Government of Western Australia - Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions

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Andrew A.E. Williams Woodvale Research

Biological Survey Butterflies Curation Lepidoptera collections Endangered Lepidoptera Marine Turtles Mesopredator Release Nature Reserve Management Pythons Radio Tracking (Pythons and Mammals) Sun-moths Taxidermy

Email Andrew

+61 8 9405 5117

Facsimile
+61 8 9306 1641
Street Address
37 Wildlife Place, Woodvale WA 6026, Australia
Postal Address
Locked Bag 104, Bentley Delivery Centre WA 6983, Australia

Profile

Andrew Williams is a Research Associate with the Western Australian Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions. He is based at the WA Wildlife Research Centre at Woodvale. His early professional experience includes conducting faunal surveys in Africa, Madagascar and Central America, as well as being trained as a taxidermist at the Coryndon Memorial Museum in Nairobi, Kenya.

Andrew Williams started working for the Western Australian Department of Fisheries and Wildlife (now the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions) in August 1979. He has been involved in a variety of work areas, including nature reserve management planning, biological survey, marine turtle conservation, python research, feral predator research and Lepidoptera research and conservation. Prior to being appointed to his Research Associate position in 2016, he was involved in the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attraction’s Mesopredator Research Program at Dryandra Woodland and Tutanning Nature Reserve and the Graceful Sun-moth (Synemon gratiosa) research program.

Andrew continues to work alongside Dr Matthew Williams in Lepidoptera conservation, particularly on issues relating to the conservation needs of the critically endangered Arid Bronze Azure butterfly Ogyris subterrestris petrina, and the Graceful sun-moth (Synemon gratiosa). He is also involved in collaborative Lepidoptera Research with Dr Michael Braby and Ted Edwards CSIRO (ANIC) Canberra and Dr Axel Kallies (University of Melbourne).

Expertise

  • Biological Survey
  • Museum Taxidermy - birds, mammals and reptiles
  • Nature Reserve Management and Planning
  • Western Australian marine turtles
  • Pythons – Western Australian
  • Fauna monitoring - radio telemetry, sand-plot monitoring, remote-sensing cameras
  • Lepidoptera (African and Australian Lepidoptera fauna)
  • Curation and management of Lepidoptera Research Collections

Brief CV

1966–1969: Conducted biological surveys in the forests of Western Uganda on behalf of the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles, California.

1969–1970: Employed as a Research Associate with the Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology in Los Angeles, California. Conducted ornithological field expeditions in Costa Rica, Central America. Assisted Dr Lloyd Kiff, curating the WFVZ Oological collections.

1971–1978: Conducted biological surveys in Africa: Kenya, Uganda, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Botswana and the island of Madagascar on behalf of American and Canadian natural history institutions: Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, Washington; Peabody Museum of Natural History, New Haven, Connecticut; Cornell University, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Los Angeles, California; Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology, Los Angeles, California, Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada. Conducted numerous ornithological tours and wildlife photographic safaris in East Africa.

1979–2016: Senior Technical Officer, Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife, (formerly Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Department of Conservation and Land Management et al.), at the Western Australian Wildlife Research Centre, Woodvale, Western Australia.

2016-current: Research Associate, Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, Science and Conservation Division, Woodvale (Perth).

Projects

Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions

Sun-moths

  1. Graceful sun-moth (Synemon gratiosa) research.
  2. Publish results of graceful sun-moth research and monitoring surveys conducted between 2012 - 2017.
  3. Sun-moth research / survey: Focussed primarily on Western Australia’s rare and potentially endangered Castniidae fauna. Reference: Williams et al. (2016).
  4. Design new sun-moth (Castniidae) and bear-moth (Brachodidae) flight intercept traps.
  5. Organize sun-moth reference collection into correct species-groups on completion of DNA analysis of several closely-related south-western WA endemic species. (See collaborative projects listed below).
  6. Manage Lepidoptera reference collection: Curate, label and database incoming Castniidae material. Transfer sun-moth specimens to foam-lined unit trays used by ANIC and other Australian Museums. 
  7. Update DBCA sun-moth (Castniidae) database ready for publication on-line.
  8. Deposit DBCA sun-moth reference collection in the Western Australian Museum.

Butterflies

  1. On-going survey and monitoring of critically endangered Arid Bronze Azure butterfly Ogyris subterrestris petrina.
  2. DBCA Bush Book “Common Butterflies of the Kimberley” (in prep.)
  3. Information Transfer: Respond to public enquiries to the Department on matters relating to Western Australian Lepidoptera. Provide critical information on endangered / threatened Lepidoptera to DBCA Regional Land Managers.
  4. Deposit DBCA butterfly reference collection in the Western Australian Museum.

External Institutions - collaborative projects 

Collaboration: Dr Axel Kallies, University of Melbourne, Victoria.

  1. Phylogenetic relationships of the Australian sun-moth (Castniidae) fauna.
  2. Western Australian bear-moths (Brachodidae) fauna. Collection of specimens and descriptions of new species.

Collaboration: Dr Michael Braby, CSIRO, ANIC, Canberra.

  1. Atlas of butterflies and diurnal moths of north-western Australia. (in prep.).
  2. On-going collaborative surveys for poorly-known Western Australian Castniidae species and other diurnal moths, particularly in north-western Australia.
  3. “E-Butterfly” Project. Representing the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions  identifying Western Australian Lepidoptera species.
  4. Collection of DNA material for world-wide revision of the skipper butterflies (Hesperiidae). 

Collaboration: E. D. Edwards, CSIRO, ANIC, Canberra.

  1. Western Australian Castniidae. Collection of specimens for descriptions of new Western Australian endemic species.

Publications (6)

Additional Publications (6)
“In press” and draft publications, or those published while employed elsewhere.

1983

Williams JG, Williams AE (1983) Field guide to orchids of North America from Alaska, Greenland and the Arctic south to the Mexican border. Universe Books, New York.143p.

1979

Williams JG, Williams AE, Arlott N (1979) BLV Bestimmungsbuch orchideen Europas mit Nordafrica und Kleinasien. BLV Verlsgsgesellschaft. München. 176 p.

Williams JG, Williams AE, Arlott N (1979) Elseviers orchideeëngids Alle orchideeën van Europa, het Middellandse-Zeegebied, klein-azië en Noord-Afrika. Elsevier, Amsterdam. 175 p.

Williams JG, Williams AE, Arlott N (1979) Guide des orchideés sauvages d'Europe et du bassin Méditerranéen, Afrique du nord et Proche-Orient inclus. Delachaux et Neistlé, Neuchâtel. 191 p.

1978

Williams JG, Williams AE, Arlott N (1978) A field guide to the orchids of Britain and Europe with north Africa and the Middle East. Collins, London. 176 p.

Williams JG, Williams AE, Arlott N (1978) Orkidéer i Europa, Nordafrica och Mellersta Östern. Norstedt & Söners, Stockholm. 176 p.