Is New Guinea the missing link for understanding Australia’s rainforests?

该项目旨在了解澳大利亚的动物与美拉尼西亚岛，特别是新几内亚岛的动物有多少共同的历史。关键的结果将是确定这两个地区独特和高度进化多样性的热点地区，并了解新几内亚是否一直是热带雨林动物的避难所或来源，因为澳大利亚在过去2000万年中变得更加干旱。预期的好处包括解决我们对澳大利亚大陆及其居民生物群的历史知识的基本空白，例如与新几内亚的陆桥最初形成的时间，以及确定澳大利亚和美拉尼西亚保护投资的优先领域。

This project aims to understand the extent to which the animals in Australia have shared histories with animals from the islands of Melanesia, and especially New Guinea. Key outcomes will be identification of hotspots of unique and high evolutionary diversity across both regions, and understanding of whether New Guinea has been an overall refuge or source for rainforest animals as Australia became more arid over the last 20 million years. Expected benefits include addressing fundamental gaps in our knowledge of the history of both the Australian continent and its resident biota such as when landbridges first formed with New Guinea, and the identification of priority areas for conservation investment in both Australian and Melanesia.