Phylogeography of Austral soil invertebrates ...

• Main Author: Ross, Giles Michael
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: Western Sydney University 2023
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.26183/87vj-k230; https://researchdirect.westernsydney.edu.au/islandora/object/uws:72291

Soil invertebrates are terrestrial animals belonging to ancient phyla that emerged almost half a billion years ago. They have since spread throughout all known landmasses, with contemporary distributions governed by geological and environmental change across spatial and temporal gradients across the globe. However, limited knowledge of southern hemisphere (Austral) species hampers our ability to discern the general patterns of distribution and speciation. The lack of robust taxonomic information has also constrained our understanding of the evolutionary relationships and functional roles of the diverse soil fauna. This thesis capitalises on the development in molecular tools and improved sequence libraries to explore the factors that define the distribution and diversity of common soil invertebrates, specifically oribatid mites (Acari), springtails (Collembola) and nematodes (Nematoda). I investigated communities at continental-scales from maritime Antarctica and Australia to enable greater resolution of the ...