Abai, MR

6th International Congress of DipterologyKey Words: Sciomyzidae, turlough, Mollusca, hydrology, vegetationstructure∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗∗Communities of Diptera restricted to high altitudes in theAustralian Wet Tropics are vulnerable to climate changeWilson, R.D. (1), J.W.H. Trueman (1), S.E. Williams (2) & D.K. Yeates(3)(1) School of Botany and Zoology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT0200, Australia.(2) Cooperative Research Center for Tropical Rainforest Ecology, School of TropicalBiology, James Cook University, Townsville, Qld. 4811, Australia.(3) Australian National Insect Collection, CSIRO Entomology, PO Box 1700 Canberra,ACT 2601, Australia.The Australian Wet Tropics World Heritage Area (WHA) contains anumber of highland vertebrates predicted to face extinction due to awarming climate, but little is known about risks to invertebrates, which arevital to ecosystem function. This study investigates the distribution andabundance patterns of the schizophoran Diptera along an altitudinaltransect in the Carbine Uplands of the WHA using malaise traps. Theseason of peak abundance changed with altitude, with highland abundancepeaking in October, and lowland abundance peaking in April. There was ahigh level of species turnover with altitude, and some evidence for distinctlow-, mid-, and high-elevation assemblages, with the high-elevationassemblage containing the most restricted species. We would expect thishigh-elevation assemblage to be at risk of local extinction with 2-3°C ofwarming, and the mid-elevation assemblage to be at risk with 4-5°Cwarming. Both these levels of warming are well within conservativeforecasts over the next 100 years. Future work should continue samplingto confirm patterns presented here and to monitor range shifts with climate303