Project description
Trapdoor spiders are amazing survivors, and as it is typical in mygalomorph spiders, they have very limited powers of dispersal and long life cycles. Moreover, their ancestors evolved in a considerably different continent to what Australia is today, as major climatic shifts in the continent turned rainforests into arid landscapes. As a result, extant species of trapdoor spiders are of great interest for biogeographic studies, and are also of high conservation significance, as most species are short-range endemics, only found in areas of less than 10,000 km2. Unfortunately, the diversity of trapdoor spiders is still not fully understood, and their ecology and reproductive biology are very poorly studied. This project will focus on idiopid trapdoor spiders of the genus Blakistonia, given their abundance and ease of access to populations in the Adelaide metropolitan area. The student (honours or Masters) will study the distribution and population genetics and demographics of Blakistonia trapdoor spiders. Outcomes will assist the conservation of this incredible survivors, and the project might also have spin off outcomes for translocations of pygmy-bluetongue lizards, which use Blakistonia burrows as their preferred habitat.
Note: You need to register interest in projects from different supervisors (not a number of projects with the one supervisor).
You must also contact each supervisor directly to discuss both the project details and your suitability to undertake the project.