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Oliver PM, Donnellan SC, Gunn BF. Plio–Pleistocene vicariance across arid Australia in the ‘Spiny Knob-tailed Geckos’ (. AUST J ZOOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1071/zo22008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Across Australia’s monsoon tropics and vast arid zone isolated regions or ‘islands’ of upland or rocky habitat are home to disjunct populations of many taxa of plants and animals. Comparative analyses of lineages that occur across these habitat islands provide opportunities to understand when and how environmental change drove isolation and diversification across arid Australia. Here we present an analysis of mitochondrial genetic diversity across disjunct populations of geckos in the Nephrurus asper group. Dating analyses suggest that disjunct and genetically divergent populations spanning the northern half of Australia diverged through the Plio–Pleistocene. Based on the timing of divergence and current habitat associations we hypothesise that species in this lineage were isolated by the expansion of unsuitable arid-zone habitats from the late Pliocene onwards. Across most areas, these barriers appear to be sandy or stony deserts. However, in eastern Australia genetically divergent populations are separated by grassland on flat vertisol-dominated soils (‘blacksoils’), suggesting that these habitats also expanded during the late Pliocene aridification. Finally, we show that western Queensland populations formerly referred to N. asper are genetically divergent and diagnosable on the basis of colour pattern and, herein, recognise these populations as a distinct species. https://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9508CAAA-D014-452D-A3DA-325851615FA7
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Torkkola JJ, Wilmer JW, Hutchinson MN, Couper PJ, Oliver PM. Die on this hill? A new monotypic, microendemic and montane vertebrate genus from the Australian Wet Tropics. ZOOL SCR 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/zsc.12550] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Janne J. Torkkola
- Snake Out Brisbane Kenmore Queensland Australia
- Biodiversity and Geosciences Program Queensland Museum South Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | | | - Mark N. Hutchinson
- South Australian Museum, North Terrace Adelaide South Australia Australia
| | - Patrick J. Couper
- Biodiversity and Geosciences Program Queensland Museum South Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Paul M. Oliver
- Biodiversity and Geosciences Program Queensland Museum South Brisbane Queensland Australia
- Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security Griffith University Brisbane Queensland Australia
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Plata DL, Janković NZ. Achieving sustainable nanomaterial design though strategic cultivation of big data. NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY 2021; 16:612-614. [PMID: 33986513 DOI: 10.1038/s41565-021-00902-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Desirée L Plata
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Nina Z Janković
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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McDonald PJ, Jobson P, Köhler F, Nano CEM, Oliver PM. The living heart: Climate gradients predict desert mountain endemism. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:4366-4378. [PMID: 33976816 PMCID: PMC8093673 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 01/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Mountain regions are centers of biodiversity endemism at a global scale but the role of arid-zone mountain ranges in shaping biodiversity patterns is poorly understood. Focusing on three guilds of taxa from a desert upland refugium in Australia, we sought to determine: (a) the relative extent to which climate, terrain or geological substrate predict endemism, and (b) whether patterns of endemism are complimentary across broad taxonomic guilds. We mapped regional endemism for plants, land snails, and vertebrates using combined Species Distribution Models (SDMs) for all endemic taxa (n = 82). We then modelled predictors of endemism using Generalised Additive Models (GAMs) and geology, terrain, and climate variables. We tested for the presence of inter- and intraguild hotspots of endemism. Many individual plant and land snail taxa were tightly linked with geology, corresponding to small distributions. Conversely, most vertebrate taxa were not constrained to specific geological substrates and occurred over larger areas. However, across all three guilds climate was the strongest predictor of regional endemism, particularly for plants wherein discrete hotspots of endemism were buffered from extreme summer temperatures. Land snail and vertebrate endemism peaked in areas with highest precipitation in the driest times of the year. Hotspots of endemism within each guild poorly predicted endemism in other guilds. We found an overarching signal that climatic gradients play a dominant role in the persistence of endemic taxa in an arid-zone mountain range system. An association with higher rainfall and cooler temperatures indicates that continuing trends toward hotter and drier climates may lead to range contractions in this, and potentially other, arid-zone mountain biotas. Contrasting patterns of endemism across guilds highlight the need to couple comprehensive regional planning for the protection of climate refugia, with targeted management of more localized and habitat specialist taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Peter Jobson
- Department of Environment and Natural ResourcesNorthern Territory HerbariumAlice SpringsNTAustralia
| | | | | | - Paul M. Oliver
- Environmental Futures Research Institute and School of Environment and ScienceGriffith UniversityNathanQldAustralia
- Biodiversity and Geosciences ProgramQueensland MuseumSouth BrisbaneQldAustralia
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Brennan IG, Keogh JS. Miocene biome turnover drove conservative body size evolution across Australian vertebrates. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:rspb.2018.1474. [PMID: 30333208 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2018] [Accepted: 09/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
On deep time scales, changing climatic trends can have a predictable influence on macroevolution. From evidence of mass extinctions, we know that rapid climatic oscillations can indirectly open niche space and precipitate adaptive radiation, changing the course of ecological diversification. These dramatic shifts in the global climate, however, are rare events relative to extended periods of protracted climate change and biome turnover. It remains unclear whether during gradually changing periods, shifting habitats may instead promote non-adaptive speciation by facilitating allopatry and phenotypic conservatism. Using fossil-calibrated, species-level phylogenies for five Australian radiations comprising more than 800 species, we investigated temporal trends in biogeography and body size evolution. Here, we demonstrate that gradual Miocene cooling and aridification correlates with the restricted phenotypic diversification of multiple ecologically diverse vertebrate groups. This probably occurred as species ranges became fractured and isolated during continental biome restructuring, encouraging a shift towards conservatism in body size evolution. Our results provide further evidence that abiotic changes, not only biotic interactions, may act as selective forces influencing phenotypic macroevolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian G Brennan
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
| | - J Scott Keogh
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
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Ashman LG, Bragg JG, Doughty P, Hutchinson MN, Bank S, Matzke NJ, Oliver P, Moritz C. Diversification across biomes in a continental lizard radiation. Evolution 2018; 72:1553-1569. [PMID: 29972238 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2017] [Revised: 06/15/2018] [Accepted: 06/15/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Ecological opportunity is a powerful driver of evolutionary diversification, and predicts rapid lineage and phenotypic diversification following colonization of competitor-free habitats. Alternatively, topographic or environmental heterogeneity could be key to generating and sustaining diversity. We explore these hypotheses in a widespread lineage of Australian lizards: the Gehyra variegata group. This clade occurs across two biomes: the Australian monsoonal tropics (AMT), where it overlaps a separate, larger bodied clade of Gehyra and is largely restricted to rocks; and in the larger Australian arid zone (AAZ) where it has no congeners and occupies trees and rocks. New phylogenomic data and coalescent analyses of AAZ taxa resolve lineages and their relationships and reveal high diversity in the western AAZ (Pilbara region). The AMT and AAZ radiations represent separate radiations with no difference in speciation rates. Most taxa occur on rocks, with small geographic ranges relative to widespread generalist taxa across the vast central AAZ. Rock-dwelling and generalist taxa differ morphologically, but only the lineage-poor central AAZ taxa have accelerated evolution. This accords with increasing evidence that lineage and morphological diversity are poorly correlated, and suggests environmental heterogeneity and refugial dynamics have been more important than ecological release in elevating lineage diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- L G Ashman
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
| | - J G Bragg
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
- Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
| | - P Doughty
- Department of Terrestrial Zoology, Western Australian Museum, Perth, WA 6016, Australia
| | - M N Hutchinson
- South Australian Museum, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, SA 5042, Australia
| | - S Bank
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
- Johann-Friedrich-Blumenbach Institute for Zoology and Anthropology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen 37073, Germany
| | - N J Matzke
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland 1142, New Zealand
| | - P Oliver
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
- Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, QLD 4111, Australia
- Biodiversity and Geosciences Program, Queensland Museum, Brisbane, QLD 4101, Australia
| | - C Moritz
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia
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McDonald PJ, Nano CEM, Ward SJ, Stewart A, Pavey CR, Luck GW, Dickman CR. Habitat as a mediator of mesopredator-driven mammal extinction. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2017; 31:1183-1191. [PMID: 28186361 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2016] [Revised: 01/05/2017] [Accepted: 02/03/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
A prevailing view in dryland systems is that mammals are constrained by the scarcity of fertile soils and primary productivity. An alternative view is that predation is a primary driver of mammal assemblages, especially in Australia, where 2 introduced mesopredators-feral cat (Felis catus) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes)-are responsible for severe declines of dryland mammals. We evaluated productivity and predation as drivers of native mammal assemblage structure in dryland Australia. We used new data from 90 sites to examine the divers of extant mammal species richness and reconstructed historic mammal assemblages to determine proportional loss of mammal species across broad habitat types (landform and vegetation communities). Predation was supported as a major driver of extant mammal richness, but its effect was strongly mediated by habitat. Areas that were rugged or had dense grass cover supported more mammal species than the more productive and topographically simple areas. Twelve species in the critical weight range (CWR) (35-5500 g) that is most vulnerable to mesopredator predation were extirpated from the continent's central region, and the severity of loss of species correlated negatively with ruggedness and positively with productivity. Based on previous studies, we expect that habitat mediates predation from red foxes and feral cats because it affects these species' densities and foraging efficiency. Large areas of rugged terrain provided vital refuge for Australian dryland mammals, and we predict such areas will support the persistence of CWR species in the face of ongoing mammal declines elsewhere in Australia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter J McDonald
- Flora and Fauna Division, Department of Environment & Natural Resources, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, 0870, Australia
- Desert Ecology Research Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia
| | - Catherine E M Nano
- Flora and Fauna Division, Department of Environment & Natural Resources, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, 0870, Australia
| | - Simon J Ward
- Flora and Fauna Division, Department of Environment & Natural Resources, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, 0870, Australia
| | - Alistair Stewart
- Flora and Fauna Division, Department of Environment & Natural Resources, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, 0870, Australia
| | - Chris R Pavey
- CSIRO Land and Water, P.O. Box 2111, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, 0871, Australia
| | - Gary W Luck
- Institute for Land, Water and Society, Charles Sturt University, Albury, NSW, 2640, Australia
| | - Chris R Dickman
- Desert Ecology Research Group, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, New South Wales, 2006, Australia
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Laver RJ, Nielsen SV, Rosauer DF, Oliver PM. Trans-biome diversity in Australian grass-specialist lizards (Diplodactylidae: Strophurus). Mol Phylogenet Evol 2017; 115:62-70. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ympev.2017.07.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2016] [Revised: 05/30/2017] [Accepted: 07/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Noble C, Laver RJ, Rosauer DF, Ferrier S, Moritz C. Phylogeographic evidence for evolutionary refugia in the Gulf sandstone ranges of northern Australia. AUST J ZOOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1071/zo17079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Locating and protecting climate change refugia is important to conserving biodiversity with accelerating climate change. Comparative phylogeographic analysis provides an effective tool for locating such refugia, as long-term retention of one or more populations within a refugial landscape will generate unique genetic lineages. The ranges of the western Gulf region of northern Australia are thought to represent a significant arid-zone refugium, in which case low-dispersal organisms should have strong phylogeographic structure across the region. To test for this, we conducted extensive sampling of three species of Gehyra geckos and analysed diversity for mitochondrial DNA and eight nuclear loci. These analyses revealed congruent and high phylogeographic diversity, especially, but not exclusively, in rock-restricted species. This finding, and other recent phylogeographic evidence, demonstrates that these topographically variable landforms have enabled persistence of ecologically diverse vertebrate species through the climate changes of the late Pleistocene. Identification of this relatively under-protected region as a significant climate change refugium points to the need to expand protected areas in this region and to invest in ecological management across existing National Parks and Indigenous Protected Areas.
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Oliver PM, McDonald PJ. Correction to 'Young relicts and old relicts: a novel palaeoendemic vertebrate from the Australian Central Uplands'. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2017; 4:161022. [PMID: 28280598 PMCID: PMC5319364 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.161022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160018.].
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