Australia has among the most unique biodiversity in the world, but also the highest historical rate of extinction. In this current genomic era, we can now obtain unprecedented insight into the phylogenetic, biogeographic and molecular context of diversification of Australian biodiversity, as well as the genomic consequences of extinction and decline.

This seminar will provide an overview of my work integrating historical and modern genomic data to address questions across the macroevolutionary to microevolutionary continuum; from broad-scale biogeographic patterns, to speciation and adaptation, and the population-level impact of recent extinction and decline. Drawing on examples from my research on Australian mammals, I’ll explore how genomic data has been enabling us to address fundamental unresolved questions about Australia’s past and present biodiversity, and as well as informing conservation of threatened species.