Kate has been awarded over $1m AUD in the ARC’s new Industry Fellowship scheme. The four year project aims to determine the distribution and migratory flyways of the Bogong moth (Agrotis infusa)
Funding Announcement: https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/more_news_stories/western_researcher_secures_$1_million_in_arc_funding_for_vital_bogong_moth_research
Bogong moth overlooking the Snowy River at Charlotte Pass
We have been awarded more than $400 000 to develop a model for island invertebrate conservation for Australia using Norfolk Island snails as important case study. This project will compliment Junn Kitt’s PhD research on the conservation of Norfolk Island snails, here’s Junn Kitt living the dream in the photo below! It will also support a new PhD student to work on developing management strategies and ex situ insurance populations! This project is has many partners including the Australian Museum and Taronga Zoo.
Funding announcement here: https://www.westernsydney.edu.au/newscentre/news_centre/more_news_stories/snails_to_the_rescue_linkage_grant_funding_success
Junn Kitt in the field living the dream!!
Learn about the plight of Australia’s alpine insects in The Conversation.
Photo: Kate Umbers
Such a pleasure to talk with Ann Jones, Manu Saunders and Nick Porch about insect and invertebrate conservation on ABC Radio’s Off Track, give it a listen!
We had the privilege of being invited to present on Off Track - ABC’s nature program hosted by the unequaled Ann Jones. Listen here:
https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/offtrack/skyhoppers-alpine-insect-decline/13422264
We had the tiniest of helping hands providing some photos for this cool documentary about the Southern Pink Underwing, a threatened species in Queensland. Check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKktUTJLhP4&feature=youtu.be
Bogong moth (Agrotis infusa) numbers have crashed in the last three years. What’s happening? https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/so-many-threats-at-once-where-have-all-the-bogongs-gone-20201202-p56jyv.html
Sunset on Mt Buffalo. Photo: Kate Umbers
Our publication of the evolution of startle displays on praying mantises in Proceedings of the Royal Society B was well-received and covered in global media including this wonderful article in the New York Times
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/03/science/praying-mantis-startle.html
Eremiaphila sp. by James O’Hanlon
We are so excited to be working with eggpicnic (www.eggpicnic.com) to promote Australian alpine species threatened by climate change. The School of Science at WSU is funding a Partner Project to create public installation featuring our high-country species and measure how people respond to experiencing these creatures as fine art.
Kate spoke to the New York Times in January 2020 about the plight of the little ones during Australia’s Black Summer, along with our friends Tanya Latty and Leanda Mason. This article was echoed around the world!
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/09/science/australia-fire-ecology-insects.html
The bogong moths have not arrived in the alps in their usual numbers this year. ABC News covered the story by interviewing me, Euan Richie, Eric Warrant and John Morgan.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2019-02-27/bogong-moth-decline-in-australian-alps/10850036
Credit: CSIRO ScienceImage 2192 A Huddle of Bogong Moths (wikicommons)
We are part of a team that successfully secured an ARC Discovery project starting in 2019 which aims to account for variation in warning signals. The team is lead by Marie Herberstein (Macquarie Uni) and includes Nathan Hart (Macquarie Uni), Hannah Rowland (Max Planck), and Johanna Mappes (Uni of Jyvaskyla) and Kate!
Here is our 100 word summary:
Warning colours protect toxic prey from predators who learn to associate the colours with an unpleasant taste. Theoretically, warning colours should not vary, but in nature we find appreciable and unexplained variation. This presents a fundamental and unresolved biological problem - why do warning colours vary? This project will address this significant biological question by investigating how local environmental factors and predator communities affect warning colour expression across the Australian landscape. The project will utilise Australia's excellent environmental and biodiversity informatics infrastructure to inform the public and decision makers about the adaptability of animals to environmental change such as predator loss.
Harlequin bug, Tectocoris diophthalmus (left), tiger moth, Amata annulata (right).
Images from: Flickr.com and brisbaneinsects.com
We have had two interviews recently by Bec Crew! Check out the stories about two of our study systems here:
Why so blue? Unravelling colour change in the chameleon grasshopper:
http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/creatura-blog/2018/07/chameleon-grasshopper
These shocking insects are one of Australia's weirdest insects:
http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/blogs/creatura-blog/2018/04/the-mountain-katydid
In the most recent funding round, Kate has secured a Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA)! This is exciting and will provide the opportunity to focus on startle displays for the next 3-4 years. This is the 100 word summary from the grant application:
This project aims to propose an empirical evaluation of startle displays as the ‘missing link’ in antipredator defences. The evolutionary origin of warning colouration is considered paradoxical in that conspicuous mutant prey should be attacked and killed as they evolve, denying predators any chance to learn to avoid them. Startle displays, however, are antipredator defences that exploit predator reflexes through a sudden transition from camouflage to warning colouration. This work merges theory on antipredator defences, deepens knowledge of their fitness costs and benefits, and provides a new resolution to a classic evolutionary paradox.
We have received a small grant from the Urban Society and Living Theme at Western Sydney Uni to develop a team across Australia and New Zealand to promote the conservation of our endemic species. It's an exciting time as we move deeper into the world of science communication with Dr Tanya Latty, Dr Lizzy Lowe and Dr Chrissie Painting.
Kate is very excited to be named among Australia's 30 Superstars of STEM! This opportunity will see her running around the country promoting science! (Not really running). It's all over twitter - #SuperstarsofSTEM
More here: https://scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au/superstars-to-smash-science-gender-stereotypes/
Dr Bibiana Rojas will give the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment Seminar on 21st April, 2017, an opportunity not to be missed!!
Summer is approaching us here in the Southern Hemisphere and in Australia, long days of sand and surf lie ahead. While enjoying summer activities, though, we all need to watch out for Finns. The Umbers Lab would like to report that we have knowledge of at least two Finns that will be visiting Sydney over the summer - Dr Janne Valkonen and Prof Johanna Mappes from the University of Jyväskylä. We are delighted to host them for exciting projects on Bandy Bandys, Mountain Katydids and extensive viticultural sampling.
Prof Johanna Mappes
Dr Janne Valkonen
Image of Magpie dunking a, yep, you guessed it, mountain katydid.
Here in the Umbers lab we dabble in ornithology occasionally, mostly because it's so easy. Subsequently, Eleanor Drinkwater, Julia Ryeland & Kate have had a paper on food dunking behaviour in the Australian Magpie accepted pending minor revision in Australian Field Ornithology. Congrats to Eleanor and Julia for driving this publication. Kate's afraid she might never live this down in the entomology circles.