Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research

Projects for 2004-05

Phylogeography and Evolution of the Grey Fantail Complex in Australia

Supervisor: Terry Chesser, Australian National Wildlife Collection

Phylogeography is the study of genetic variation across the range of a species or species group. Phylogeographic studies can provide insight into continent-wide patterns of gene flow and the effectiveness of geographical barriers, aid assessment of the conservation and taxonomic status of isolated populations, and provide a temporal and genetic context to patterns of morphological and behavioural differentiation.

This project consists of investigation of the phylogeography of Australian representatives of the Grey Fantail species complex, assessment of the status of geographically isolated populations within the group, comparison of genetic with morphological and behavioral variation, and comparison of patterns of speciation in these birds with those of similarly distributed taxa. The student will have the opportunity to use advanced molecular techniques, including sequencing of DNA, in a modern genetics lab at CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems, as well as use of the museum resources of the Australian National Wildlife Collection (http://www.anwc.csiro.au). The ANWC is Australia's federal collection of land vertebrates, containing study skins, skeletons, spirit-preserved specimens, frozen tissues, and a library of wildlife sounds. There will be opportunity to become familiar with the workings of a vertebrate natural history collection and to learn about non-genetic aspects of systematics and taxonomy. The project will be supervised by Dr Terry Chesser, ANWC Curator and Research Leader. Terry's research interests include studies of the evolution, systematics, migration, and conservation of vertebrates, primarily birds, of Australasia and the Americas.

Photo: Ellis McNamara

In Australia, the Grey Fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa) complex consists of six morphological forms, many of which inhabit distinctive habitats: phasiana, found in mangroves in northern and northwestern Australia; albicauda, found in deserts of central and inland western Australia; keasti, found in rainforests of northeastern Queensland; and three forms, preissi of southwestern Australia, alisteri of southeastern Australia; and albiscapa of Tasmania, found primarily in sclerophyllous forests and woodlands. Until recently, all six forms were typically treated as subspecies of the Grey Fantail. However, Ford (1981) proposed that the mangrove form phasiana be considered a separate species, based on differences in morphology, song, habitat, and behaviour. Division of the complex into the two species Mangrove Grey Fantail (R. phasiana) and Grey Fantail, consisting of the other five forms, is now the standard treatment of this group.

Specific questions to be addressed by this study include:

• Does genetic variation coincide with morphological variation in the Grey Fantail? Are there six genetic forms of the Grey Fantail?
• Are the three southern forms, which are most similar in plumage and measurements, most closely related to each other?
• Do other similarities in plumage, such as that between keasti and albiscapa, represent convergence in similar environmental conditions?
• Does genetic variation coincide with behavioural variation?
• Is the mangrove form phasiana, the most behaviourally distinct form of the Grey Fantail, sister to the rest of this complex?
• Are the southern forms, which have similar habitat preferences, songs, and breeding biology, most closely related to each other?
• What is the sister to the tropical forest form keasti?
• Is the desert form albicauda closely related to the southern forms, to which it is most similar in morphology, calls, and breeding biology?
• Is it sister to the southwest form preissi, whose range abuts that of albicauda, to alisteri, some individuals of which show plumage similarities, or to neither?
• Is there a major east-west genetic break, as seen in some other groups present in southeastern and southwestern Australia, between preissi and alisteri?