The Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is unique among cat species as males form social hierarchies while females remain solitary. Captivity creates numerous problems with behaviour, particularly by forcing animals into atypical social situations. These un-natural situations can be seen to impact on courtship behaviour, oestrus cycles, mate choice selection and the development of hierarchies, and result in problems such as lack of libido, oestrus suppression and maternal cannibalism. These behaviours are specific to captivity.

I aim to determine the importance of maintaining appropriate social conditions in captivity to create natural repertoires of behaviour and to establish how these conditions affect breeding success. (RB, 14 Nov. 2008)

acinonyx@senet.com.au

Social parasitism is a phenomena in which cuckoos enter the nests of their host species and insinuate themselves into the social organisation of the colonies. Studies using allodapine bees are advantageous because this phenomena has evolved at least eight separate times, providing ancient as well as recent origins of social parasitism.

I am looking at the host-parasite relationships between species of bees from Madagascar and Australia (Dandenong Ranges, VIC). The main focuses of my research will be to describe the social system of the host species, the means by which the social parasites enter these social systems, and the impacts that parasitism has on the host colonies. These research areas will be examined via dissections and a series of manipulations. (JS, March 2004)

smit0749@flinders.edu.au

I am working on sociality in several species of Halterapis from Madagascar and South Africa. Halterapis had long been regarded as a genus displaying very low levels of sociality, and indeed Halterapis nigrinervis may have been the only studied allodapine whose colonies were entirely subsocial.  Recent studies have shown that a Malagasy species, Halterapis minuta, shows strongly size-based reproductive castes and there is evidence that similar structures occur in other Malagasy species.  My project is aimed at discovering whether there have been any losses of true social behaviour in allodapines, and how many origins of highly eusocial behaviour there have been in this tribe.

The Colletidae are a short-tongued family of bees with a bifid glossa (two-lobed tongue), a characteristic shared with some wasps, and until recently they were considered the sister group to all other bees. The Colletidae dominate the Australian bee fauna, making up around fifty percent of the continent's known bee species. The diversity and abundance of the subfamilies Euryglossinae and Hylaeinae in Australia is thought to be related to the abundance and diversity of Myrtaceae in Australia where, despite their short tongues, these bees are able to easily access the nectar in the shallow cups presented by the Myrtaceae. Using a molecular phylogenetic approach, I aim to construct a detailed phylogeny of the Australian colletids and in turn establish the time of entry into Australia and subsequent patterns of radiation. (PK, December 2007)

kaya0005@flinders.edu.au

Halictine bees (Family Halictidae, subfamily Halictinae) commonly called sweat bees, are a group of ground nesting bees with a cosmopolitan distribution and with greater than an estimated 2500 species occurring worldwide. The greatest diversity of bee species occurs in arid and semi arid regions meaning that, Australia along with other regions such as southern and eastern Africa, South America and Morocco are 'hotspots' for bee diversity. The last broad survey of Australian halictines occurred over 40 years ago and that did not include a phylogenetic component. Yet, halictines are highlighting a large gap in our knowledge in regards to one of our most environmentally and economically important pollinators. Recent research by Danforth and colleagues suggest a post-Gondwanan origin for Australian halictines, but the number of colonisation events and source regions are unknown.

The current body of research on the Australian halictine group has revolved around investigations into social evolution and whilst relationships have been inferred using phylogenetic means between Australian and African species, there has been little focus on evolutionary pathways between Australia and Asia. My study involves a large scale analysis of the Halictinae subfamily in Australia including representatives of all major groups from southern Asia and Africa, using mitochondrial and nuclear DNA and with phylogenetic and relaxed clock models to :

The results will have implications for understanding the genesis of Australia's bee fauna and its impact on angiosperm diversity. (SH, Sept. 2007)

Inferred multiple origins combined with extreme rarity of communal behaviour in several bee faunas was referred to by Knerer and Schwarz (1976) as the "Australian enigma". Research to date on non-Australian halictine bees however, has found no evidence of communal behaviour, suggesting that Australian halictines must have had multiple origins.

Danforth and Ji (2001) largely solved the "Australian Enigma" by indicating that Australian Halictines create a monophyletic clade, and are therefore likely to be the result of a single colonisation event. Questions were also raised, such as the origin of the coloniser and the possibility of 'back-migrations' out of Australia.

My project seeks to develop a phylogeny of the subgenus Homalictus, using species from around Australia as well as from southern Indonesia. I will be investigating whether Homalictus has an Australian origin, and try to elucidate whether the southern Asian species represent a back-migration. (SG, Feb 2007)

groo0030@flinders.edu.au

Allodapine bees are a key insect group used to explore the evolution of sociality, due in part to their diverse range of social and life history traits.

For example, it is known that although the allodapini generally exhibit female biased sex ratios, these ratios may stabilise, or reverse, once certain criteria or cues (such as colony size), are met.

Within the allodapini, the genus Macrogalea has been recently identified as the most basal, yet it still exhibits a complex pattern of sociality. Understanding Macrogalea's ecology, behaviour and sociality, will enable us to infer evolutionary patterns within allodapini.

My project aims to explore the sociality and ecology of Macrogalea candida, including previously unresolved traits such as guarding mechanisms, foraging behaviour and factors such as predator pressures. I will try to expand on previous studies of sex ratios and reversal cues, and determine genetic relationships between individual females within colonies. (SB, Feb 2007)

butl0100@flinders.edu.au

Ellie is currently working at Exchange, Greening Australia, Canberra, Australia

Currently doing post-doc work at Kirstenbosch Research Centre, Cape Town, South Africa

mcleish@sanbi.org
http://www.sanbiorg/research/staff/michaelmcleish.htm

THESIS AVAILABLE
(Oct 2006)

ZS-Title/TOC 

ZS-Chapter 3

ZS-Chapter 6

ZS-Chapter 1

ZS-Chapter 4

ZS-Chapter 2

ZS-Chapter 5