Predicting invertebrate life cycles under variable climates

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This project seeks to characterise and predict the responses of invertebrates to climate variability and climate change. Alterations to the developmental trajectory are a major way that organisms adapt their life cycles to climatic variability. Many invertebrates avoid extremes of heat, cold and dry by entering a quiescent or diapause state, often at the egg stage. This project plans to apply novel high-throughput methods for characterising developmental patterns in the eggs of invertebrates in conjunction with microclimate models and modern phylogenetic methods to understand and predict responses to climatic variability. The methods are expected to be transferable to other invertebrates and may lead to breakthroughs in pest management and conservation.