In both humans and birds, parents may pass along information to help their offspring adapt to conditions in the world; some signals are transmitted even before birth, causing changes in development, physiology and behaviour that can last the entire lifespan. Recently, project partners Mariette & Buchanan (Science, 2016) discovered a highly novel example of such a process in the zebra finch (a songbird), a well-established experimental model organism for neuroscience, behaviour and genomics. Working with wild-derived birds in Australia, they found that parents pass along "weather reports"- signals that alter the developmental trajectory of their offspring so they will respond adaptively to temperature conditions upon hatching. Amazingly, these reports are delivered via vocal signals transmitted while the offspring are still in the egg. Altered developmental programming can be detected within a day after hatching as a change in the temperature dependence of growth rate and begging behaviour. Mariette & Buchanan showed that exposure to these parental signals in ovo has lifelong consequences on adaptive fitness and behaviour, leading to enhanced reproductive success of the offspring after they mature when conditions are hot. How can relatively brief exposures to an acoustic signal lead to such profound and lasting changes in development, physiology and fitness? This very basic question has broad implications, ranging from how environmental information gets transferred across generations, to how developmental pathways may be shaped and reprogrammed, and how organisms might adapt to climate change. To answer this, we will apply the extensive expertise in zebra finch genomics and neuroscience developed by the PI and his colleagues over the last three decades. First, we will determine where and how the embryo initially "hears" the incubation call. We will use techniques well established in our prior work for measuring and localizing dynamic gene activity in the zebra finch brain, to map sites in the embryo that first respond to the sound of incubation calls. Accomplishing this will establish the mechanism of primary reception for incubation call signals, and will provide a fresh look at the earliest stages of auditory development in this important model for auditory communication and learning. Second, we will test the hypothesis that incubation call exposure specifically leads to altered physiological responses to high temperatures in nestlings. This hypothesis defines a physiological output and provides a functional explanation for the evolution and maintenance of parental call-dependent reprogramming. Working with project partners in Australia (who are providing their resources, expertise and training at no cost to this BBSRC project), we will collect physiological indicators of heat tolerance (body temperature, metabolic rate, endocrine measures) in nestlings that had been exposed to incubation calls before hatching followed by chronic or acute temperature elevations in the nest. This aim also links to emerging evidence that developmental reprogramming of heat tolerance may occur in poultry. Third, to identify the regulatory mechanisms (and specific genes) that underlie the persistence of reprogramming, we will test for sustained epigenetic responses (changes in gene expression and DNA methylation) following embryonic incubation call exposure. Using a combination of high-throughput screening and targeted gene-specific methods, we will look for effects both in the whole brain and specifically in the hypothalamus, and in both embryos and older animals. Together these data will address for the first time the mechanisms underlying prenatal communication and their fundamental importance for developmental trajectories and individual fitness. In doing so our project will address the mechanisms at the heart of genotype x environment interactions, so prevalent throughout biology.

Tics are involuntary movements and/or vocalisations that typically happen frequently throughout the day. At least 2% of the school aged population experiences tics, which are the core clinical feature of Tourette Syndrome (TS). Tics can have dramatic, negative impacts on quality of life, psychological well-being and life expectancy. Research using brain imaging and non-invasive stimulation have led to improved understanding of the neural mechanisms that underlie tics. However, sample sizes are often low and from selective subgroups, making it difficult to properly answer fundamental and clinically meaningful questions about TS and its heterogeneity. For example, tics can improve with age and with certain treatments for some patients, but we are currently unable to predict this. Large, harmonized datasets are needed to identify clinically actionable predictors, mechanisms, and moderators of tic expression and improvement. To address this challenge, we propose to assemble a team of internationally renowned experts to create harmonized data collection and analysis systems that will enable large scale, adequately powered TS research focused on basic and applied clinical research. We propose to: 1: Create the infrastructure necessary to harmonize, organise, share and analyse existing data. Our research teams have a wealth of neurophysiological data from previous studies. This work has been impactful in its own right, leading to important insights about TS and tics; however, analytic power has been limited by small sample sizes. We will develop approaches for sharing, organising and analysing pooled data, taking inspiration from brain imaging initiatives which have successfully achieved this goal. 2: Standardize experimental methods. Protocols for data collection and analysis often vary between research groups. To optimise strategies for new collaborative data collection, unifying approaches is critical. We will achieve this by standardizing equipment and training, as well as developing best practise guidelines.

Context Mountain ecosystems are found on every continent, and create one of the most dynamic biomes on earth. They are globally significant in that 50% of the of the planet's drinking water comes from mountain ecosystems, 1.2 billion people live within the vicinity of mountains, 24% of the earth's terrestrial landmass is in mountain regions, and mountain ecosystems are attractive landscapes that provide opportunities for rejuvenation, recreation, and cultural services. Not only do we gain these direct benefits from mountainous landscapes, but they are also highly biodiverse ecosystems, with many species found only in the high alpine environment. These biological refuges for rare species are threatened by climate and land-use change, and there are growing observations that mountain summits especially are losing these rare plant species. Despite our knowledge on the biodiversity above-ground, we have scare knowledge on the biodiversity, and indeed the activity, of organisms that live below-ground, in the soil. It is these organisms that maintain nutrients, cycle carbon into soil organic matter, and underpin the sustainability of mountainous regions worldwide, yet threats to these organisms are poorly reconciled. There is therefore an urgent need to understand the nature of below-ground life in alpine environments, and how these organisms may respond to rapid changes in climate, and shifts in land-use. Aims and objectives To address this knowledge gap of functional ecology and sensitivity in the global alpine, we will form a new global network of alpine specialists from around the world, to lead a 'global fingerprint' of the activity of soil organisms in alpine regions. We will cut across all the major alpine regions of the world, and carry out analysis of the size and activity of the microbes that live in soil. We will then focus on key locations, to simulate climate extremes, which may threaten these ecosystems, and then measure the impact on soil organisms. Specifically, we will ask: 1. What do we know about the global alpine from the perspective of functional ecology? a. We will use gathered expertise from the network to probe deeply into the literature and expert knowledge to make a scientific synthesis of our current understanding of this global biome 2. How will alpine soils respond to extreme climate events? a. We will collect samples from different alpine environments and simulate drought and extreme rainfall events, and measure the impact on soil biology 3. How can we design an experiment that will be globally relevant at exploring climate impacts on alpine ecosystems? a. We will use output from our global synthesis, plus data from our extreme events experiment, to guide the design of our future experiments addressing key questions. Potential applications and benefits. We will use this network to generate new data, giving us insight for the first time on the activity of alpine soil organisms. This information will allow us to understand threats to these ecosystems, ultimately to establish long-term experiments that allow us to see how these ecosystems respond to changes in climate and land-use. Only by working together, can we use our expertise and existing networks to tackle this new and urgent challenge, giving us vital understanding of how best to safeguard these valuable ecosystems so that they continue to provide a harbour for plant and animal biodiversity, and provide us with food, water, timber and a place to live. These data will benefit the scientific community through new knowledge generation, but will also underpin a holistic understanding of the alpine that will contribute to sustainable management. We will also, through our outreach activities, engage with people around to explore functional soil ecology, and initiate a discussion on the threats to our mountains through the 'my mountains matter' platform.

Sea temperatures are rising and marine invasive species are becoming more prevalent. This project aims to understand how climate change and hybridisation between exotic and native marine species leads to rapid adaptation in coastal species. Using integrative approaches from genomics and physiology, and focusing on Australian blue mussels, this partnership award will test leading hypotheses about how climate change and hybridisation can enable rapid adaptation and the spread of exotic species. Outcomes will include strategies for minimising impacts of invasive mussels and boosting warm-temperature adaptation in aquaculture mussels. The project will yield fundamental insights into how marine species can quickly adapt to warming seas; understanding that has major implications for projecting the response of both natural populations, and managing aquaculture productivity, in the face of climate change. This partnership award builds on PI Ellis' NERC funded Innovation Fellowship, to address the question 'does thermal tolerance assist invasive spread?'. The proposal brings together leading international researchers at the forefront of Mytilus research world-wide. We combine Ellis' expertise, and those of A/Prof Anne Todgham (UC Davis) and Dr Mauricio Urbina (Universidad de Concepcion), who are existing project partners as part of Ellis' fellowship, with the complimentary expertise of new project partners Prof Cynthia Riginos (University of Queensland) and A/Prof Craig Sherman (Deakin). With a range of career ages represented (senior: Riginos; mid: Sherman/Todgham; early: Ellis/Urbina) we can combine experience with training, mentoring, fresh perspectives, and complementary skill sets. To achieve the ambitious objectives of this innovative and exciting proposal, this project comprises of three key activities. Two international workshops (1 in UK and 1 in Australia) will facilitate the establishment of an international mussel research network, as well as coordinate the self-sustaining future of the network financially beyond the life of this award. Reciprocal exchange visits for PI Ellis, in addition to 2 ECRs from Exeter, to Australia, as well as 1 ECR each from the Universities of Queensland and Deakin to Exeter, will facilitate knowledge exchange between laboratories and career development of the next generation of international mussel researchers. Finally, the project will undertake an experiment investigation of the role of enhanced thermal tolerance in the successful invasion of Mytilus galloprovincialis in Australia, utilising the unique expertise of Australian Mytilus system, access to world-class facilities (Queenscliff Marine Research Station) and bespoke experimental technology (developed during Ellis' fellowship) that this international collaboration affords. Thus this international partnership is in a unique position globally to address this question of fundamental ecological and evolutionary significance.

Context Mountain ecosystems are found on every continent, and create one of the most dynamic biomes on earth. They are globally significant in that 50% of the of the planet's drinking water comes from mountain ecosystems, 1.2 billion people live within the vicinity of mountains, 24% of the earth's terrestrial landmass is in mountain regions, and mountain ecosystems are attractive landscapes that provide opportunities for rejuvenation, recreation, and cultural services. Not only do we gain these direct benefits from mountainous landscapes, but they are also highly biodiverse ecosystems, with many species found only in the high alpine environment. These biological refuges for rare species are threatened by climate and land-use change, and there are growing observations that mountain summits especially are losing these rare plant species. Despite our knowledge on the biodiversity above-ground, we have scare knowledge on the biodiversity, and indeed the activity, of organisms that live below-ground, in the soil. It is these organisms that maintain nutrients, cycle carbon into soil organic matter, and underpin the sustainability of mountainous regions worldwide, yet threats to these organisms are poorly reconciled. There is therefore an urgent need to understand the nature of below-ground life in alpine environments, and how these organisms may respond to rapid changes in climate, and shifts in land-use. Aims and objectives To address this knowledge gap of functional ecology and sensitivity in the global alpine, we will form a new global network of alpine specialists from around the world, to lead a 'global fingerprint' of the activity of soil organisms in alpine regions. We will cut across all the major alpine regions of the world, and carry out analysis of the size and activity of the microbes that live in soil. We will then focus on key locations, to simulate climate extremes, which may threaten these ecosystems, and then measure the impact on soil organisms. Specifically, we will ask: 1. What do we know about the global alpine from the perspective of functional ecology? a. We will use gathered expertise from the network to probe deeply into the literature and expert knowledge to make a scientific synthesis of our current understanding of this global biome 2. How will alpine soils respond to extreme climate events? a. We will collect samples from different alpine environments and simulate drought and extreme rainfall events, and measure the impact on soil biology 3. How can we design an experiment that will be globally relevant at exploring climate impacts on alpine ecosystems? a. We will use output from our global synthesis, plus data from our extreme events experiment, to guide the design of our future experiments addressing key questions. Potential applications and benefits. We will use this network to generate new data, giving us insight for the first time on the activity of alpine soil organisms. This information will allow us to understand threats to these ecosystems, ultimately to establish long-term experiments that allow us to see how these ecosystems respond to changes in climate and land-use. Only by working together, can we use our expertise and existing networks to tackle this new and urgent challenge, giving us vital understanding of how best to safeguard these valuable ecosystems so that they continue to provide a harbour for plant and animal biodiversity, and provide us with food, water, timber and a place to live. These data will benefit the scientific community through new knowledge generation, but will also underpin a holistic understanding of the alpine that will contribute to sustainable management. We will also, through our outreach activities, engage with people around to explore functional soil ecology, and initiate a discussion on the threats to our mountains through the 'my mountains matter' platform.