Mr James Buxton1, Dr. Isabel Valenzuela1, Dr. Francesco Martoni1, Dr. Mark Blacket1

1Agriculture Victoria, Bundoora, Australia

Biography:

James Buxton is an early-career research scientist at Agriculture Victoria, combining the taxonomy of Australian ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) with arthropod pest diagnostics and assisting with the curation of the Victorian Agricultural Insect Collection (VAIC).

Abstract:

In Australia, ants are ecologically influential components of terrestrial systems and boast exceptionally high endemic diversity. Exotic species have the potential to pose a devastating threat to Australian ecosystems, as demonstrated by the economic, environmental and cultural impact of red imported fire ant, with timely distinction between exotic species and their native counterparts essential to reduce the risk of establishment. However, native species delimitation is a source of some controversy. Several studies strongly suggest the presence of overlooked cryptic diversity, even ‘megadiversity,’ in certain species groups that conflict with traditional taxonomic treatments, including those that adopt an integrated approach.

Perhaps in consequence, there has been relatively little major revisionary work on native ant genera in the last decade, despite a pressing need for species-level understanding, leaving some of the most diverse and widely distributed genera unmonographed as the debate continues. Whilst emerging molecular approaches may provide the ultimate resolution, continued neglect in the immediate future could result in substantial delays and errors in detecting congeneric species in biosecurity situations, as well as a failure to account for undescribed species in threatened environments.

Here we briefly explore the variety and limitations of past approaches before presenting research that has taken steps towards improving the practical standardisation of species delimitation, applying an integrative morphological and molecular approach to processing diverse species assemblages found in biosecurity samples.