD students

People

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!

Student intake

Open for Summer scholar, Honours, Master, PhD students

People

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.

Student intake

Open for Summer scholar, Honours, Master, PhD students

People

News

The baffling question of why some animals help raise offspring which aren't their own is closer to being answered, thanks to new research from The Australian National University.

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A study from The Australian National University has revealed for the first time how an animal sees and responds to predatory attacks in its natural environment.

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Australian cuckoo birds have taken a new evolutionary step - mimicking the colour of their host young to avoid certain death, according to a study by researchers from The Australian National University.

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Male Fiddler Crabs will quite happily protect a female neighbour, but do so partly in exchange for sex, according to a new study from The Australian National University.

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