Evolution on the edge: a model system for evolution on invasion fronts

Grant number: DP160101730 | Funding period: 2016 - 2019

Completed

Abstract

This project aims to develop a shared experimental platform, using the well-studied ecological model, Daphnia, to test emergent predictions about evolution on invasion fronts. Evolution happens rapidly on invasion fronts, accelerating the speed and potentially the damage caused by an invasion. By manipulating invasions through an experimental landscape, the project aims to answer currently infeasible questions, including whether pathogens become more virulent as they spread, and whether evolutionary trade-offs place limits on spread rate. This work would dramatically improve our understanding of biological invasions and may have implications for the management of phenomena ranging from emerg..

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Related publications (7)

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The push and pull between theory and data in understanding the dynamics of invasion

Ben Phillips

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Effect of habitat permanence on life-history: extending the Daphnia model into new climate spaces

Sally Drapes, Matthew D Hall, Ben L Phillips

2021-06-08

We use an Australian freshwater invertebrate species, Daphnia carinata, to assess whether variation in habitat permanence influenc..

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Energetic scaling across different host densities and its consequences for pathogen proliferation

Louise Solveig Norgaard, Giulia Ghedini, Ben L Phillips, Matthew D Hall

2020-12-08

The spread of infectious disease is determined by the ability of a pathogen to proliferate within and spread between susceptible h..

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Infection in patchy populations: Contrasting pathogen invasion success and dispersal at varying times since host colonization

Louise S Norgaard, Ben L Phillips, Matthew D Hall

2019-09-24

Repeated extinction and recolonization events generate a landscape of host populations that vary in their time since colonization...

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Can pathogens optimize both transmission and dispersal by exploiting sexual dimorphism in their hosts?

Louise Solveig Norgaard, Ben L Phillips, Matthew D Hall

2019-06-01

Pathogens often rely on their host for dispersal. Yet, maximizing fitness via replication can cause damage to the host and an asso..

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Anywhere but here: local conditions motivate dispersal in Daphnia

Philip Erm, Matthew D Hall, Ben L Phillips

2019-03-12

Dispersal is fundamental to population dynamics. However, it is increasingly apparent that, despite most models treating dispersal..

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Anywhere but here: local conditions alone drive dispersal in Daphnia

Philip Erm, Matthew Hall, Ben Phillips

2018-05-30

Dispersal is fundamental to population dynamics and it is increasingly apparent that, despite most models treating dispersal as a ..

University of Melbourne Researchers