Lord Howe Island Genomic Observatory. The vast majority of extinctions have occurred on islands. Island conservation programs have traditionally focussed on vertebrates, with invertebrates largely ign

Description

Lord Howe Island Genomic Observatory. The vast majority of extinctions have occurred on islands. Island conservation programs have traditionally focussed on vertebrates, with invertebrates largely ignored. We will establish a 'genomic observatory' on World Heritage Listed Lord Howe Island (LHI) by comprehensively characterising its terrestrial invertebrate fauna. We will combine cutting edge DNA methods with traditional taxonomy to enable future monitoring of LHI’s biodiversity, and investigate its evolutionary past. We will utilise extensive collections made before and after the LHI Rodent Eradication Project (2019) to analyse its effects on invertebrate abundance. Our project will provide a model system for safeguarding island ecosystems against future anthropogenic change.. Scheme: Discovery Projects. Field: 3104 - Evolutionary Biology. Lead: Prof Nathan Lo