Aquatic invertebrates in the Australian arid zone: Connectivity in a harsh land

This thesis explores the connections that exist between freshwater invertebrate communities of isolated waterholes in the Australian arid zone. It explores how freshwater invertebrates use the environment to travel between waterholes, and highlights the importance of overland routes between waterholes, rather than routes that follow river beds. It also investigates the evolutionary history and contemporary population structure of insects with different life history traits, uncovering fourteen new species of mayfly along the way. Findings of this thesis improve our understanding of the processes that allow for persistence of freshwater invertebrates in the Australian arid zone.