19 December 2006
Monash University researchers are looking at the impact of climate change on butterflies in a study that aims to protect the future of the species, one of thousands threatened with extinction.
The three-year study expands on the first comprehensive genetic data on butterflies collected in Australia in the mid 1970s.
Significant international research has found that butterflies are dying out in warmer places, Monash biologist Dr Paul Sunnucks says. "They are moving away from the equator. They are trying to get to where it's cooler. Just a couple of degrees can make the difference between life and death."
The new research will combine high-end eco-physiology, historical genetic data and detailed molecular biology of genes that are believed to be important in the lives of butterflies. The team will feed the findings into a climate-change model.
It is a collaborative project between Dr Sunnucks and Dr Melanie Norgate from Monash University , Dr Michael Kearney from Melbourne University and Dr Neil Murray from La Trobe University.
"We might expect to find that genes that used to be found in the north now exist in the southern part of the butterflies' range where it is now hotter and dryer that it used to be," Dr Sunnucks says. "It is evolution on a very rapid time scale."
The brown butterfly, which is found from Queensland to South Australia, was chosen for its broad distribution and range of habitats in Australia . This will make the results relevant to many other species of butterfly within this region.
"Whole species of butterflies are threatened with extinction because of climate change; at the same time as we have been causing climate change we have also been removing habitat," he says. "This study will allow us to understand better what the butterfly is capable of. If we understand what the butterflies' bottom lines are, we can better understand which species need our help the most."
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