Learning in a changing world: Maternal effects on offspring development and behaviour

人为变化对澳大利亚生物多样性的影响令人严重关切。因此，尽管面临环境挑战，了解澳大利亚动物适应和变化的能力至关重要。该项目旨在量化鸟类应对环境挑战的潜力，通过对后代进行适应性发育规划。通过量化母亲压力对两代人的影响，该项目旨在确定母亲是否有能力通过使用表观遗传机制来改变进化变化的速度。结合实验室试验和实地数据，它将确定这些影响与一种常见但正在衰退的鸟类的生物学相关性，以及与整个澳大利亚鸟类的相关性。

The impact of anthropogenic change on Australia's biodiversity is of grave concern. It is therefore vital to understand the capacity of Australian fauna to adapt and change, despite environmental challenges. This project aims to quantify the potential for birds to respond to environmental challenges, by programming offspring with adaptive developmental profiles. By quantifying the effects of maternal stress over two generations, this project aims to determine whether mothers have the ability to alter rates of evolutionary change by employing epigenetic mechanisms. Combining lab trials with field data it will determine the biological relevance of these effects to a common, but declining bird, with relevance across Australian avifauna.