ORCID Profile
0000-0001-6334-372X
Current Organisation
University of Tasmania
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Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 1997
DOI: 10.1071/ZO95050
Abstract: Considerable geographic variation occurs in the Tasmanian endemic butterfly, Oreixenica ptunarra, and there is a high correlation between clusters of morphological characters and ecological factors, especially climate and elevation. Evidence is presented for the existence of a longitudinal cline in phenotypic characters of wing pattern and size, which is unrelated to the modest amount of variation in the male genitalia (a possible surrogate for genetic variability). Butterflies from warmer, less cloudy eastern Tasmania are larger and less dark in colour than those from the west, culminating in the small dark populations of the north-west. This suggests selection for efficiency in thermoregulation as climatic conditions become more marginal for adult activity from east to west. The prevailing subspecies classification does not fully reflect the range of variation in this species. Conservation strategies that aim to guarantee the survival of the collective phenotype of O. ptunarra based on this taxonomy are therefore misinformed. The north-west populations are disjunct geographically and in features of phenotype, but are not especially discrete in the morphology of the male genitalia. We propose that the subspecies angeli Couchman and roonina Couchman be reduced to synonymy with nominotypical ptunarra Couchman, and a new subspecies should be recognised to incorporate populations from the montane grasslands of north-western Tasmania.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-1998
Publisher: Magnolia Press
Date: 09-02-2021
DOI: 10.11646/ZOOTAXA.4926.3.4
Abstract: We describe the endemic Tasmanian cockroach, Polyzosteria yingina sp. nov. (Henry), 78 years after it was first documented. Evidence from morphology, biogeography and CO1 barcodes is used to distinguish this species from related mainland Australian taxa it has previously been confused with. Polyzosteria yingina sp. nov. has two strongly allopatric populations: a compact alpine population above 1000m and a dispersed east coastal one at sealevel. However, mitochondrial Control Region D-loop molecular analysis suggests a single species identity for these disparate populations. Detailed internal and external morphological descriptions and photographs of living and preserved type material are presented. We also speculate on some hypotheses which could account for the unusual distribution of this charismatic insect.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 2012
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-09-2023
DOI: 10.1111/AEC.13421
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-07-2004
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-1984
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Date: 02-2011
DOI: 10.1086/657280
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2009
DOI: 10.1071/AN09042
Abstract: A collaborative project between researchers, regional natural resource management organisations and landholders set out to explore three questions about the relationships between bio ersity and land use in Australia’s mixed-farming landscapes: (1) the extent to which farm-scale measures of bio ersity were related to agricultural production (2) the influence of the type and intensity of agricultural production on native bio ersity on farms and (3) the relative influence of site and farming system on selected measures of bio ersity. Four land-use types on 47 mixed farms across nine regions, derived from several of Australia’s 56 natural resource management regions, were surveyed in autumn and spring 2006 and 2007. Surveys of birds, surface invertebrates (beetles, ants, spiders), vegetation and soils were undertaken on four land classes on each farm crop, ‘rotation’ (break crop asture phase), perennial pasture and remnant vegetation. Data were collected by participating regional staff, using a standard protocol, which were sent to a central collection point for collation, analysis and interpretation. Species richness, functional ersity and vegetation structure were assessed. This introductory paper focuses on results relating to species richness, which for most taxa was greater in remnant vegetation than other land-use classes and declined along a disturbance gradient (remnant, pasture, rotation, crop). Properties with a greater proportion of perennial pastures recorded higher species richness than properties that were dominated by crop. Properties that recorded high wheat yields (t/ha) also recorded lower species richness for spiders and birds. The presence of insectivorous birds and beneficial invertebrates (spiders, beetles and ants) in all land-use classes suggests the potential to apply integrated pest management approaches to mixed-farming systems across the country. Site and system features were found to be important determinants of bio ersity, with their relative importance varying with the scale of investigation and the taxa. At the landscape scale, bird species richness was correlated with the amount of remnant vegetation within a 5-km radius of the farm boundary, and with the condition of native vegetation on the farm. The average size of remnant vegetation patches was 5 ha or less on nearly half of the properties surveyed. At the farm scale, ant species richness was correlated with site features, while beetles were correlated with management/system features such as the presence and fertility of perennial pastures. Analyses at the functional group level will provide more detailed information on relationships between different land-use types. Further experimental work needs to be undertaken to qualify the suggested impact of land management practices on different taxa, while repeated surveys will allow for the collation of datasets over time, from which population dynamics may be determined.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-1992
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-12-2009
DOI: 10.1111/J.1365-2656.2009.01609.X
Abstract: 1. The general importance of metacommunity and metapopulation theories is poorly understood because few studies have examined responses of the suite of species that occupy the same fragmented landscape. In this study, we examined the importance of spatial ecological theories using a large-scale, naturally fragmented landscape. 2. We measured the occurrence and abundance of 44 common beetle species in 31 natural rainforest fragments in Tasmania, Australia. We tested for an effect on beetle distribution of geographic variables (patch area, patch isolation and amount of surrounding habitat) and of environmental variables based on plant species, after first accounting for spatial autocorrelation using principal coordinates of neighbour matrices. The environmental variables described a productivity gradient and a post-fire succession from eucalypt-dominated forest to late-successional rainforest. 3. Few species had distributions consistent with a metapopulation. However, the amount of surrounding habitat and patch isolation influenced the occurrence or abundance of 30% of beetle species, implying that dispersal into or out of patches was an important process. 4. Three species showed a distribution that could arise by interactions with dominant competitors or predators with higher occurrence in small patches. 5. Environmental effects were more commonly observed than spatial effects. Twenty-three per cent of species showed evidence of habitat-driven, deterministic metapopulations. Furthermore, almost half of the species were influenced by the plant succession or productivity gradient, including effects at the within-patch, patch and regional scales. The beetle succession involved an increase in the frequency of many species, and the addition of new species, with little evidence of species turnover. Niche-related ecological theory such as the species-sorting metacommunity theory was therefore the most broadly applicable concept. 6. We conclude that classic and source-sink metapopulations are probably rare in this large-scale, naturally fragmented system, although dispersal processes like those occurring in metapopulations may have a substantial influence on community composition. However, deterministic processes (niche specialisation, species-sorting metacommunities and deterministic metapopulations) drive the occurrence or frequency of the majority of species. We urge further research into the prevalence of spatial ecological processes in large-scale natural ecosystems to expand our understanding of the processes that may be important in nature.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-1990
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-10-2016
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-1997
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 05-1997
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 24-09-2014
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-2001
Publisher: The Royal Society of Tasmania
Date: 2019
Abstract: Saltmarsh soils impose harsh selection pressures on vegetation resulting in characteristic plant communities. For our study of the effect of edaphic factors on vegetation we chose Long Point in Moulting Lagoon, Tasmania’s largest saltmarsh, which is dominated by a erse assemblage of halophytic succulents and graminoids. Three transects were established to s le variations in vegetation along the gradient from saltmarsh to woodland. Soil s les were analysed for summer and winter moisture, pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) a mixed summer and winter s le from each point was analysed for soil organic matter (SOM) and carbon. Additionally, a particle size analysis was carried out on all summer s les. Aspects of soil characteristics were aligned to classified vegetation groups and elevation. Moisture, pH, EC, SOM and carbon were all negatively correlated with elevation the saltmarsh zone displaying higher levels of all variables than those in the adjacent woodland zone. Clay content decreased and sand content increased from the marine margin of the saltmarsh zone to the woodland zone. Within the saltmarsh zone, soil moisture, EC and carbon had highest values in the low marsh area, with values decreasing towards the upper marsh area. This study deepens our understanding of the roles various edaphic factors play in the floristic composition of coastal saltmarshes.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-1995
Publisher: Brill
Date: 2001
Abstract: The previously overlooked geometrid genus Palleopa Walker, which includes one described, widespread species: innotata, is reviewed. The genus has an eastern Bassian distribution, south of latitude 28°S, in the moist forests and woodlands of south eastern Australia from sea level to over 1000m. The distinctive larvae feed on the foliage of Eucalyptus trees. The immature stages are described and the life cycle is illustrated for the first time.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-1998
Publisher: Oxford University Press (OUP)
Date: 02-2013
DOI: 10.1603/EN12322
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-10-2008
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2006
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-08-2010
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2015
DOI: 10.1016/J.JTHERBIO.2015.06.001
Abstract: Behavioural thermoregulation has the potential to alleviate the short-term impacts of climate change on some small ectotherms, without the need for changes to species distributions or genetic adaptation. We illustrate this by measuring the effect of behaviour in a cool temperate species of grasshopper (Phaulacridium vittatum) over a range of spatial and temporal scales in laboratory and natural field experiments. Microhabitat selection at the site scale was tested in free-ranging grasshoppers and related to changing thermal quality over a daily period. Artificial warming experiments were then used to measure the temperature at which common thermoregulatory behaviours are initiated and the subsequent reductions in body temperature. Behavioural means such as timing of activity, choice of substrates with optimum surface temperatures, shade seeking and postural adjustments (e.g. stilting, vertical orientation) were found to be highly effective at maintaining preferred body temperature. The maximum voluntarily tolerated temperature (MVT) was determined to be 44°C±0.4°C, indicating the upper bounds of thermal flexibility in this species. Behavioural thermoregulation effectively enables small ectotherms to regulate exposure to changing environmental temperatures and utilize the spatially and temporally heterogeneous environments they occupy. Species such as the wingless grasshopper, although adapted to cool temperate conditions, are likely to be well equipped to respond successfully to coarse scale climate change.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2004
DOI: 10.1071/BT03015
Abstract: Flowers of the commercially important tree Eucalyptus nitens (Deane & Maiden) Maiden were visited by a erse array of insects, but not by birds, in Tasmanian seed orchards. Most species of insects that visited the flowers of E. nitens are likely to be effective pollinators because all common species of visitors carried many grains of Eucalyptus pollen, and the open floral structure facilitates frequent insect contact with stigmas. Seed production also suggested that a wide variety of insects were effective pollinators because flowers were consistently well pollinated, despite differences in flower-visitor communities among orchards and particular branches of flowers. The generalised entomophilous pollination system of E. nitens suggests that effective pollinators should occur in seed orchards of this tree throughout the world, provided that flowering occurs at a time of year conducive to insect activity. Although a wide variety of insects appear to be effective pollinators of E. nitens, introduced honeybees, Apis mellifera L., that are often deployed as pollinators in seed orchards were consistently not attracted to the flowers. The reliance on wild insects as pollinators suggests that seed production in E. nitens may benefit from reduced use of broad-spectrum insecticides in, and near, seed orchards.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 06-1998
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-1984
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2004
DOI: 10.1071/BT03018
Abstract: It has been argued that the production of sufficient nectar to attract bird pollinators would evolve if the fitness benefits accruing from pollination services by birds, compared with insects, outweighed the cost of increased allocation of photosynthate to nectar. This hypothesis implies that the pollination services provided by birds must be considerably better than those provided by insects with which the plant has evolved. Consistent with this, we found that the endangered native swift parrot Lathamus discolor (Shaw) was a very effective pollinator of the native tree Eucalyptus globulus Labill. in Tasmania, facilitating an average of 76% of the maximum possible seed set for open-pollinated flowers in just one visit to a flower, whereas single flower visits by native insects did not facilitate any seed production. Flowers visited once by either species of introduced social bees, the honeybee Apis mellifera L. or the bumblebee Bombus terrestris (L.), produced less than 7% of the maximum possible seed set for open-pollinated flowers. Hence, easily managed social bees appear to be poor substitutes for bird pollinators in commercial seed orchards of this tree. We propose three possible reasons why this largely bird-pollinated tree has not evolved characters that deter insects from removing nectar.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 1985
DOI: 10.1071/ZO9850509
Abstract: Descriptions are provided for the final-instar larvae of the following species of Scarabaeidae, which live and feed in the root zone of pastures in Tasmania. Dynastinae: Cheiroplatys latipes (Guerin-Meneville), Pimelopus nothus Burmeister and Adoryphorus couloni (Burmeister). Rutelinae: Saulostomus villosus Waterhouse and Anoplognathus suturalis Boisduval. Melolonthinae: Phyllotocus macleayi Fischer, P. bimaculatus Erichson, P. nigripennis Lea, P. rufipennis (Boisduval), Automolus depressus (Blanchard), Colpochila obesa Boisduval, Liparetrus sp., Telura sp., T. vitticollis Erichson, Scitala sericans Erichson, Sericesthis nigra (Lea), S. nigrolineata (Boisduval), Diphucephala colaspidoides (Gyllenhal), D. smaragdula Boisduval and Heteronyx tasmanicus Blackburn. Keys are also provided which enable the species to be distinguished from each other by means of features generally visible at low magni- fication.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2000
DOI: 10.1071/BT98027
Abstract: The geographically restricted Tasmanian endemic Cyathodes aricata Hook.f. is functionally dioecious but, unusually, is pollinated by several species of nectarivorous birds including honeyeaters (Meliphagidae). It has evolved in a clade otherwise conforming to the typical dioecious pollination syndrome of small white flowers serviced by small insects. A number of its features are consistent with ornithophily in other Epacridaceae, including a tubular pendant odourless corolla, a winter peak in flowering and a copious diurnal nectar flow. However, the flower largely retains the white, insect-attractive colour of its congeners. Male plants have more and larger flowers, begin flowering earlier in the season, and yield significantly more nectar per flower than female plants. The fruits produced on female plants were 22% larger than the few produced on male plants. These findings are consistent with recent theories on the biology of dioecy. The species has a high level of self-fertility, and dioecy presumably serves to increase the rate of outcrossing.
Publisher: Brill
Date: 2003
DOI: 10.1163/187631203788964917
Abstract: The geometrid genus Archephanes Turner, which includes one described species, zalosema Turner, is reviewed. Previously thought to be restricted to Tasmania, the genus has a south eastern Bassian distribution, below latitude 36°S. It inhabits the moist forests and sub-alpine regions of south eastern Australia from sea level to over 1000 m. The distinctive and colourful larvae feed exclusively on the foliage of Tasmannia lanceolata (Poiret) A. C. Smith, 1969 (Winteraceae). The life-cycle is described and immature stages illustrated for the first time.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2000
DOI: 10.1071/BT98027
Abstract: The geographically restricted Tasmanian endemic Cyathodes aricata Hook.f. is functionally dioecious but, unusually, is pollinated by several species of nectarivorous birds including honeyeaters (Meliphagidae). It has evolved in a clade otherwise conforming to the typical dioecious pollination syndrome of small white flowers serviced by small insects. A number of its features are consistent with ornithophily in other Epacridaceae, including a tubular pendant odourless corolla, a winter peak in flowering and a copious diurnal nectar flow. However, the flower largely retains the white, insect-attractive colour of its congeners. Male plants have more and larger flowers, begin flowering earlier in the season, and yield significantly more nectar per flower than female plants. The fruits produced on female plants were 22% larger than the few produced on male plants. These findings are consistent with recent theories on the biology of dioecy. The species has a high level of self-fertility, and dioecy presumably serves to increase the rate of outcrossing.
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2001
DOI: 10.1071/IT99025
Abstract: The genus Paralaea Guest is reviewed and includes fourpreviously described species, P. porphyrinaria (Gueée, 1857), P. beggaria (Guenée,1857), P. ochrosoma (R. Felder & Rogenhofer,1875) and P. polysticha (Goldfinch, 1944), and nine newspecies: P. atralba, sp. nov., P. chionopasta, sp. nov., P. jarrah, sp. nov., P. karri , sp. nov., P. maranoa, sp. nov., P. sarcodes, sp. nov., P. taggorum, sp. nov., P. tasmanica, sp. nov. and P. toowoomba, sp. nov. The genus has a Bassiandistribution with some extension into the woodlands of the semi-arid zone. Most species occur in south-eastern Australia with six species in Tasmania. Known larvae feed on Eucalyptus, especially trees of the subgenus Monocalyptus, and one species is an occasionalforest pest.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 06-11-2013
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-1998
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2003
DOI: 10.1071/IS02026
Abstract: Proditrix nielseni, sp. nov., a giant of the world yponomeutoid fauna, is described from cool temperate rainforest in montane Tasmania. The distinctive larvae feed in the crown of the endemic 'pandani', Richea pandanifolia, the world's tallest species of Epacridaceae. This is the first record of the genus Proditrix Dugdale from Australia and from a dicotyledonous hostplant. It represents a second austral plutellid genus shared between Tasmania and New Zealand.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 21-07-2004
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-04-2012
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Date: 02-2010
DOI: 10.1086/648990
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-06-2011
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-2004
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 1999
DOI: 10.1071/ZO98016
Abstract: The assertion that the recently introduced large earth bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, does not compete with other bees was investigated by examining the impact of B. terrestris on the foraging of two species of Chalicodoma(Megachilidae) on flowers of Gompholobium huegelii (Fabaceae). Chalicodoma spp. spent less time at each flower during the afternoon in quadrats where B. terrestris foraged than at quadrats from which B. terrestriswas excluded, indicating that standing crops of nectar were depleted by B. terrestris during the course of the day. This decline in resources was associated with reductions in the numbers of flowers visited, and the amount of time spent foraging, by Chalicodoma spp. It is proposed that the native bees avoided foraging in the quadrat where B. terrestris occurred as a response to reduced foraging efficiency in that situation. Thus, B. terrestris displaced these two species of Chalicodoma through competition for a limited resource. The high densities at which B. terrestris occurred, together with its ability to forage at lower ambient temperatures than the native bees, exacerbated the impact of this exotic species. The possibility that this will adversely affect pollination in G. huegelii is also discussed.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 16-01-2012
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 1996
DOI: 10.1071/IT9960433
Abstract: The Tasmanian species associated by previous authors with the geometrid moth genus Amelora Guest are reviewed. Nine, including two new species, are assigned to Amelora sensu stricto on the basis of new morphological evidence: A. sparsularia (Guenee) with synonyms A. cyclocentra Turner, syn. nov., and A. oxytona Turner, syn. nov., A. arotraea Meyrick, A. adusta Turner, A. zophopasta Turner, A. nebulosa, sp. nov., A. oritropha Turner, A. leucaniata (Guenée), A. acontistica (Turner), comb. nov., and A. acromegala, sp. nov. Xantholepidote Gumppenberg, syn. nov., and Stinoptila Turner, syn. nov., are considered new generic synonyms of Amelora. All other Tasmanian species associated with Amelora in original combination are reassigned to new genera: Dolabrossa, gen. nov., includes the type species D. suffusa (Turner), comb. nov., and D. amblopa (Guest), comb. nov. Furcatrox, gen, nov., is erected for a complex of superficially similar species including F. australis (Rosenstock), comb. nov., as type species, F. serrula, sp. nov., F. pervaga, sp. nov., F. furneauxi, sp. nov., F. paracus, sp. nov., F. procera, sp. nov., and F. crenulata (Turner), comb. nov. Lackrana, gen. nov., includes the type species L. carbo, sp. nov., and L. durafrons, sp. nov. Cassythaphaga, gen. nov., is a Cassytha (Lauraceae)-feeding genus with C. macarta (Turner), comb. nov., as type species and Androchela, gen. nov., includes A. newmannaria (Guenée), comb. nov., newly confirmed from Australia after 130 years, the polyphagous genotype A. milvaria (Guenée), comb. nov., and a new species, A. smithi, sp. nov., from the Tasmanian highlands. Biological and ecological notes are given where known.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2007
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Date: 2004
DOI: 10.1071/BT03002
Abstract: Flowers of the commercially important tree Eucalyptus globulus Labill. ssp. globulus were visited by a wide variety of insects and birds within its natural distribution. Flowers were visited so frequently that most available nectar was consumed, but seed production within 5 m of the ground was consistently far less than the maximum possible, indicating the presence of large numbers of inefficient pollinators and few efficient pollinators. Pollen limitation was more severe on fully self-incompatible trees than on partially self-compatible trees, demonstrating that pollinator inefficiency resulted from infrequent outcrossing rather than inability to deposit pollen on stigmas. The flower visitors that were responsible for almost all nectar consumption from flowers within 5 m of the ground were insects that were able to permeate cages with 5-mm apertures but not cages with 1-mm apertures, the most abundant of which was the introduced honeybee Apis mellifera L. These insects contributed less than 20% of the maximum possible seed set, indicating that they were inefficient pollinators. Birds and smaller insects made lesser contributions to seed production, but consumed little nectar within 5 m of the ground. However, anthophilous birds appeared to mostly forage higher in the trees and probably consumed more nectar from, and provided more pollination services to, flowers higher in the trees.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 08-1998
No related grants have been discovered for Peter McQuillan.