Results from the study will be used to help guide future financial incentive schemes being delivered by Catchment Management Authorities in NSW, which aim at targeting improvements in vegetation condition and biodiversity conservation.
Boulenger’s Skink (Morethia boulengeri) occurs in a wide range of habitats in south eastern Australia. It is among the most common reptile in farming landscapes in the region, recorded at densities exceeding 1500 individuals ha 1. Its abundance makes it an ideal species for studying landscape level drivers of physiological and ecological processes. The team proposes to test associations between morphology and population parameters in M. boulengeri, and vegetation type and habitat condition across a set of monitored sites in southern NSW. Mitochondrial DNA will be used to characterise the phylogenetic affinities of the sampled populations.
Results from the study will be used to help guide future financial incentive schemes being delivered by Catchment Management Authorities in NSW, which aim at targeting improvements in vegetation condition and biodiversity conservation.
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This study aims to understand how climate change may influence nest site selection and embryonic physiology in the Eastern Water Dragon (Physignathus lesueurii) and to determine how variation in these traits facilitates their adaptation to different environments. ACTHA’s funding will assist with the purchase of 40 miniature thermal data loggers which record nest temperatures, and will be used at the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG).
Nadav will compare the nesting behaviour and embryonic responses to temperature in water dragons from populations along their natural distribution, ranging from northern QLD to Kosciusko National Park. The variation between the climatically distinct populations will indicate both the mechanisms and extent of the water dragons capacity to adapt in a changing environment. The intermediate population at the ANBG provides an excellent point of contact with the public and an opportunity to communicate research outcomes and the unique ecology of these reptiles. Nadav will continue and expand the ongoing research program at the ANBG (where he conducted his honours research) and establish a water dragon research website that will serve as a source of information and provide an opportunity for the public to participate in the research by reporting observations of nesting events through online data sheets. LONG TERM PERSISTENCE OF THE MURRAY DARLING TURTLE POPULATIONS (Olivier Baggiano - PhD - ANU)15/12/2009 This project will investigate the genetic diversity, population structure and gene flow of Chelodina expansa, Chelodina longicollis and Emydura macquarii populations in three upper catchments of the Murray Darling Basin, QLD. Gene flow among permanent waterholes of a largely unregulated catchment will be examined in order to determine if this correlates with our expectations of dispersal ability for each species and compared against population structure in two regulated neighbouring catchments.
By determining the colonisation and re colonisation potential of each species under semi natural conditions, this project will provide informative data for conservation planning such as predicting the impact of future flow reduction in the Murray Darling Basin on the persistence of freshwater turtle populations. The significance of dams and weirs as barrier to dispersal will also be investigated, and the size and age structure of populations within one of the catchments will be estimated (mark recapture method), providing currently lacking information on population health for each species within an upper section of the Murray Darling Basin. QUANTIFYING AMPHIBIAN HABITAT RANGE IN BOODEREE NATIONAL PARK (Martin Westgate - PhD - ANU)15/12/2009 Martin’s research project aims to quantify the range of habitats used by amphibians in Booderee National Park, Jervis Bay. It will provide information on poorly understood aspects of frog behaviour, including the use of the terrestrial habitats by frogs, and movements between breeding sites and the wider landscape. A greater understanding of these behaviours will assist in management of habitats for the conservation of frog species, all the more important given the potential impacts of altered fire regimes and climate change. ACTHA’s grant will help to cover the costs associated with fieldwork.
COMPARATIVE PHYLOGEOGRAPHY OF LIZARDS IN SOUTHWESTERN AUSTRALIA (Geoff Kay - Honours - ANU)15/12/2009 Geoff has just started his Honours, and his topic concerns the evolution of herpetofauna in southwestern Australia. This region has been noted for its exceptional endemism, high species diversity and degree of environmental threat across many floral taxa. This has contributed to the region’s declaration as one of the world’s top 25 biodiversity hotspots. However virtually nothing is known about the phylogeographic patterns in the region’s highly endemic fauna, and Geoff will study the comparative phylogeography of four lizards in the Hotspot. An understanding of the evolutionary processes driving current species diversity and endemism patterns is extremely important both in terms of conservation and management of the diverse and endemic southwestern biota and also for answering broad-scale biogeographic questions and understanding the role that geological processes and climate play in the evolution of the Hotspot. ACTHA’s grant will contribute towards the cost of the expensive molecular lab-work associated with Geoff’s project.
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