B Science Australian Environmental Studies (Hons)
Contact details for Mr Olivier Baggiano o_baggiano@hotmail.com
- The Murray-Darling Turtles: Gene Flow and Population Persistence in Dryland Rivers
- Despite evidence to the contrary, freshwater turtles of the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) have generally been regarded as irrelevant to the health of the system. Their typically large local numbers and often very visible populations has lead to the assumption that these species are largely secured despite some recent studies revealing population size decline in the lower MDB. Provision of protected freshwater areas or refugia in the basin has been proposed as a strategy to ensure the long term persistence of the basin fauna and flora. The ability of the MDB turtles to access these refugia and to recolonise failed refugia and lost habitat following extended droughts remains largely unknown. The same can be said of their susceptibility to decline in habitat quality associated with long periods of no flow. In the last three years I have assessed the dispersal ability of each turtle species using genetic methods, in both a regulated (Moonie River) and an unregulated (Lower Murray River) system. I also investigated their population genetic structure at the basin scale to identify structural features and hydrological processes representing barriers or buffer to their population connectivity. Sex-biased dispersal in each species was also assessed. The results of this project in combination with our current knowledge of their respective ecology allow better assessment for the need of management strategies for these species, and for informed decisions with regard to refugia and recolonisation to be made should it be required.
- Professor Jane Hughes
Dr Dan Schmidt
Professor Arthur Georges (UCAN) - Population genetics
- Dispersal ecology (freshwater)
- O. Baggiano, D. J . Schmidt, F. Sheldon and J. M. Hughes (2011) The role of altitude and associated habitat stability in determining patterns of population genetic structure in two species of Atalophlebia (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae). Freshwater Biology v. 56 , 230-2349
- O. Baggiano , D. J. Schmidt , J. M. Hughes (2011) Nine microsatellite markers for the Australian side-necked turtle Chelodina expansa (Chelidae) and cross species amplifications. Marine Genomics v. 4, 297-300
- Jane M. Hughes, Joel A. Huey, Alison J. McLean and Olivier Baggiano (2011) Aquatic Insects in Eastern Australia: A Window on Ecology and Evolution of Dispersal in Streams. Insects v. 2, 447-462