Biology Task

Australia as a landmass of Gondwana

By: Ali Javam 2011

1) Identify and describe evidence that supports the assertion that Australia was once part of a landmass called Gondwana.
The Earths surface consists of large crustal plates which move and jostle each other. There are seven large crustal plates and many smaller which form the continents we have in the world. Pangea which was known 250 million years ago divided up to make what we know as Gondwana. Gondwana was known as the great southern landmass. It consisted of the present day landmasses that we know today of: Africa, South America, India, Madagascar, Australia and New Zealand. However science can prove about the existence of Gondwana there is always an assertion on whether any of these continents existed together in one form. Through this report it will be identified and discussed on the assertion of whether Australia was once part of the landmass known as Gondwana. Australia was once part of a land form called Gondwana, this is evident through the matching continental margins. The scientific theory of continental drift is what started the initiation of how the earth and its continents were joined together at various stages throughout millions of years. A German scientist named Alfred Wegner was first to draw outlines of the continents in a matching order, this was how the beginning of the many theories on whether there was such thing as Gondwana arose. Wegner was able to properly match the continents in a jigsaw-like order through the structure of the coastlines. This was the beginning in the evidence of whether Australia was a part of the Gondwanian landmass. For many scientists at the time Wegners diagram made it prevalent to see that each one of the continents easily matched to fit each other. The theory on whether the continents of the earth had matching coast lines was not proven at the time of Wegner, as there was no evidence in proving whether it could be possible. However the idea of helping biologists understand the distribution of plants and animals throughout the world was common and this theory was what lead to the later discoveries of continental drift. Experiments were taken throughout the years to prove whether the idea of matching continental margins could be proven. In the late 50s deep underwater surveys were taken. This lead to the discovery of the depth of sediments being extremely thin to prove that the oceans could have been billions of years old similar to the continents. It wasnt until the 60s and 70s when further experiments were Above: a diagram of the matching taken to reveal sea-floor spreading through continents in Gondwana the mapping of mid-ocean volcanic ridges. A form of magnetic mapping of lava on the sea floor was used to show bands which appeared to match the changes in the earths magnetic field. The bands that were found revealed a startling find of the younger rocks being closer to the mid-ocean ridges and older rocks to be closer to the edges of the continents and convection currents in the mantle could push the continents. By the 1980s it was proven definite that continental drift was a proven theory which is why the evidence of Australia being part of Gondwana is correct.

The evidence that Australia was once part of the landmass Gondwana can also be seen through the mid-ocean ridges that have been formed on Earth. The ridges are a result of volcanic eruptions that have occurred through the plates splitting up. Because of the separation of continents it is evident to see Australia, South America, Africa and Antarctica have mid ocean ridges in between each other. This is due to the eruptions from the volcanoes which have spewed out as each continent had separated. The Volcanic vents located in the ridges are streaming with ecosystems that are alive through obtaining energy from the volcanic chemicals trapped by chemosynthetic bacteria. Another source of evidence proving that Australia had once been part of the landmass in Gondwana is studies shown prove that there is a high occasion of earthquakes near mid-ocean ridges but less towards other plate boundaries. This is the reason why Australia gets fewer earthquakes. Another factor proving Australia as a landmass of Gondwana is Australias Geological Plate which is the Australian-Indian Plate is Moving North at about 7cm each year. Australia is said to have broken off from Gondwana forty five million years ago. The seafloor spreads along each year as continental drift occurs. Because of this factor the south of Australia along the mid-ocean ridge is where it is spreading. Each year as the Australian continent moves the northern part is heading towards The Asian Plate and sliding under while the eastern edge of the Australian plate is heading towards the Pacific.

Above is an image detailing the locations of significant earthquakes from 1990 to 2000. The map displays the Mid-Ocean Ridge as a zig-zag line rather than a single ridge line. Source: http://sydney.edu.au/science/uniserve_science/school/Seismograph/austbiota/ozbiota_85 1.pdf

Western Australia is located in the Pacific Ocean floor. This sea floor is one of the oldest dating two hundred million years old while W.A itself has seafloors dating up to two thousand million years old. This is due to spreading zones between continental plates. Due to the continents spreading out, the sea floor becomes wider and the younger rocks that are located near the midocean ridges and are based from volcanic material are prevalent. These rocks are only a few million years old, while the fact that W.A has seafloors Image showing Subduction zones and dating up to two thousand million years old proves where earthquakes generally occur. that the continents did move apart from each other and provides scientists evidence that Australia was again once part of the Gondwana landmass. The evidence of Australia as a part of Gondwana can be further seen through the various studies undertaken by biologists and their work in fossils. Because of many various fossilised plants and animals discovered throughout the continents of the world, patterns in their locations have been found to prove the theory of continental drift and Australia as a part of Gondwana. The Glossopteris and Gangamopteris fern is a common fossilised plant discovered in Australia, India, Africa and South America. The distribution of this extinct plant follows the same pattern of continents pieced together in Gondwana. The discoveries of same specied plants in various continents of the world provides more evidence to Australian and Gondwana. Evidence of living species of marsupials are evident in South America and Australia with various marsupials containing traces of relative DNA and relation. There have been fossilised findings of marsupials in Antarctica bearing relationship to that of Australia and South America. There is no marsupial fossils in Africa as it drifted from Gondwana. There are many similarities between present day organisms and Gondwana ones. This proof is evident through Gondwana and Australia as a part of that landmass. Many fauna such as the opossum (North America) and the possum (Australia) are an example of animals which were once part of the Gondwanan landmass and have evolved in the environments due to continental drift. They both come from the some family and genus. The Gondwana continents have a collection of relative fauna that are common between them. These include: ostriches, large flightless birds such as emus, rheas and the extinct species of moas of New Zealand. Relative flora that is evident in Gondwana continents are examples of the Protea and Myrtaceae plant group. The Protea is the name for the Australian waratah plant

however it can also be found in South Africa. The difference between them is their size and colour. The Myrtaceae plant group refers to the Australian Eucalypt tree, which can also be seen the five Gondwana continents.

Discuss Current Research into the evolutionary relationships between extinct species, including megafauna and extant (existing) Australian species.
Research into the evolutionary relationships between Australian species of megafauna is and there is alot of information about Australian mOver the last 50,000 years most of the worlds megafauna have become extinct, such as the diprotodon and the procoptodon. The modern wombat does not belong to the same family as the diprotodontids and is not a direct descendant of diprotodon optatum but is a relative. The same goes with procoptodon, the short faced kangaroo. It became extinct in the Pleistocene and is related to the modern day grey and red kangaroos, but it is not a direct descendant. Climate Change: Megafauna were mainly suited to glacial conditions. Their large bodies enabled them to live in extreme conditions. In Eurasia and North America, when permafrost was replaced with forest, the megafauna died out and animals more adapted to forest began to thrive. In Australia, the temperature changed from cold-dry to warm-dry. As a result, water sources began to dry up, and many animals lost their habitat and died out. Human Expansion: The time of the extinction of megafauna matches very closely the pattern of human migration into these areas. Megafauna are also large and slow, which makes them susceptible to hunting. In Africa, humans evolution occurred there, so hunting increased slowly, allowing animals to adjust. That is why there are still megafauna there. However, in places where humans arrived as skilled hunters, the most extinction occurred. Extant species are organisms that have changed little or not at all since ancient times. Australia has many examples of extant species, such as stromatolites, the Wollemi pine, crocodiles, Queensland lungfish, and monotremes.

Bibliography
"Australia Map." Utexas. N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Mar. 2011. <www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/australia/australia_rel_1999.jpg >. This website contained a detailed map of
Australia that was perfect for the cover page of the assignment.

"Geodiversity." Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Services. Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, n.d. Web. 8 Aug. 2011. <www.parks.tas.gov.au/file.aspx?id=6555>. A
commendable resource, helped with introduction.

Dobeson, David. "Evolution of Australian Biota." Uniserve_Science. Oz Biota, n.d. Web. 8 Sept. 2011. <sydney.edu.au/science/uniserve_science/school/Seismograph/austbiota/ozbiota_851.pdf>. A very
helpful website in organising research and data.

Parks & Wildlife Service. "Geoheritage ." Continental Drift and Gondwana. Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania, 22 July 2008. Web. 9 Aug. 2011. <www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=2889>. Used for
gathering detail about continental drift

Parks & Wildlife Service. "Geoheritage ." Continental Drift and Gondwana. Parks and Wildlife Service Tasmania, 22 July 2008. Web. 9 Aug. 2011. <www.parks.tas.gov.au/index.aspx?base=2889>. Used for
gathering detail about continental drift

Nance, D, T Worsley, and J Moody. "Plate lecture - supercontinents.." Cartography and Geographic Information Systems Laboratory. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Aug. 2011. <http://maps.unomaha.edu/maher/plate/week12/super.html>. Great source for continental margins