Dates and Times
11 October 2019
11:30 - 12:30
Event for
Location
Organiser
Faculty of Science and Technology
Speakers
Prof Jane Hughes, Griffith University
Enquiry
Libby Roberts
Event about:
IAE Seminar - Black versus white: an evolutionary and ecological study of Australia's favourite bird
Many Australian birds show striking variation in plumage across their range. The Australian magpie is one of the best known. Its distribution covers most of mainland Australia and Tasmania, with male birds in the north having black backs and male birds in the south having white backs. In both the east and west, there are intermediate zones, where black-backed, white-backed and ‘hybrid’ birds occur. In this talk, I examine the possible causes of this distribution and the explanation for its apparently stable structure. I will describe a phylogeographic study across the entire distribution and a long-term ecological study in the eastern hybrid zone.
Additional Information
Speaker bio:
Prof Jane Hughes, School of Environment and Science at Griffith University
Jane Hughes is a Professor Emeritus in the School of Environment and Science at Griffith University. She has recently retired from her academic position in the school, which she held for 40 years. Her research has focused on using molecular approaches to address questions in ecology, biogeography and conservation. She and her students have published mostly in the areas of freshwater biodiversity and biogeography, as well as evolutionary and ecological studies of Australian birds, particularly the Australian Magpie.
UC acknowledges the Ngunnawal people, traditional custodians of the lands where Bruce campus is situated. We wish to acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of Canberra and the region. We also acknowledge all other First Nations Peoples on whose lands we gather.