The role of body size and shape in native Australian bees as a tool in taxonomy and ecological research under environmental change

This thesis explores how the body size and shape of native Australian bees change over time and why that matters. By measuring museum specimens collected over many decades, I show that bee body size is more complex than a single measurement and that different traits can change in different ways. I also demonstrate that temperature months before adulthood, during development, better explains long term changes in bee form than weather at the time of collection. Finally, I develop an online identification tool that uses wing shape to accurately identify bee species, helping improve biodiversity monitoring and conservation efforts.