PhD (General)

Evolutionary patterns in the butterfly genus Oreixenica; Featuring the Ecology and Population Genetics of the Ptunarra Brown Butterfly.

Supervised by Dr Peter McQuillan

The satyrine butterfly genus Oreixenica Waterhouse & Lyell contains six variable species restricted to south-eastern Australia and Tasmania. Most occur in alpine and subalpine habitats, dominated by Poa grasslands. The species differ in their distribution and in many aspects of their biology including protandry, female egg laying behaviour, flight period, egg and larval morphology and incubation periods, pupation behaviour, and flight behaviour. Although the species are relatively well defined, there is uncertainty about their relationships to each other. It is hoped that developing a molecular taxonomy based on CO1 and EF1α will clarified these relationships. Biological attributes of the species will been mapped onto a species cladogram, and an evolutionary/historical hypothesis of development of these features will be proposed.

In Tasmania, native tussock grasslands are among the most threatened natural habitats, with less than 3% of pre-European settlement of grasslands remaining in Tasmania. Prior to European settlement the Midlands were a mosaic of grasslands, woodlands and open forest. Most of this habitat has now been converted to improved pasture. Many Tasmanian Butterfly Species which rely on these grasslands are now prone to local extinction. Much remains to be learned about the butterflies of Tasmania and, in particular, how they interact within the environment; how they react to disturbances; what factors control their populations size, and their patterns of movement.

By choosing to work with butterflies, I hope to contribute knowledge of butterfly biology to the butterfly discourse whilst developing management techniques that can be applied more generally to threatened species conservation. Oreixenica ptunarra is listed as vulnerable under Tasmania’s Threatened Species Protection Act.

Journal Article

Anderson, R, McQuillan, PB, ‘Flight activity and territoriality in a threatened butterfly Oreixenica ptunarra Couchman (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae)’, Records of the South Australian Museum Mongraph Series, 7 297-301 (2003)[A1]

Hingston, AB, Marsden-Smedley, J*, Driscoll, DA, Corbett, S*, Fenton, J*, Anderson, R, Plowman, C*, Mowling, FA, Jenkin, MC, Matsui, K*, Bonham, KJ, Ilowski, M*, McQuillan, PB, Yaxley, BK, Reid, T*, Storey, D*, Poole, L*, Mallick, SA, Fitzgerald, N, Kirkpatrick, JB, Febey, J*, Harwood, AG, Michaels, KF, Russell, MJ, Black, PG*, Emmerson, L, Visoiu, MH, Morgan, J*, Breen, S*, Gates, S, Bantich, MN, Desmarchelier, J, ‘Extent of invasion of Tasmanian native vegetation by the exotic Hingston, AB, Marsden-Smedley, J*, Driscoll, DA, Corbett, S*, Fenton, J*, Anderson, R, Plowman, C*, Mowling, FA, Jenkin, MC, Matsui, K*, Bonham, KJ, Ilowski, M*, McQuillan, PB, Yaxley, BK, Reid, T*, Storey, D*, Poole, L*, Mallick, SA, Fitzgerald, N, Kirkpatrick, JB, Febey, J*, Harwood, AG, Michaels, KF, Russell, MJ, Black, PG*, Emmerson, L, Visoiu, MH, Morgan, J*, Breen, S*, Gates, S, Bantich, MN, Desmarchelier, J, ‘Extent of invasion of Tasmanian native vegetation by the exotic bumblebee Bombus terrestris (Apoidea: Apidae)’, Austral Ecology, 27 (2) 162-172 (2002) [A1]