DSpace Community:https://hdl.handle.net/2440/742042024-03-19T06:07:13Z2024-03-19T06:07:13ZReconstructing colonization dynamics to establish how human activities transformed island biodiversityTomlinson, S.Lomolino, M.V.Anderson, A.Austin, J.J.Brown, S.C.Haythorne, S.Perry, G.L.W.Wilmshurst, J.M.Wood, J.R.Fordham, D.A.https://hdl.handle.net/2440/1404362024-03-14T02:31:11Z2024-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: Reconstructing colonization dynamics to establish how human activities transformed island biodiversity
Author: Tomlinson, S.; Lomolino, M.V.; Anderson, A.; Austin, J.J.; Brown, S.C.; Haythorne, S.; Perry, G.L.W.; Wilmshurst, J.M.; Wood, J.R.; Fordham, D.A.
Abstract: Drivers and dynamics of initial human migrations across individual islands and archipelagos are poorly understood, hampering assessments of subsequent modification of island biodiversity. We developed and tested a new statistical-simulation approach for reconstructing the pattern and pace of human migration across islands at high spatiotemporal resolutions. Using Polynesian colonisation of New Zealand as an example, we show that process-explicit models, informed by archaeological records and spatiotemporal reconstructions of past climates and environments, can provide new and important insights into the patterns and mechanisms of arrival and establishment of people on islands. We find that colonisation of New Zealand required there to have been a single founding population of approximately 500 people, arriving between 1233 and 1257 AD, settling multiple areas, and expanding rapidly over both North and South Islands. These verified spatiotemporal reconstructions of colonisation dynamics provide new opportunities to explore more extensively the potential ecological impacts of human colonisation on New Zealand’s native biota and ecosystems.
Description: Published online: 04 March 20242024-01-01T00:00:00ZBuild it and some may come: early stage habitat restoration may initially favour herbivore returnCross, S.Tomlinson, S.Craig, M.Bateman, P.https://hdl.handle.net/2440/1402052023-12-18T03:16:23Z2023-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: Build it and some may come: early stage habitat restoration may initially favour herbivore return
Author: Cross, S.; Tomlinson, S.; Craig, M.; Bateman, P.
Editor: Doherty, T.
Abstract: Context. Rates of habitat destruction are increasing globally, and recent years have seen a growing focus on returning lands degraded through anthropogenic activities to functional and sustainable ecosystems. Animals provide a range of services critical to healthy ecosystems, yet in assessments of restoration progress they are often assumed to return passively following the reinstatement of native flora and vegetation. Aims and methods. We used remote sensing camera traps to assess the impact of early stage habitat restoration on the structure and diversity of fauna communities on a mine site in the Mid West region of Western Australia. We aimed to assess whether early stage habitat restoration supports animal communities with similar diversity and community structure (foraging guilds) to those found in reference, unmined vegetation. Key results. Although early stage habitat restoration facilitated the establishment of animal communities with similar diversity to that of the reference vegetation; the foraging guilds using restoration vegetation differed significantly from those in the reference vegetation. Early stage restoration was particularly attractive to herbivores but may lack some key resources, for example leaf litter, course woody debris, and appropriate refuge sites, necessary for the return of granivores, insectivores, and omnivores. Conclusions and implications. It is unlikely that early stage habitat restoration will support a similar species composition to established restoration, but it is crucial to monitor restoration along a trajectory to ensure efforts do not ultimately fail. Assessing the responses of fauna from a range of guilds and trophic levels is critical to determining whether habitat restoration is effectively returning functional and self-sustaining animal communities.
Description: Published: 16 August 20222023-01-01T00:00:00ZEvolutionary transition from surface to subterranean living in Australian water beetles (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae) through adaptive and relaxed selectionZhao, Y.Guzik, M.Humphreys, W.Watts, C.Cooper, S.Sherratt, E.https://hdl.handle.net/2440/1399072023-11-18T12:53:42Z2023-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: Evolutionary transition from surface to subterranean living in Australian water beetles (Coleoptera, Dytiscidae) through adaptive and relaxed selection
Author: Zhao, Y.; Guzik, M.; Humphreys, W.; Watts, C.; Cooper, S.; Sherratt, E.
Abstract: Over the last 5 million years, numerous species of Australian stygobiotic (subterranean and aquatic) beetles have evolved underground following independent colonisation of aquifers by surface ancestors, providing a set of repeated evolutionary transitions from surface to subterranean life. We used this system as an ‘evolutionary experiment’ to investigate whether relaxed selection has provided a source of variability for adaptive radiations into ecosystems containing open niches and whether this variability underpins phenotypic evolution in cave animals. Linear and landmark-based measurements were used to quantify the morphology of subterranean species from different aquifers, compared to interstitial and closely related aquatic surface species. Subterranean dytiscids were observed to be morphologically distinct, suggesting they have a different lifestyle compared to their surface relatives. However, the variation in the measured traits was much greater in the subterranean species, and unstructured, showing no evidence of clustering that would indicate adaptation to specific niches. Furthermore, a previously identified pattern of repeated non-overlapping size variation in beetles across aquifers was not correlated with repeated body shape evolution. The observed variability across body shape and limb traits provides support for the hypothesis that relaxed selection and neutral evolution underlie the phenotypic evolution in these species.
Description: Advance access publication 19 October 2023.
OnlinePubl2023-01-01T00:00:00ZPopulation genomic diversity and structure in the golden bandicoot: a history of isolation, extirpation, and conservationRick, K.Byrne, M.Cameron, S.Cooper, S.J.B.Dunlop, J.Hill, B.Lohr, C.Mitchell, N.J.Moritz, C.Travouillon, K.J.von Takach, B.Ottewell, K.https://hdl.handle.net/2440/1397362023-12-11T09:09:21Z2023-01-01T00:00:00ZTitle: Population genomic diversity and structure in the golden bandicoot: a history of isolation, extirpation, and conservation
Author: Rick, K.; Byrne, M.; Cameron, S.; Cooper, S.J.B.; Dunlop, J.; Hill, B.; Lohr, C.; Mitchell, N.J.; Moritz, C.; Travouillon, K.J.; von Takach, B.; Ottewell, K.
Abstract: Using genetic information to develop and implement conservation programs is vital for maintaining biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Evaluation of the genetic variability within and among remnant populations can inform management of both natural and translocated populations to maximise species' adaptive potential, mitigate negative impacts of inbreeding, and subsequently minimise risk of extinction. Here we use reduced representation sequencing to undertake a genetic assessment of the golden bandicoot (Isoodon auratus), a threatened marsupial endemic to Australia. The currently recognised taxon consists of three subspecies distributed among multiple natural and translocated populations. After confirming the genetic distinctiveness of I. auratus from two closely related taxa, I. fusciventer and I. macrourus, we identified four genetic clusters within I. auratus. These clusters exhibited substantial genetic differentiation (pairwise FST values ranging from 0.18 to 0.65, pairwise DXY ranging from 0.1 to 0.168), reflecting long-term isolation of some populations on offshore islands and the influence of genetic drift. Mainland natural populations in the Kimberley region had the highest genetic diversity and the largest contribution to overall allelic and gene diversity compared to both natural and translocated island populations. A population translocated to Guluwuru Island in the Northern Territory had the lowest genetic diversity. Our data suggest that island populations can appear genetically unique due to genetic drift and this needs to be taken into account when considering genetic diversity in conservation efforts to maintain overall genetic diversity of the species. We effectively demonstrate how genomic information can guide practical conservation planning, especially when declining species are represented by multiple isolated populations.
Description: Published online: 08 October 20232023-01-01T00:00:00Z