Dr Julia Mynott1
1La Trobe University, Wodonga, Australia
Thaumatoperla are a unique part of our fauna and are currently listed as threatened species. The genus contains Australia’s largest stoneflies that are an iconic species within the alpine areas of Victoria. They are brightly coloured, both as adults and larvae and the adults are flightless.
Survey data for the four species is limited, meaning that the species distributions are not well known. This limits our understanding of the impacts of catastrophic events, such as the 2019/20 wildfires, and restricts the management and recovery options to reduce the risk of population loss and extinction. This work assessed the distribution of three of the Thaumatoperla species across the Victorian alpine by using eDNA techniques to inform whether the species had a presence across it’s likely distributional area.
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