Farewell Nodoka!

Tonight we held a farewell dinner for Nodoka Izumi who starts a job in a few weeks time at the Japan Science and Technology Agency. Congratulations Nodoka!!

Lab end-of-year lunch

Today the Wright lab finished off a very busy and successful year with an enjoyable and delicious shared lunch. The most popular dish was Tiantian’s “ants climbing in the tree” noodles, or Ma Yi Shang Shu (蚂蚁上树). Delicious! Unfortunately Anu and Vin were both away.

ESA2025 Conference

We had a fun and memorable time at the Ecological Society of Australia 2025 conference in Adelaide this year! PhD student Jiahao Wen and Visiting Fellow Xin Han both shared exciting new work. Jiahao gave a talk “Matchmaking: getting the right fungi to the right sorghum variety.” He walked the audience through how sorghum varieties and AM fungi “choose” each other, what makes a good underground partner, and why these relationships matter. Xin presented her work on “Climate-dependent tree community assembly and ecological strategies along montane elevation gradients,” showing how tree traits and communities shift with changing climate conditions up the mountain. Outside the sessions, Adelaide treated us well: perfect early-summer weather, relaxed vibes, river walks, and (of course) excellent South Australian food. Plenty of time to catch up with old friends, meet new collaborators, and enjoy the conference buzz.

If you are interested in these projects, check People for contact information.

Advertised PhD position [NO LONGER AVAILABLE]

ABOUT THE PROJECT

Join the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment (HIE) for your PhD investigating the functional ecology of plants. You’ll explore how and why plant structure and function (“plant traits”) reflect adaptations to different environments.

HIE is renowned for fundamental and applied research in ecology, physiology and global change biology. You will work alongside world-leading researchers, use cutting-edge facilities, and gain skills in fieldwork, glasshouse experimentation, data synthesis, and quantitative analysis – preparing you for a career at the forefront of plant science.

You’ll be mentored by Distinguished Professor Ian Wright and other researchers aligned with your project.

There is opportunity to shape your own project, choosing from two exciting directions:

1. Climate adaptations in Australian native grasses

• Field and/or glasshouse-based investigation of ecological and physiological traits.

• Compile and analyse trait datasets, building general understanding of grass function.

• Possible extensions related to climate resilience, e.g.  modelling mortality related to extreme heat & drought.

• Potential for co-supervision from world-leading researchers at University of Sheffield (UK).

2. Plant resource “economics”

• Focus on woody species and the trade-offs they face acquiring and using light, CO₂, water and nutrients.

• Field measurements of plant ecological and physiological traits across diverse habitats.

• Analyse trait data from Australian and global databases, forging new understanding of plant adaptations to climate and soil properties.

ESA24 conference

We had a big presence at the Ecological Society of Australia 2024 conference. Postdocs Vinod Jacob, Emma Sumner, Travis Britton and Suz Everingham and PhD student Tiantian Pan represented the WSU node of ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture as they delivered excellent talks about the ongoing projects. Postdoc Shubham Chhajed presented some recent findings from the ARC Discovery project on growth and allometry in woody plants. Postdoc Kasia Ziemińska and PhD students Nodoka Izumi and Jiahao Wen presented engaging posters on their respective projects – Wood Economics Spectrum, anatomical drivers of hydraulic trait variation in woody plants, and relationships between soil phosphorus, host genotype and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi composition in Sorghum, respectively. The week was filled with engaging and insightful discussions. It was nice to catch up with colleagues and old friends. We escaped the Sydney heat as Melbourne weather was just perfectly pleasant. And we all got to enjoy the famous Melbourne cafe and food scene. So, a great conference overall.
For more information on our ongoing projects, please check out the Projects page.

Lab end-of-year party

The Wright Lab celebrated today by going out for lunch then playing lawn bowls at Richmond Bowling Club. It was a busy year with many successes to celebrate. We also said farewell to PhD student Chongzhe Zhang (returning to China after 2 years in our group) and to postdoc Emma Sumner (moving on to her next position after 2.5 years in our group).

Left to right: Shubham Chhajed, Jiahao Wen, Anu Middha, Chongzhe Zhang, Ian Wright, Tiantian Pan, Xin Han, Emma Sumner, Vinod Jacob, Nodoka Izumi, Travis Britton, Kasia Ziemińska

Lab dinner

The Wright lab went out for a delicious Thai meal, both because we like delicious food and because we needed to celebrate the end of the two-year period that Chongzhe Zhang has spent in our group, teaching us about the wonders of nematodes, nematode ecological strategies, and the parallels to plant strategies. (see Zhang et al 2024 “Linking nematodes and ecosystem function: a trait-based framework“, TREE 39:644-653; and Zhang et al 2024 “An integrated fast–slow plant and nematode economics spectrum predicts soil organic carbon dynamics during natural restoration“, New Phytol DOI 10.1016/j.tree.2024.02.002

Left to right: Shubham Chhajed, Anu Middha, Jiahao Wen, Chongzhe Zhang, Emma Sumner, Xin Han, Kasia Zieminska, Ian Wright, Nodoka Izumi, Tiantian Pan, Vinod Jacob, Travis Britton.

Plant Growth in Woody Natives – the journey begins

What is growth and what drives it? How does growth relate to plant physiology, allometry, and site environmental factors? To tackle these questions and other such, Shubham and Lily have started monitoring about 800 individuals from 26 species of native woody trees and shrubs in open temperate woodlands within the Sydney Basin area. Over the coming decade, we will revisit these individuals multiple times to gather growth data, concurrently examining their morphological, anatomical and physiological characteristics for a comprehensive understanding of plant function in an ecological context. Watch this space for updates on how these plants are faring.

CoE Plant Success fieldwork in the Northern Territory

Trav, Emma and Vin recently completed a week of fieldwork in Darwin. They scored perfect sampling weather (despite the heat) – completely avoiding the rain despite being the middle of the wet season! This fieldwork is part of two large-scale field campaigns across Australia currently being undertaken by Trav and Emma.

Trav’s work explores trait adaptations to temperature and precipitation in Eucalyptus and involves sampling > 50 eucalypts in their native range for a range of leaf economics, photosynthetic, biomass allocation, foliar nutrient and wood traits. Trav has recently completed several field trips in NSW, south-east QLD and South Australia.

Emma has covered even more ground, spending much of the last six months sampling across the country as part of two field campaigns that characterise the traits of kangaroo grass (Themeda triandra) and native Sorghum species in the field. Emma is collecting photosynthetic, tussock architecture, leaf and root traits in both of these campaigns. Emma and Vin will link these data with Sorghum and kangaroo grass trait data from glasshouse studies they have already completed at HIE.

Both Trav and Emma plan to complete this fieldwork by the end of April, and are looking forward to seeing the findings from this work!

The Wright lab attends the Australian Society of Plant Scientists 2023 Meeting

The members of the Wright lab attended the annual ASPS meeting, which was held in Hobart, Tasmania this year. Several members of the lab gave poster presentations, and Tiantian Pan presented her research via an oral presentation. Her research aims to separate the effects of temperature and precipitation on the traits of Eucalyptus. She focuses on wood anatomical traits which affect plant hydraulic properties. Well done Tiantian!