How could gum trees adapt to climate change? Exploring Eucalyptus strategies across environmental gradients

Project description

Australia's climate is changing rapidly, with hotter temperatures and more frequent droughts threatening native forests. But not all trees respond in the same way. Even within a single Eucalyptus species, some populations are naturally better adapted to harsh environments than others. This project will explore how species from the genus Eucalyptus can adapt to different climates. The project will use using one of South Australia's largest environmental monitoring networks, stretching from the Mount Lofty Ranges to the Flinders Ranges, to investigate how plant traits such as leaf size, specific leaf area (SLA) and stomatal density change towards hotter and drier areas. The project combines plant ecophysiology and functional ecology, with opportunities to expand climate change modelling. This will provide the opportunity to extract, curate and analyse real ecological data and contribute to scientific publications. If you're interested in plants, climate change or understanding how Australian ecosystems will respond to the future, this project offers the chance to work on a unique dataset with real-world conservation applications.  

Assumed knowledge

A background in ecology, environmental science, biology or plant science. Experience with statistics or R is desirable and would be helpful.

Supervisors research focus

I am a passionate invasion ecologist dedicated to unravelling the complexities and effects of biological invasions within plant communities through a multi-scale approach. In addition, I try to link this with the adaptations of communities to climate and land-use change, in terms of biodiversity patterns and ecosystem functionality and services. My fascination with understanding plant ecology drives my research, which ranges from local-scale processes to global ecological patterns.