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Genetic study finds treasure trove of new lizards
March 04, 2009University of Adelaide research has discovered that there are many more species of Australian lizards than previously thought, raising new questions about conservation and management of Australia's native reptiles.
PhD student Paul Oliver, from the University's School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, has done a detailed genetic study of the Australian gecko genus Diplodactylus and found more than twice the recognised number of gecko species, from 13 species to 29. This study was done in colloboration with the South Australian Museum and Western Australian Museum.
"Many of these species are externally very similar, leading to previous severe underestimation of true species diversity," says Mr Oliver.
"One of the major problems for biodiversity conservation and management is that many species remain undocumented.
"This problem is widely acknowledged to be dire among invertebrates and in developing countries.
"But in this group of vertebrates in a developed nation, which we thought we knew reasonably well, we found more than half the species were unrecognised."
Mr Oliver says this has great significance for conservation. For instance, what was thought to be a single very widespread species of gecko has turned out to be eight or nine separate species with much narrower, more restricted habitats and possibly much more vulnerable to environmental change, he says.
"This completely changes how we look at conservation management of these species," he says.
"Even at just the basic inventory level, this shows that there is a lot of work still to be done. Vertebrate taxonomy clearly remains far from complete with many species still to be discovered. This will require detailed genetic and morphological work, using integrated data from multiple sources. It will require considerable effort and expense but with potentially rich returns."
University of Adelaide
"One of the major problems for biodiversity conservation and management is that many species remain undocumented.
"This problem is widely acknowledged to be dire among invertebrates and in developing countries.
"But in this group of vertebrates in a developed nation, which we thought we knew reasonably well, we found more than half the species were unrecognised."
Mr Oliver says this has great significance for conservation. For instance, what was thought to be a single very widespread species of gecko has turned out to be eight or nine separate species with much narrower, more restricted habitats and possibly much more vulnerable to environmental change, he says.
"This completely changes how we look at conservation management of these species," he says.
"Even at just the basic inventory level, this shows that there is a lot of work still to be done. Vertebrate taxonomy clearly remains far from complete with many species still to be discovered. This will require detailed genetic and morphological work, using integrated data from multiple sources. It will require considerable effort and expense but with potentially rich returns."
University of Adelaide
Conservation Management Current Events and Conservation Management News RSSConservation targets too small to stop extinction
Conservation biologists are setting their minimum population size targets too low to prevent extinction.
Scientists identify world's largest leatherback turtle population
An international team of scientists has identified a nesting population of leatherback sea turtles in Gabon, West Africa as the world's largest.
Photos reveal Myanmar's large and small predators
Using remote camera traps to lift the veil on Myanmar's dense northern wild lands, researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society have painstakingly gathered a bank of valuable data on the country's populations of tigers and other smaller, lesser known carnivores. These findings will help in the formulation of conservation strategies for the country's wildlife.
Wildlife Conservation Society discovers 'Planet of the Apes'
The world's population of critically endangered western lowland gorillas received a huge boost today when the Wildlife Conservation Society released a census showing massive numbers of these secretive great apes alive and well in the Republic of Congo.
Seed dispersal in mauritius -- dead as a dodo?
Walking through the last rainforests on the volcanic island of Mauritius, located some 800 km east of Madagascar, one is surrounded by ghosts.
Smithsonian scientists show differing patterns of rainforest biodiversity
Rainforests are the world's treasure houses of biodiversity, but all rainforests are not the same. Biodiversity may be more evenly distributed in some forests than in others and, therefore, may require different management and preservation strategies.
Big vegetarian mammals can play a critical role in maintaining healthy ecosystems, study finds
Removing large herbivorous mammals from the African savanna can cause a dramatic shift in the relative abundance of species throughout the food chain.
Rising temperatures will lead to loss of trout habitat in the southern Appalachians
USDA Forest Service (FS) research projects that between 53 and 97 percent of natural trout populations in the Southern Appalachians could disappear due to the warmer temperatures predicted under two different global climate circulation models.
Biodiversity in an agricultural landscape – first day of national Dutch Biodiversity symposium
Agriculture and nature are not happily married (yet). Biodiversity is the victim. In preparation to the large COP6 biodiversity conference of the United Nations – planned for April in the Netherlands – a selection of international scientists will present their results and views. Tomorrow, on Friday March 15 in Wageningen (NL).
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