Flinders University

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Resolving evolutionary problems at the fish-tetrapod transition. The project aims to investigate very early Australian tetrapod trackways and conduct fieldwork to resolve the place of origin and timing of the evolution of the first tetrapods. The evolution of fishes to tetrapods was one of the key events in evolution. Studies on Northern Hemisphere fossils place an origin for the group around 380 million years ago. Australian fossils suggest a much older origin. New micro computed tomography data from Australian 3-D fossil fishes, combined with study of rare tetrapod gill arch bones, would enable us to determine the origins of tetrapod air-breathing and its ecological setting. The project may facilitate a rewriting of vertebrate evolution's most significant first step. Field of research: 0602 - Ecology

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Electron-driven radical chemistry in plasmas for emerging technologies. The project aims to study electron interactions with the hydroxyl radical (OH). OH is formed in plasmas and atmospheric environments when energetic particles interact with water. Emerging applications of plasmas in wastewater treatment, sterilisation and medicine will be built around OH chemistry. The high intensity of OH spectral emissions has made them useful for remote sensing atmospheric phenomena and diagnosing plasma properties. However, the poor understanding of electron interactions with OH limits our ability to reliably interpret these results. This project therefore aims to experimentally study electron interactions with the hydroxyl radical. The measured values will be applied in simulations that clarify the role of electron–OH interactions in plasma-like environments. Field of research: 0202 - Atomic, Molecular, Nuclear, Particle and Plasma Physics

ARC National Competitive Grants · FY 2016 · 2016-01

Integrating fossils and genomes to resolve the early evolution of snakes. This project aims to address a high-profile evolutionary controversy – the origin of snakes – by reconciling the anatomical and fossil evidence with the burgeoning genomic data. New genomic data surprisingly links snakes with the un-snakelike iguana, prompting claims that the genetic and the fossil/anatomical data are irreconcilable. The project aims to evaluate these key fossils, and reptile anatomy in general, in light of the new genomic tree. This has potential to greatly elucidate major evolutionary changes across the lizard-snake transition (for example, extensive mobility in the snake skull). The project also plans to assess the long-term evolutionary consequences of ‘snakiness’, such as the hypothesised irreversibility of limb loss, and increased resilience to mass extinction. Field of research: 0603 - Evolutionary Biology