Team: Arthur Georges (UC), Clare Holleley (CSIRO), Ira Deveson (Garvan), Jennifer Marshall Graves (Latrobe), Craig Smith (Monash), Hardip Patel (ANU), Sudha Rao (QIMR), Aurora Ruiz-Herrera (AUB), Paul Waters (UNSW), Lisa Schwanz (UNSW), Sarah Whiteley (UC), Duminda Dissanayake (UC) and Xiuwen Zhang (UC)
We are using novel genetic, molecular and cytological approaches to build a picture of the mechanisms of sex determination in the central bearded dragon, Pogona vitticeps and other squamates. Central questions we address are: Which chromosomes are the sex chromosomes and what genes do they contain among which is the master switch? How does temperature exert its influence in species with thermolabile sex? What drives transitions in the relative influence of genotype and environment, and how do gene-environment interactions play out in the wild?
Team: Bruno Ferronato, John Roe, Martha Rees and Arthur Georges
Possibly our most well-studied turtle, yet mark-recapture, radio-tracking, behavioural studies, and molecular studies are yielding many surprises on its secret terrestrial sojourns. We now know that this species spends an extraordinary amount of time on land, navigating by the sun, conserving water through terrestrial aestivation and episodic movement associated with rain, that it can survive and thrive in urban systems given the right combination of conditions, and that it comprises a single species across a wide range in eastern Australia with little genetic diversification.
Team: Arthur Georges, Peter Unmack, Matthew Young, Scott Thomson and Xiuwen Zhang
Australia has a unique freshwater turtle fauna, dominated by the Family Chelidae. Chelid turtles are found only in Australasia and South America, even as fossils, and so are of clear Gondwanal origin. Remarkably, as with the marsupials, the Australian and South American radiations appear to be independent, with no crossover in the relationships among the various species on each continent. Our research ranges from phylogeny, including recent sequencing of the whole mitochondiral genomes of the Australian chelids, to examining species boundaries with allozymes (formerly) and now single nucleotide markers, to phylogeography at regional scales.
Team: Carla Eisemberg, Yolarnie Amepou and Arthur Georges.
The pignosed turtle is the sole remaining species of what was once a widespread family distributed through Asia, Europe and North America. As such it is of considerable conservation interest, and its biology holds many novel surprises. We have unravelled the complexities of temperature-dependent sex determination in natural nests of the species, learned much of its reproductive biology including the habit of nesting twice every second year and its split personality when it comes to nesting in the New Guinea lowlands. Its conservation biology in Papua New Guinea is a focus of our current research, working along side local communities in bringing about solutions to ensure sustainability of populations of this important food resource for future generations.
Team: Arthur Georges, Rod Kennett, Damien Fordham and Erica Alacs.
The northern snakenecked turtle Chelodina oblonga (formerly rugosa) has some remarkable ways of dealing with unpredictability in the availability of water in the wet-dry tropics of Australia and southern New Guinea. The adults aestivate beneath the drying mud of their billabongs to wait out the dry season, where they are susceptable to traditional harvest by indigenous peoples and exotic predators such as feral pigs. They cope with unpredictability in the timing of the end of the wet season by laying their eggs in saturated soil or even underwater. While innundated, the embryos undergo early developmental arrest stimulated by hypoxia. We have invested much time and energy in unravelling this intriguing reproductive biology. We described closely related species of snakeneck from the sandstone country of Arnhem Land and the Kimberley.
Team: Arthur Georges and Renee Catullo (Program Leads)
The Australian Amphibian and Reptile Genomics initiative is a nationally inclusive and collaborative project co-led by Prof Craig Moritz (ANU) and Prof Arthur Georges (University of Canberra) and driven by the research community through partnership of universities, museums, government agencies and NGOs. The initiative will facilitate research using genomics approaches towards a more thorough understanding of evolution and conservation of Australia’s unique native Amphibians and Reptiles that are now under threat, through climate, disease or habitat modification. Bioplatforms Australia has funded this initiative which will operate under the governance of representatives from Australian museums, universities and government agencies.
"Wanafunzi wa chuo hicho ni: Arthur George, Clare Holloway, Ira Devison, Jennifer Marshall-Graves, Craig Smith, Hardeep Patel, Sudha Rao, Aurora Ruiz-Herrera, Lisa Schwanz, Sarah Whiteley, Dumas, Dusan Dayan, Xiang Yue, na Wang Yue, na wanajifunza kuhusu ""mfumo wa kuamua jinsia"" katika wanyama kama vile Pygmalion, Pygmalion, na Pygmalion." "Kwa hivyo, swali la msingi ni: ""Ni chromosomes gani za ngono na ni jeni gani zinajumuisha, na ni nini kinachobadilisha?""" Joto huathirije spishi zenye jinsia yenye uwezo wa kuathiriwa na joto? Ni nini kinachoongoza mabadiliko katika ushawishi wa jamaa wa genotype na mazingira, na jinsi gani maingiliano ya jeni na mazingira hufanyika katika mazingira ya porini? Bruno Ferronato, John Rowe, Martha Rees na Arthur Georges, wanafanya utafiti wa kipekee kuhusu kamba huyo, lakini utafiti wa tabia na uchunguzi wa molekuli unaonyesha mambo mengi ya kushangaza kuhusu safari zake za siri duniani. Sasa tunajua kwamba spishi hii hutumia muda mwingi sana ardhini, ikisafiri kwa jua, kuhifadhi maji kupitia aestivation ya ardhini na harakati za vipindi zinazohusiana na mvua, inaweza kuishi na kusitawi katika mifumo ya mijini ikiwa na mchanganyiko sahihi wa hali, na inajumuisha spishi moja katika eneo pana la mashariki mwa Australia na utofauti mdogo wa maumbile. Arthur Georges, Peter Unmeck, Matthew Young, Scott Thomson na Xiuwen Zhang Australia ina aina ya kipekee ya kasa wa maji baridi, wakiongozwa na Familia ya Chelidae. Kamba za Chelid hupatikana tu katika Australasia na Amerika Kusini, hata kama visukuku, na hivyo ni ya asili ya Gondwanal wazi. Kwa kushangaza, kama ilivyo na marsupials, radiations ya Australia na Amerika Kusini inaonekana kuwa huru, bila crossover katika mahusiano kati ya spishi mbalimbali katika kila bara. Utafiti wetu unaanzia phylogeny, ikiwa ni pamoja na mfululizo wa hivi karibuni wa mitochondrial nzima ya chelids ya Australia, kwa kuchunguza mipaka ya spishi na allozymes (zamani) na sasa alama za nucleotide moja, kwa phylogeography katika viwango vya kikanda. Timu: Carla Eisemberg, Yolarnie Amepou na Arthur Georges. Turtle Pignosed ni aina pekee iliyobaki ya kile kilichokuwa wakati mmoja familia kuenea katika Asia, Ulaya na Amerika ya Kaskazini. Kwa hiyo, ni jambo lenye kupendeza sana, na biolojia yake ina mambo mengi yasiyo ya kawaida. "Tumefafanua utata wa kuamua jinsia kwa kutegemea joto katika viota vya asili vya spishi hii, na kujifunza mengi ya biolojia yake ya uzazi, ikiwa ni pamoja na tabia ya kufanya kiota mara mbili kila baada ya miaka miwili na utu wake uliogawanyika linapokuja kiota katika maeneo ya chini ya New Guinea. """ Uhifadhi wa wanyama katika Papua New Guinea ni lengo la utafiti wetu wa sasa, kufanya kazi pamoja na jamii za mitaa katika kuleta suluhisho ili kuhakikisha uendelevu wa idadi ya watu wa rasilimali hii muhimu ya chakula kwa vizazi vijavyo. Timu: Arthur Georges, Rod Kennett, Damien Fordham na Erica Alacs. Chelodina oblonga (Rugosa) ni aina ya kasa anayeitwa Chelodina oblonga ambaye anaishi katika maeneo ya kitropiki ya Australia na New Guinea. Wanyama hao wakubwa huishi chini ya matope ya billabong zao ili kusubiri msimu wa ukame, ambapo wanaweza kuvuliwa kwa njia ya jadi na wenyeji na wanyama wa asili kama vile nguruwe wa mwituni. Wao hukabiliana na hali ya kutoweza kutabiriwa ya wakati wa mwisho wa msimu wa mvua kwa kuweka mayai yao katika udongo wenye maji mengi au hata chini ya maji. Wakati wa kuzamishwa, viini-tete hupitia kukomeshwa kwa maendeleo mapema kunakochochewa na hypoxia. Tumewekeza wakati na nishati nyingi katika kufunua biolojia hii yenye kuvutia ya uzazi. Mnyama huyo anaitwa Snake Neck na anatoka katika eneo la Arnhem Land na Kimberley. "Mwanzoni mwa mwaka huu, utafiti wa ""Affiliate and Reptile Genomics"" ulifanywa na Profesa Craig Moritz na Profesa Arthur Cattello, na kuendeshwa na jamii ya watafiti kupitia ushirikiano wa vyuo vikuu, makumbusho, mashirika ya serikali na mashirika yasiyo ya kiserikali." Mpango huo utasaidia utafiti kwa kutumia mbinu za genomics kuelekea uelewa kamili wa mageuzi na uhifadhi wa amphibians na reptiles za asili za Australia ambazo sasa ziko chini ya tishio, kupitia hali ya hewa, magonjwa au mabadiliko ya makazi. Bioplatforms Australia imefadhili mpango huu ambao utafanya kazi chini ya usimamizi wa wawakilishi kutoka makumbusho ya Australia, vyuo vikuu na mashirika ya serikali.