Both trait-based ecology and biodiversity-ecosystem functioning relationships have traditionally been studied in plant communities. Invertebrates are the most speciose taxa on the planet, and are crucial to a whole range of ecosystem functions and services. This makes them an ideal group with which to use trait-based approaches to explore their responses to environmental change and the consequences of species loss for ecosystem functioning. I will present work from my group, using dung beetles and moths as focal study taxa. Using a trait-based approach we have shown that sexual selection predicts the persistence of populations in disturbed environments, and that thermal traits are one of the main drivers of species distributions of dung beetles in human-modified environments in Borneo. In the UK we have used moths to develop a new model that incorporates community-level traits to predict movement across fragmented habitats. Linking trait-based approaches to ecosystem functioning is still a relatively unexplored area in invertebrate systems. By linking functional traits to ecosystem functions we have found that functional-based metrics predict ecosystem functioning better than species-based indices, and have found evidence of functional redundancy in some systems. However, we highlight the importance of considering multiple ecosystem functions, species identity, and context when predicting how biodiversity loss will impact ecosystem functioning over space and time.

All species play different functional roles in the ecosystem according to their particular traits. The study of functional traits and how they relate to ecosystem functioning deepens our understanding of ecological communities and the ecosystem services they provide. sCARATT aims to establish a standardised trait database for dung beetles, a key group of decomposer insects. This database will improve our ability to understand the role played by dung beetles in terrestrial systems, and predict the consequences of global change for these important functions.

The main aim of sCARATT is the development of a database of the functional traits of Scarabaeoidea dung beetles. The sCARATT is made up of an international consortium of over 20 dung beetle collaborators. Following the example of the databases created for other groups (e.g. plants and ants), we aim to (i) identify which morphological, life-history, behavioural or physiological traits best reflect both the fitness and ecological role of dung beetles. We will (ii) determine which measurements should be used to describe each trait in a standardized way, and (iii) identify the gaps in existing knowledge in terms of poorly-covered traits, as well as missing species and regions. We will also (iv) design the dung beetle trait database and its management.

Thus presentation will showcase sCARATT and highlight a current worldwide experiment assessing the measurement of dung beetle removal and dung beetle traits using the sCARATT protocols.

Constructing forecasting models that interpret feasible ecological decisions is essential to overcome biodiversity loss in many invaded ecosystems. Quantitative methods for ecosystem predictions forces the researcher into uncertainty due to the lack of detailed data and reliability of the selected quantitative method. Formulating qualitative mathematical models to forecast ecological decisions provides an opportunity to investigate ecological concerns in general rather than experiencing challenges in using quantitative methods for ecosystem predictions. However, this takes place at a crucial level because of the high uncertainty of ecosystems and the dynamic behaviour of species interactions. We observe predator-prey coexistence along with complex predator-prey interactions and spatial considerations, using a stochastic model to account for the inherent randomness in such a model. We evolve simulations over time, and interpret the outputs with respect to the underlying uncertainty.

Mobile epifaunal macro- and meio-invertebrates (epifauna) have been described as key components in the cycle of nutrients in reef ecosystems, providing the main trophic link between primary producers and larger carnivores. Understanding the relationship between epifauna, their habitat, and latitude may provide a missing link in our knowledge of reef ecology in a changing world, hence facilitating improved management of reefs for long-term ecological, social, and economic outcomes. Epifaunal assemblages were collected across the eastern seaboard of Australia, from Tasmania to the northern Great Barrier Reef, and examined in terms of their relationship to latitude and microhabitat-forming marine biota. Microhabitats (a range of algae and live coral taxa) containing epifaunal invertebrates were collected from shallow reef locations and bagged insitu. Associated assemblages were removed and quantified in a laboratory as abundance measures by taxonomic composition and body size. The body size distribution of epifaunal assemblages was strongly associated with broad microhabitat types of either live coral or algae. Body size distribution differed significantly between the two microhabitats, largely regardless of latitude. Body size distribution was closely correlated with dominance of particular epifaunal taxa, namely non-caprellid amphipods on algal habitats and harpacticoid copepods on live coral.

Size-structured models provide a powerful means to understand the structure and function of marine ecosystems, allowing exploration of the implications of a variety of management and environmental scenarios. In a period of increased pressure on natural resources through fisheries, and in a time of unprecedented environmental perturbation, these ecosystem models are essential. Despite advances made in recent decades in developing more realistic and informative size-structured models using trait-based functional groups, cephalopods have been largely excluded from this modelling framework or treated as if they are the same as fish. Cephalopods are invertebrates with several unique life-history and behavioral traits, such as rapid growth, high population turnover, and short lifespans, as well as being voracious, generalist predators that can prey upon individuals close to their own body size. These important differences in cephalopod traits compared to fish could have profound effects on the size structure of marine ecosystems and need to be appropriately resolved within size-structured models. We used physiological, morphological, and trophic information to form trait-based functional groups for cephalopods for inclusion within a size-structured ecosystem model containing dynamic zooplankton and fish communities and a fixed phytoplankton resource size spectrum. This simplified size-structured ecosystem model allowed us to explore the effects of including distinct cephalopod functional groups when compared to the same size-structured ecosystem without any specified cephalopod groups. The inclusion of trait-based cephalopod functional groups influences the size structure of the ecosystem and suggests that it is important to include resolved cephalopod dynamics within size-structured ecosystem models.

For marine animals, body size is arguably the most important single factor determining an individual’s vital rates and how it interacts with its environment. Size distributions can therefore give rich insights into the size-structuring and underlying energy flows within a community. Here we focus on the linear relationship between log abundance and log body size, also known as the abundance size spectrum. Most size spectrum analyses of reef communities focus solely on fish species, primarily due to a sparsity of invertebrate body size data. However, invertebrates can make up over 90% of animal community abundance in temperature zones, therefore global analyses may be misleading. Here, we fitted a linear mixed effects model to the size spectrum for over 3000 reef communities combining both statistically derived invertebrate body size data and empirically derived body size of fishes from the Reef Life Survey dataset. Our findings show that the incorporation of invertebrates steepens and reduces variability in the size spectrum slope. Further, this effect of steepening and reduced variability when invertebrates are included is consistent across latitudinal gradients.

Urbanisation greatly affects biodiversity by changing animal and plant communities and the interactions among them. These changes are rarely consistent, with positive, negative and neutral effects all observed. Arthropods in different trophic levels, such as predators and herbivores, are likely to respond differently to urbanisation. To test this, an ideal approach is to measure both the abundance of arthropods and the trophic interactions (e.g. predation, herbivory) they perform. I sampled arthropods from herbaceous vegetation across an urbanisation gradient in the northern Sydney region, for four consecutive seasons in 2018-2019. In the same locations I also measured predation by setting out model caterpillars, and measured herbivory by estimating leaf area lost. I discovered that predators and herbivores responded differently to urbanisation, and this response also differed among seasons. For example, in spring herbivore abundance decreased with the amount of nearby tree cover while predator abundance was unaffected, whereas in summer, predator abundance increased with tree cover while herbivore abundance was unaffected. On the other hand, predation and herbivory were unaffected by urbanisation. Overall, these results show that the abundance of particular trophic levels does not necessarily predict their associated trophic interactions, and that the effects of urbanisation vary among seasons.

Dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) are well known in Australia for controlling bush flies and livestock parasites along with efficient dung burial. To assess native and introduced dung beetle assemblages, a seasonal dung beetle monitoring program was conducted in native and improved pastureland at eight locations along elevation gradients from 385 to 1357 m ASL in northern NSW during the autumn, spring and summer seasons. Standard pitfall traps baited with cow, sheep and kangaroo dung was used to monitor the dung beetle assemblages. A total of 12,297 dung beetles and comprising 29 dung beetle species were captured. Cattle dung and sheep dung captured higher number of species and beetles as compared to kangaroo dung. Cattle dung captured higher number of introduced and sheep dung attracted more native beetle species and their number. But, kangaroo dung was not a preference for native or introduced dung beetles. Summer season captured higher number of species, beetles and biomass as compared to spring and autumn seasons. The richness, abundance and biomass of dung beetles based on diel activity, nesting behaviour, body size and origin showed higher diurnals than nocturnal and crepuscular; higher tunnellers than dwellers and rollers; higher small-sized as compared to medium and large-sized beetles and higher exotic than native dung beetles. The details of community composition, assemblages, biodiversity and structure of functional guilds shows their situation and potential in handling dung resources in tablelands.

The wide variety of colours exhibited by animals have long been a source of fascination and conjecture, but procedural and theoretical limitations have reduced our ability to explore the wide range of possible relationships between colour traits and environmental variables.
In this study, we explored whether cuticular melanisation in ant species changed with position on a gradient of 14.9 to 20.7 MJ/m2 average annual solar exposure in southern Australia. We tested the relationships among species traits, environmental variables and colour traits measured over the bioclimatic gradient using generalised linear mixed models (GLMM) with a Gaussian distribution. We also used a combination of Raman microspectroscopy and cuticle sectioning, to determine the extent to which the commonly employed colour traits represent the concentration and distribution of cuticular melanin in specimens.
We were able to successfully identify melanins, as well as provide an indication of pigment distribution and a relative measure of melanin concentration within ant cuticle sections.
Using traditional colour trait measurements, we found that, with the notable exception of thermophilic species, ants with ‘darker’ bodies were active at higher levels of solar radiation and tended to be diurnal.
Our study suggests that melanisation is positively associated with solar exposure in diurnal species due to the protection from UV-radiation attributed to melanin-based colours. Past measurements, including digital photography or visual assessment, could not reliably indicate the quantity or indeed presence of cuticular melanins for the species studied.
Empirical investigations of trait function are critical to ensure that trait-environment relationships are better understood.