Faunal responses to environmental change and isolation on an Australian land-bridge island

  • van der Kaars, Alexander (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI))
  • Bunce, Michael (Chief Investigator (CI))
  • Prideaux, Gavin (Chief Investigator (CI))
  • Ungar, Peter (Partner Investigator (PI))

    Project: Research

    Project Details

    Project Description

    Islands have been a focus for the investigation of evolutionary and ecological processes for >150 years. However, most studies have relied on data from extant taxa combined with general climatic records, since long island fossil records are extremely rare. We will analyse changes in extinction rates, body size, dietary ecology and genetics against vegetation, climatic and fire histories on Kangaroo Island, Southern Australila, the only known land-bridge island with a 100,000 year palaeontological record. Land-bridge island faunas are diverse when initially isolated but then suffer elevated selection pressures and extinction rates. This means they hold great promise for helping predict long-term effects of anthropogenic habitat fragmentation.
    StatusFinished
    Effective start/end date1/01/1231/12/14

    Funding

    • Australian Research Council (ARC)