Dr Carla Sgro - Researcher Profile

Carla Sgro

Address

School of Biological Sciences
Building 18, Clayton

Contact Details

Tel: +61 3 990 20332

Email: carla.sgro@monash.edu


Biography

Flies provide guide to climate dangers

Some of the smallest residents of Australia’s tropical rainforests have turned scientific thinking about climate change on its head. Researching insects, evolutionary biologist Dr Carla Sgrò has found that not all species possess the genetic capacity to survive rapid environmental change. Carla's findings are helping to refine government policies on biodiversity management, and are motivating her to step into the policy arena.

For many years the dominant belief in evolutionary biology has been that all living things can evolve and adapt to changes in their environment. But Carla’s research has found this is not always true.

She has been tracking the short lives of a species of vinegar fly found in the rainforests of Far North Queensland. In only a few years she has traced the evolution of more than two-dozen generations of the fly.

In a similar timeframe other insect species have developed insecticide resistance – a classic form of biological evolution. An example of this is resistance to dieldrin, which was widely used on a range of agricultural pests in the 1950s. Targeted pests that survived had the genetic capacity to adapt to the chemical. Within five years their offspring had inherited resistance to the insecticide.

But this adaptability was not what Carla found in the vinegar fly species she studied.

“The thinking was that all organisms have the capability for genetic variation. But we have found the exact opposite. Our data shows that the tropical rainforest vinegar flies have remained in that habitat because they simply don’t have the genetic capacity to adapt to conditions outside. However, closely related fruit fly species have been able to expand their environment much further afield.”

The restrictions that hold true for rainforest insects may also hold true for other species, she says. This includes higher order species such as tree kangaroos or wallabies whose habitat is known to be under threat.

Carla’s own fascination with evolutionary biology has driven her research into the genetics of environmental adaptability. It is now motivating her involvement with state and federal policy-makers.

“Explaining the relevance of my research to policymakers is an ongoing challenge, but I am trying to make it happen. The conclusion we have reached, working with insects and short-lived plants, is that it is possible to protect genetic diversity and evolution through current management actions and programs.”

VicRoads is one government agency that has already revised vegetation policies based on Carla’s findings. She says efforts to plant trees to restore vegetation and prevent degradation need to take climate change into account.

Species chosen need to be able to survive more variable weather conditions.

She says this strategy effectively attempts to future proof fragile environments, rather than attempt to fix a situation that has “gone bad”.

“Instead of trying to save a species that is on the verge of extinction, we can minimise the threats to its environment to give it as much chance of survival as possible.”

Keywords

evolution in response to climate change, managing biodiversity under climate change

Qualifications

MASTER IN COMMUNICATION
Institution: RMIT
Year awarded: 2004
PHD IN EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
Institution: La Trobe University
Year awarded: 1998
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONS - 1ST CLASS)
Institution: La Trobe University
Year awarded: 1990

Publications

Journal Articles

Williams, B.R., Van Heerwaarden, B., Dowling, D.K., Sgro, C.M., 2012, A multivariate test of evolutionary constraints for thermal tolerance in Drosophila melanogaster, Journal Of Evolutionary Biology [P], vol 25, issue 7, Wiley-Blackwell, New Jersey USA, pp. 1415-1426.

Van Heerwaarden, B., Lee, R.F.H., Wegener, B.J., Weeks, A.R., Sgro, C.M., 2012, Complex patterns of local adaptation in heat tolerance in Drosophila simulans from eastern Australia, Journal Of Evolutionary Biology [P], vol 25, issue 9, Wiley-Blackwell, Hoboken NJ USA, pp. 1765-1778.

Telonis-Scott, M., Gane, M., DeGaris, S., Sgro, C.M., Hoffmann, A.A., 2012, High resolution mapping of candidate alleles for desiccation resistance in Drosophila melanogaster under selection, Molecular Biology And Evolution [P], vol 29, issue 5, Oxford University Press, Oxford England, pp. 1335-1351.

Weeks, A., Sgro, C., Young, A., Frankham, R., Mitchell, N., Miller, K., Byrne, M., Coates, D., Eldridge, M., Sunnucks, P., Breed, M., James, E., Hoffman, A., 2011, Assessing the benefits and risks of translocations in changing environments: a genetic perspective, Evolutionary Applications: Evolutionary approaches to environmental, biomedical and socio-economic issues [P], vol 4, issue 6, Blackwell Publishing, Hoboken USA, pp. 709-725.

Sgro, C.M., Lowe, A.J., Hoffmann, A.A., 2011, Building evolutionary resilience for conserving biodiversity under climate change, Evolutionary Applications: Evolutionary approaches to environmental, biomedical and socio-economic issues [P], vol 4, issue 2, John Wiley & Sons Inc, Malden Massachusetts USA, pp. 326-337.

Hoffmann, A., Sgro, C., 2011, Climate change and evolutionary adaptation, Nature [P], vol 470, issue 7335, Nature Publishing Group, England, pp. 479-485.

Kristensen, T., Loeschcke, V., Bilde, T., Hoffman, A., Sgro, C., Noreikiene, K., Ondresik, M., Bechsgaard, J., 2011, No inbreeding depression for low temperature developmental acclimation across multiple Drosophila species, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution [P], vol 65, issue 11, Wiley-Blackwell, Malden USA, pp. 3195-3201.

Mitchell, K., Sgro, C., Hoffmann, A., 2011, Phenotypic plasticity in upper thermal limits is weakly related to Drosophila species distributions, Functional Ecology [P], vol 25, issue 3, Wiley-Blackwell, USA, pp. 661-670.

Lee, S., Sgro, C., Shirriffs, J., Wee, C., Rako, L., Van Heerwaarden, B., Hoffman, A., 2011, Polymorphism in the couch potato gene clines in eastern Australia but is not associated with ovarian dormancy in Drosophila melanogaster, Molecular Ecology [P], vol 20, issue 14, Wiley-Blackwell, Malden USA, pp. 2973-2984.

Van Heerwaarden, B., Sgro, C., 2011, The effect of developmental temperature on the genetic architecture underlying size and thermal clines in Drosophila melanogaster and D-simulans from the east coast of Australia, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution [P], vol 65, issue 4, Wiley-Blackwell, Malden USA, pp. 1048-1067.

telonis-scott, m., Hoffman, A., Sgro, C., 2011, The molecular genetics of clinal variation: a case study of ebony and thoracic trident pigmentation in Drosophilia melanogaster from eastern Australia, Molecular Ecology [P], vol 20, issue 10, Wiley-Blackwell, Malden USA, pp. 2100-2110.

Sgro, C., Overgaard, J., Kristensen, T., Mitchell, K., Cockerell, F., Hoffmann, A., 2010, A comprehensive assessment of geographic variation in heat tolerance and hardening capacity in populations of Drosophila melanogaster from eastern Australia, Journal Of Evolutionary Biology [P], vol 23, issue 11, Wiley-Blackwell, Malden USA, pp. 2484-2493.

Sgro, C., Wegener, B., Hoffmann, A., 2010, A naturally occurring variant of Hsp90 that is associated with decanalization, Proceedings of the Royal Society - Biological Sciences (Series B) [P], vol 277, issue 1690, The Royal Society, London England, pp. 2049-2057.

McGuigan, K., Sgro, C.M., 2009, Evolutionary consequences of cryptic genetic variation, Trends in Ecology and Evolution [P], vol 24, issue 6, Elsevier Ltd, UK, pp. 305-311.

Kellermann, V.M., van Heerwaarden, B., Sgro, C.M., Hoffmann, A.A., 2009, Fundamental evolutionary limits in ecological traits drive Drosophila species distributions, Science [P], vol 325, issue 5945, Science, USA, pp. 1244-1246.

van Heerwaarden, B., Kellermann, V.M., Schiffer, M., Blacket, M.J., Sgro, C.M., Hoffmann, A.A., 2009, Testing evolutionary hypotheses about species borders: patterns of genetic variation towards the southern borders of two rainforest Drosophila and a related habitat generalist, Proceedings of the Royal Society - Biological Sciences (Series B) [P], vol 276, issue 1661, The Royal Society Publishing, UK, pp. 1517-1526.

Arthur, A., Weeks, A., Sgro, C.M., 2008, Investigating latitudinal clines for life history and stress resistance traits in drosophila simulans from eastern Australia, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol 21, Blackwell, UK, pp. 1470-1479.

Sgro, C.M., Milton, C., Jensen, L., Frydenberg, J., Leoschcke, V., Batterhams, P., Hoffman, A.A., 2008, Nucleotide diversity in the Hsp90 gene in natural populations of drosophila melanogaster from Australia, Insect Molecular Biology, vol 17, issue 6, Blackwell, UK, pp. 685-697.

Hoffmann, A.A., Ratna, E., Sgro, C.M., Barton, M., Blacket, M.J., Hallas, R.J., De Garis, S., Weeks, A.R., 2007, Antagonistic selection between adult thorax and wing size in field released Drosophila melanogaster independent of thermal conditions, Journal of Evolutionary Biology, vol 20, issue 6, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, United Kingdom, pp. 2219-2227.

Kellermann, V.M., Hoffmann, A.A., Sgro, C.M., 2007, Hsp90 inhibition and the expression of phenotypic variability in the rainforest species Drosophila birchii, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, vol 92, issue 3, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, United Kingdom, pp. 457-465.

Sgro, C.M., Magiafoglou, A., Faine, L., Hoffmann, A.A., 2006, Absence of clinal variation in virgin retention capacity in Australian Drosophila melanogaster, Evolutionary Ecology [P], vol 20, Springer, Dordrecht Netherlands, pp. 407-413.

Rako, L., Anderson, A.R., Sgro, C.M., Stocker, A.J., Hoffmann, A.A., 2006, The association between inversion In(3R)Payne and clinally varying traits in Drosophila melanogaster, Genetica, vol 128, issue 1-3, Springer, Dordrecht Netherlands, pp. 373-384.

Kellermann, V.M., Van Heerwaarden, B., Hoffmann, A.A., Sgro, C.M., 2006, Very low additive genetic variance and evolutionary potential in multiple populations of two rainforest drosophila species, Evolution [P], vol 60, issue 5, The Society for the Study of Evolution, USA, pp. 1104-1108.

Hoffmann, A.A., Sgro, C.M., Weeks, A.R., 2004, Chromosomal inversion polymorphisms and adaptation, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, vol 19, issue 9, Elsevier Science, London England, pp. 482-488.

Sgro, C.M., Hoffmann, A.A., 2004, Genetic correlations, tradeoffs and environmental variation, Heredity, vol 93, issue 3, Nature Publishing Group, London England, pp. 1-8.

Mair, W., Sgro, C.M., Johnson, A.P., Chapman, T., Partridge, L., 2004, Lifespan extension by dietary restriction in female Drosophila melanogaster is not caused by a reduction in vitellogenesis or ovarian activity, Experimental Gerontology, vol 39, issue 7, Elsevier Inc, USA, pp. 1011-1019.

Sgro, C.M., Blows, M.W., 2004, The genetic covariance among clinal environments after adaptation to an environmental gradient in Drosophila serrata, Genetics, vol 167, issue 3, Genetics, Baltimore USA, pp. 1281-1291.

Sgro, C.M., Blows, M.W., 2003, Evolution of additive and nonadditive genetic variance in development time along a cline in Drosophila serrata, Evolution, vol 57, issue 8, Society Study of Evolution, Lawrence Kansas USA, pp. 1846-1851.

Woods, R.E., Sgro, C.M., Hercus, M.J., Hoffmann, A.A., 2002, Fluctuating asymmetry, fecundity and development time in Drosophila: is there an association under optimal and stress conditions?, Journal Evolutionary Biology, vol 15, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford England, pp. 146-157.

Sgro, C.M., Partridge, L., 2001, Laboratory adaptation of life history in Drosophila, The American Naturalist, vol 158, issue 6, University Chicago Press, USA, pp. 657-658.

Postgraduate Research Supervisions

Current Supervision

Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Evolutionary Genomics of Mitochondrial Mutation Loads.
Supervisors:
Dowling, D (Main), Sgro, C (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Exploring the evolutionary significance of the mitochondrial genome.
Supervisors:
Dowling, D (Main), Sgro, C (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Limits to evolution at range margins: testing evolutionary hypotheses about species borders in Drosophila serrata.
Supervisors:
Sgro, C (Main), Dowling, D (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
The transcriptional regulation of plastic responses to stress in Drosophila.
Supervisors:
Sgro, C (Main), Telonis-Scott, M (Associate).