wrote:
Agree with Andrew re Mistletoebirds in Tasmania. The fact that
Lyrebirds, that are supposed to be one of the oldest passerine families
don't exist in Tasmania suggests to me that the bridge during the
glacial periods didn't have enough suitable habitat, or didn't exist
long enough, for certain species to colonise. Both Lyrebirds and
Kookaburras survive in Tassie after being introduced, but never made it
across naturally.
2 x $0.20 worth ...
Further to that, the theory of island biogeography talks about the
concept of species turn over. Species which may have been present
before the isolation become extinct on the island, and others colonise.
It's not simply a case of keeping everything that was there before the
sea level came up! Plus Tassie is a long way south, and species
diversity could reasonably be expected to taper off a bit down there.
The family Dicaeidae (Flowerpeckers), which contains the genus Dicaeum
(the Mistletoebird and many others - 38 spp in all) and genus
Prionochilus (6 spp), is very diverse in SE Asia - PNG. Only one
species occurs in Australia (not counting the Torres Strait). This
suggests they got here late, but I'd be surprised if it was as late as
only 16,000 years BP.
L.
--
=================================
Lawrie Conole
Senior Ecologist
Ornithology & Terrestrial Ecology
Ecology Australia Pty. Ltd.
Flora and Fauna Consultants
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FAIRFIELD VIC 3078 Australia
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