Abstract: Studies of connectivity of natural populations are often conducted at different
timescales. Studies that focus on contemporary timescales ask questions about dispersal
abilities and dispersal behavior of their study species. In contrast, studies conducted at
historical timescales are usually more focused on evolutionary or biogeographic questions.
In this paper we present a synthesis of connectivity studies that have addressed both these
timescales in Australian Trichoptera and Ephemeroptera. We conclude that: (1) For both
groups, the major mechanism of dispersal is by adult flight, with larval drift playing a very
minor role and with unusual patterns of genetic structure at fine scales explained by the
“patchy recruitment hypothesis”; (2) There is some evidence presented to suggest that at
slightly larger spatial scales (~100 km) caddisflies may be slightly more connected than
mayflies; (3) Examinations of three species at historical timescales showed that, in
southeast Queensland Australia, despite there being no significant glaciation during the
Pleistocene, there are clear impacts of Pleistocene climate changes on their genetic
structure; and (4) The use of mitochondrial DNA sequence data has uncovered a number of
cryptic species complexes in both trichopterans and ephemeropterans. We conclude with a
number of suggestions for further work.
Keywords: phylogeography; Trichoptera