CLIMATE ADAPTATION CENTRE FOR CLIMATE ADAPTATION AND ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR Flinders has had research strengths in oceanography and across the marine and biological sciences since its earliest days and later became a leader in the emerging disciplines of environmental science, environmental management and environmental health. More recently, the reality of climate change has underpinned a strong focus on measuring and identifying the adaptive capacity of organisms in this changing environment, and the implications this has for future biodiversity and sustainability. Key projects are examining the specific impact of climate change on bird populations, food availability, species range patterns and disease transmission, as well as the broader impact of human activity – including mining and coastal development – on wildlife and the marine environment.
Active research areas in marine biology and aquaculture span the spectrum from coastal food webs, population and community ecology through to seagrass and mangrove ecosystems. Biodiversity and ecology research focuses on understanding Australian species and researchers work closely with organisations such as SA Research and Development Institute (SARDI), National Parks and Wildlife and the SA Museum on biodiversity surveys of natural and disturbed habitats, conservation ecology and ecosystem management.
PEOPLE PROFESSOR SONIA KLEINDORFER Professor in Animal Behaviour Professor Kleindorfer’s expertise extends across animal behaviour, biodiversity conservation, ecology, and evolution biology. Current research addresses the mechanism and function of prenatal learning, including testing how birds learn in the egg and why mothers teach embryos in eggs. She also is investigating host-parasite coevolution on the Galapagos Islands through studies into hybridising Darwin finches in response to the lethal threat of parasitic flies whose larvae consume the finch nestlings alive.
PROJECTS UNDERSTANDING HOW FISH ADAPT The Director of the University’s Molecular Ecology Laboratory, Professor Luciano Beheregaray, has been awarded an ARC Future Fellowship to assess the adaptation and vulnerability of aquatic biodiversity to environmental change. The $1 million project is addressing fundamental and novel questions about factors shaping adaptation and resilience along naturally and anthropogenically disturbed ecosystems.
TELLING THE FUTURE THROUGH FUNGI Emeritus Professor David Catcheside is leading an international project that will use DNA gene sequencing to better understand how living organisms adapt to global warming. In-kind support of US$432,000 has been provided by Joint Genome Institute to study the red bread mould Neurospora, a fungus that has been used to discover many facets of the molecular processes of life.
WATER AND ENVIRONMENT
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Measuring a Superb Fairy-Wren male head length by Professor Sonia Kleindorfer