The Western Australian Museum, Fortescue, and the Foundation for the WA Museum have announced a three-year research partnership aimed at enhancing knowledge and understanding of biodiversity in the Fortescue Marsh and surrounding areas, in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. This collaborative effort focuses specifically on ground beetles of the family Carabidae, using both cutting-edge genomic techniques and established morphological methods.
WA Museum CEO Alec Coles said the partnership provides a unique opportunity to develop baseline data on the Pilbara’s insect fauna, a task previously hindered by the limited number of trained carabid beetle experts in Australia.
“WA Museum scientists will analyse beetles, particularly Carabidae, collected during a 2002-2007 biodiversity survey in the Pilbara. The survey covered 304 areas with varying land, plant, and soil types. A total of 429 beetle species were collected, many of which did appear to be previously unknown species,” Mr Coles said.
A key goal of the project is to describe these new species from the survey and determine how they are related to carabids elsewhere in the region, in Australia, and globally. This, in turn, will give us a better understanding of the unique fauna of the Pilbara region.
Ground beetles are a hyper-diverse and widespread family of insects, which include a number of short-range endemics (species with very limited distribution) known to be sensitive to environmental conditions. They are often used as biodiversity indicators, tracking the effects of climate and habitat change.
It is estimated that up to 75 percent of Australia’s biodiversity is undescribed, with significant gaps in scientific knowledge of invertebrates such as carabid beetles. Australia faces a shortage of professional taxonomists trained to identify and describe new species.
“This partnership aims to help address these challenges by funding the training of a PhD student in carabid beetle taxonomy through the WA Museum, University of California, Berkely, and the University of WA.”
Mr Coles emphasised the importance of this collaboration in advancing scientific research and conservation efforts.
“This partnership represents a significant step in our mission to explore and preserve the unique biodiversity of Western Australia. By combining our expertise with Fortescue’s support and brokering by our Foundation, we can make substantial contributions to global biodiversity knowledge and conservation.”
For further information on the 2002-2007 surveys, visit: https://museum.wa.gov.au/research/records-supplements/records/localised-and-regional-patterns-ground-dwelling-beetle-assembla
