Dave Rowell

Contacts

Contact email:david.rowell@anu.edu.au
Contact phone:+61 2 6125 0993
Location:Rm W201A, Level 2, RN Robertson Building (46)
Centre:Division of Ecology and Evolution

Group membership

Group Leader, Rowell Group - Population genetics, karyology and phylogeography of terrestrial invertebrates

David Rowell did his BSc at ANU in the area of Botany and Zoology, followed by Honours in 1980, in the (then) new field of molecular systematics, examining the relationships amongst the Australian funnelweb spiders. Following a period as a statistical analyst and computer programmer, he completed a PhD at the ANU Research School of Biological Sciences in population genetics and the evolution of social behaviour in spiders. In 1988 he was appointed as a lecturer in Genetics at the ANU Department of Botany, subsequently the School of Botany and Zoology. He is currently Head of Biology Teaching and Learning at RSB. His research focuses on population genetics, phylogeography and chromosomal evolution in terrestrial invertebrates.

Research interests

  • Chromosomal evolution in terrestrial invertebrates
  • Social behaviour in terrestrial invertebrates
  • Phylogeography of SE Australian animals and plants

Projects

Selected publications

  • Barclay S., Rowell D.M. & Ash J.E. 2000 Pheromonally-mediated colonisation patterns in Onychophora. J. Zool. Lond 250: 437-446
  • Rockman M.V. & Rowell D.M. 2002 Episodic chromosomal evolution in Planipapillus: a phylogenetic approach to evolutionary dynamics and speciation. Evolution 56: 58 - 69
  • Rowell D.M, Rockman M.V. & Tait N.N. 2002 Extensive Robertsonian Rearrangement: Implications for the radiation and biogeography of Planipapillus Reid (Onychophora : Peripatopsidae). J. Zool. Lond. 257: 171 - 179
  • Reinhard J. & Rowell D.M. 2005 Social behaviour in an Australian velvet worm, Euperipatoides rowelli (Onychophora : Peripatopsidae). J. Zool. Lond. 267: 1  - 7
  • Gruetzner, F., Ashley T., Rowell D. & Graves J.M. (2006) How did the platypus get its sex chromosome chain? A comparison of meiotic multiples and sex chromosomes in plants and animals. Chromosoma 115: 75 - 88
  • STRAUSFELD N.J., STRAUSFELD C.M., STOWE S., ROWELL D.M. & LOESEL R. (2006) Organisation of neuropils in the brain of the onychophoran Euperipatoides rowelli and its evolutionary implications. Arthropod Structure and Development 35: 169 – 196
  • Sharp H.E. & Rowell D.M. (2007) Unprecedented Chromosomal Diversity and Behaviour Modify Linkage Patterns and Speciation Processes: Structural Heterozygosity in an Australian Spider. J. Evol. Biol. 20: 2427 - 2439
  • Garrick R.C., Rowell D.M., Simmons C.S., Hillis D.M. & Sunnucks P. (2008) Fine-scale phylogeographic congruence despite demographic incongruence in two low-mobility saproxylic springtails. Evolution 62: 1103-1118
  • Beavis A.S., Sunnucks P.  & Rowell D.M. (2011) Microhabitat preferences drive phylogeographic disparities in two Australian funnel web spiders. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. Lond. 104 : 805-819
  • Yip E., Rowell D.M. & Rayor L. (2012) Behavioural and molecular evidence for selective immigration and group regulation in the social huntsman spider, Delena cancerides. Biol. J. Linn. Soc. Lond. 106: 749 - 762
  • Garrick R.C., Rowell D.M. & Sunnucks P. (2012) Phylogeography of Saproxylic and Forest Floor Invertebrates from Tallaganda, South-eastern Australia. Insects 3: 270 – 294
  • Jeffery N.W., Oliveira I.S., Gregory T.R., Rowell D.M., MAYER G. (2012) Genome size and chromosome number in velvet worms (phylum Onychophora). Genetica, 140: 497-504.
  • Bull JK*, Sands CJ*, Garrick RC, Gardner M, Tait NN, Briscoe DA, Rowell DM, Sunnucks P. (2014) Environmental complexity and biodiversity: the multi-layered evolutionary history of a log-dwelling velvet worm in montane temperate Australia. PLoS ONE. 8: e84559. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0084559

All publications

David lectures in genetics, and is currently Head of Biology Teaching and Learning at RSB.