![]() ![]() It’s also listed as endangered in South Australia and vulnerable in Victoria.Ĭontinued declines are predicted under climate change as a result of drought and hotter conditions, which could mean more than 30% of suitable platypus habitat is lost by 2070. The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is an Australian enigma, one of only five extant species of egg-laying mammals and the only species within the monotreme. The platypus is currently listed as near threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Third, it can lead to “inbreeding depression” – the reduced survival and fertility of offspring of related individuals. This is likely to lead to increased inbreeding and a reduction in the genetic variation necessary for the species to adapt to threats. Second, it reduces population size and gene flow. There a several downsides for a species when populations are unable to connect.įirst, it restricts the ability for animals to move to new habitat if needed, and find individuals to reproduce with. Monotremes have left a poor fossil record, and paleontology has been virtually mute during two decades of discussion about molecular clock estimates of the. ![]() The results mean we’re now far more confident that dams pose insurmountable barriers to platypuses. This reflects the long-term impacts on platypus genetics.Īustralia's next government must tackle our collapsing ecosystems and extinction crisis Importantly, the genetic differentiation increased the longer the dam had been in place. But the results mean we’re now far more confident that dams pose insurmountable barriers to platypuses. ![]() It just describes how genetically different two populations are. Genetic differentiation is not necessarily good or bad. In fact, one platypus below the dam, and one platypus above the dam, were as genetically different as two platypuses living in different rivers. This suggest hardly any platypuses have passed around the dams since they were built. So what did we find? Genetic differentiation between platypuses below and above dams was four to 20 times higher than along similar stretches of adjacent undammed rivers. The platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) is a unique, egg-laying mammal that causes significant local and international curiosity. We weighed, measured, sexed and aged them, collected a blood sample then returned the animal to the water. And the female platypus lays eggs like a bird or reptile, making it one of only two mammals (the. They spanned the Upper Murray, Snowy Mountains, Central NSW and Border Rivers regions. Males carry venom that can cause considerable pain to humans. We did this by examining the genetic makeup of platypuses in nine rivers in New South Wales and Victoria: five dammed and four free-flowing. My colleagues and I set out to answer this question. They can also move over land, however until now it was not certain if dams restrict platypus’ movement. Platypuses spend most of their time in the water. In Australia, as many as 77% (383 out of 495) of major dams – those with walls higher than 10 metres – are in regions where platypuses are found. Shutterstock A spotlight on platypus geneticsĭams pose a major threat to global freshwater biodiversity. The other family is the echidna family, also found only in Australia.Research shows dams restrict platypus movements and separate communities. The platypus is one of two families of mammals that lay eggs instead of giving live birth to their young.Although the female platypus lays eggs instead of giving live birth, once her young hatch, she suckles them with milk made in her own body, just like other mammals.When preserved specimens of the platypus were first sent to Europe in the late 1700s, naturalists there thought the animal was a fake and had simply been stitched together from different animals by a skilled taxidermist.The other two branches are the placentals and the marsupials. The platypus and the echidna are the only members of the monotreme branch of mammals.The platypus has an extremely unique combination of features: it has clawed hindfeet, webbed forefeet, a tail that resembles that of a beaver, and a bill, like a duck.The platypus is an egg-laying mammal found exclusively in eastern Australia, including Tasmania. ![]()
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