Evolutionary impacts of climate change in Australia's fossil record

Grant number: DE180100629 | Funding period: 2018 - 2020

Completed

Abstract

This project aims to identify evolutionary responses to climate change in Australia's fossil record by comparing variation in lizard and frog communities across geological time. Using X-ray techniques on museum specimens, this project will generate a large-scale database for tracking evolutionary shifts in relation to historical climatic events. Expected outcomes include the first anatomical descriptions for many species, filling major gaps in our ability to place fossils in a contemporary framework. This research will demonstrate the value of our national collections for addressing important environmental issues, such as biodiversity, extinction, and future habitat change.

Related publications (12)

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Macroecological and biogeographical patterns of limb reduction in the world's skinks

Marco Camaiti, Alistair R Evans, Christy A Hipsley, Mark N Hutchinson, Shai Meiri, Rodolfo de Oliveira Anderson, Alex Slavenko, David G Chapple

2022-12-08

Aim: Limb reduction is a dramatic evolutionary transition, yet whether it is achieved in similar trajectories across clades, and i..

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A database of the morphology, ecology and literature of the world's limb-reduced skinks

Marco Camaiti, Alistair R Evans, Christy A Hipsley, Mark N Hutchinson, Shai Meiri, Rodolfo O Anderson, Alex Slavenko, David G Chapple

2022-05-18

Aim: Limb-reduced squamates are a convenient model system to investigate macroevolutionary trends in morphology. Here, we provide ..

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Ontogenetic allometry underlies trophic diversity in sea turtles (Chelonioidea)

Ray M Chatterji, Christy A Hipsley, Emma Sherratt, Mark N Hutchinson, Marc EH Jones

2022-03-05

Despite only comprising seven species, extant sea turtles (Cheloniidae and Dermochelyidae) display great ecological diversity, wit..

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Herpetofaunal diversity changes with climate: evidence from the Quaternary of McEachern's Deathtrap Cave, southeastern Australia

Till Ramm, Kailah M Thorn, Christy A Hipsley, Johannes Mueller, Scott Hocknull, Jane Melville

2021-09-03

The Quaternary Period is characterized by dramatic global climatic changes. Quaternary fossil deposits, which can offer excellent ..

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Postnatal development in a marsupial model, the fat-tailed dunnart (Sminthopsis crassicaudata; Dasyuromorphia: Dasyuridae)

Laura E Cook, Axel H Newton, Christy A Hipsley, Andrew J Pask

2021-09-02

Marsupials exhibit unique biological features that provide fascinating insights into many aspects of mammalian development. These ..

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A farewell to arms and legs: a review of limb reduction in squamates

Marco Camaiti, Alistair R Evans, Christy A Hipsley, David G Chapple

2021-02-03

Elongated snake-like bodies associated with limb reduction have evolved multiple times throughout vertebrate history. Limb-reduced..

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Ontogenetic origins of cranial convergence between the extinct marsupial thylacine and placental gray wolf

Axel H Newton, Vera Weisbecker, Andrew J Pask, Christy A Hipsley

2021-01-08

Phenotypic convergence, describing the independent evolution of similar characteristics, offers unique insights into how natural s..

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High-throughput microCT scanning of small specimens: preparation, packing, parameters and post-processing

Christy A Hipsley, Rocio Aguilar, Jay R Black, Scott A Hocknull

2020-08-17

High-resolution X-ray microcomputed tomography, or microCT (μCT), enables the digital imaging of whole objects in three dimensions..

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An Integrative Approach Using Phylogenomics and High-Resolution X-Ray Computed Tomography for Species Delimitation in Cryptic Taxa

Kirilee Chaplin, Joanna M Sumner, Christy Hipsley, Jane Melville

2020-03-01

Morphologically cryptic taxa have proved to be a long-standing challenge for taxonomists. Lineages that show strong genomic struct..

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Integrating phylogeography and high-resolution X-ray CT reveals five new cryptic species and multiple hybrid zones among Australian earless dragons

Jane Melville, Kirilee Chaplin, Christy A Hipsley, Stephen D Sarre, Joanna Sumner, Mark Hutchinson

2019-12-01

Cryptic lineages, comprising species complexes with deep genetic structuring across the landscape but without distinct morphologic..

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Psychology, not technology, is our biggest challenge to open digital morphology data

Christy A Hipsley, Emma Sherratt

2019-04-26

The past two decades have seen a revolution in digital imaging techniques for capturing gross morphology, offering an unprecedente..

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Letting the 'cat' out of the bag: pouch young development of the extinct Tasmanian tiger revealed by X-ray computed tomography

Axel H Newton, Frantisek Spoutil, Jan Prochazka, Jay R Black, Kathryn Medlock, Robert N Paddle, Marketa Knitlova, Christy A Hipsley, Andrew J Pask

2018-02-01

The Tasmanian tiger or thylacine (Thylacinus cynocephalus) was an iconic Australian marsupial predator that was hunted to extincti..

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