Ms Ebba Widman1, Professor Brendan Wintle, Dr Natalie Briscoe, Associate Professor Kate Umbers, Dr Emily McColl-Gaudsen
1University Of Melbourne, , Australia, 2Western Sydney University, Sydney, Australia
Biography:
Ebba Widman is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne researching species distributions, insect ecology, and eDNA for biodiversity monitoring. She completed her Master's degree in Biological Sciences at University College London, where she studied butterfly range expansion and host plant choice, and has contributed to peer-reviewed publications on butterfly ecology and bee nutrition and sociality. Her PhD research integrates species distribution modelling with eDNA survey methods to support the conservation of threatened insect species.
Abstract:
The Bogong moth Agrotis infusa is an iconic Australian noctuid moth, famous for its remarkable yearly migration and its great cultural significance to First Nations people. Every spring billions of moths migrate from winter breeding grounds in eastern inland Australia to the Australian Alps where they provide a vital influx of nutrients and energy to the alpine ecosystems. The arrival of migrating moths has furthermore been significant for laws, rites and sustenance for local First peoples for thousands of years. In 2017 the species experienced a dramatic population collapse, and have since been listed as endangered by the IUCN. Prolonged droughts along with agricultural intensification in core breeding areas are likely the main drivers of the crash, but remarkably, very little is known about both the distribution and environmental characteristics of the breeding grounds. Acquiring more systematically collected data on the ecological drivers across the winter breeding range is of crucial importance to understanding the population collapse and implementing practical actions to conserve the species. An eDNA sampling strategy will be developed to efficiently collect samples from across the range in the first systematic survey of the Bogong moth breeding grounds. We will furthermore develop a mechanistic habitat suitability modelling , directing the stratification of this and future eDNA surveys and monitoring schemes. The survey will advance current methods for detecting cryptic terrestrial invertebrates using eDNA and provide the foundation for future monitoring and conservation programmes to protect this iconic species.