Project 1. Biodiversity

Contact: Alan Butler

This project will describe patterns in Australian marine biodiversity at continental, regional and local scales using a variety of taxonomic and recent genetic approaches. Historical changes in sea level, geomorphology, palaeocurrents and climate will be used to explain the origins of these patterns in biodiversity and be used to infer how contemporary biodiversity may respond to current environmental change. The smallest scale studied in this project is the scale of 10s of kilometres (seamount connectivity), and this is associated with modelling deepwater currents to establish potential connectivity between deep sea features. The largest scale is continental (and SW Pacific scale). This project will provide input and understanding to describing and categorising Australia 's biodiversity – a crucial first step in its management.

Project Tasks

Update Shelf Bioregionalisation
Task updates 1996 national shelf bioregionalisation of Australian marine fauna, by including recent survey data and including depth as a structuring variable.

Diversity, Distribution and History of Macrobenthos, especially Decapods
Determines whether bioregional patterns in invertebrate phyla on west coast Australia continental shelf and slope correspond to those of fish and incorporates broader Australian and SW Pacific data on two families of squat lobster to understand their evolution and radiation.

Historical Biogeography – Derivation and Origin of Australia 's Marine Biota
Uses evolutionary biology and phylogeography on selected (informative) fish and invertebrate taxa to describe how Australia 's provincial level bioregions came about.

Timing of Evolutionary Processes in Australia 's Marine Biota
Uses molecular phylogenetics for selected fish and decapod species to evaluate synchronicity of historical physical processes and speciation that has given rise to Australia 's high levels of endemism, especially in the south.

Connectivity of Seamount Fauna
Assesses connectivity between seamounts of Southern Tasmania based on population genetics (2 corals, one decapod), spatial statistics and oceanography.

Integration: history and present-day processes as elements in prediction
Integrates pelagic and demersal bioregionalisations and results from Tasks 4 and 5 to provide integrated interpretation of biodiversity patterns and processes and determine relative strength of present, local processes and paleohistory on present day biodiversity patterns.

Identified PhD Projects

• The genetics and evolution of extreme endemism in marine temperate Australian fauna.
  Contact Phillip England

• Genetics and spatial patterning in marine invertebrates
  Contact Madeleine van Oppen

  Project description: This project involves the use of molecular phylogenetics to reconstruct biogeographic histories of selected taxa in the decapod families Chirostylidae and Galatheidae, or several fish groups identified as indicator groups in the National Marine Bioregionalisation of Australia.