Phylogenetics, population genetics and biodiversity

Molecular genetics forms the basis for much of what we do in this research area. Research at the Research School of Biology spans the continuum of population genetics and phylogenetics of bacteria, fungi, plants and animals. Our researchers are at the forefront of new methods in molecular ecology, population genetic analysis and molecular evolution. The results of our work are used to better understand biogeographic history, macroevolutionary patterns, evolution of traits and to inform conservation.

Project Groups
Acacia evolution: why do some species evolve faster than others?
New methods in phylogenetics
Reading the history of mutations in individual plants
Above and below-ground specialization in Australian orchids
Ascochyta blight of chickpea
Australian Mountain Research Facility (AMRF, ARC LIEF project)
Australian native truffle diversity
Bioinformatic / Computational methods
C4 Rice Project
Characterising the Zymospetoria tritici - wheat interaction
Climate change and ecosystem structure, function and composition
Coral regeneration
Distinguishing among patterns of extinction and speciation through geological and climatic change
Domestic applicants for PhDs in Ecology & Evolution
Ecological processes in evolutionary radiations
Ecology, genetics and physiology of animal-plant interactions
Entropy, information theory and biodiversity
Evolution at extremes: Macroevolutionary responses to harsh environments
Evolution of salt tolerance in plants
Evolution of the Australian Onychophora
Evolutionary biology of Australian reptiles and amphibians
Evolvability
Factors affecting Perigord truffle production in Australia
Genetics and evolution of variation in chemical defence against herbivores
Global patterns of biodiversity
Honours projects are now available to study a wide range of topics in biosecurity and pathogenesis
How do animals learn about poisonous plants?
Integrative taxonomy of Australian monsoonal herpetofauna
Investigating adaptive genomic variation underlying drought tolerance in Eucalyptus
Landscape genomics
Limiting factors and impacts of climate change for endangered Australian orchids
Metagenomics and the analysis of microbial genomes
Molecular evolution and Phylogenetics
New approaches to discovering biodiversity and understanding its response to climate change
Patterns and correlates of extinction risk
Peripheral isolates as hotbeds of adaptive diversity
Pest resistance and sustainable plantation management of eucalypts
PhD projects are now available to study a wide range of topics in biosecurity and pathogenesis
Phylogenomic assessment of conservation priorities in two biodiversity hotspots: The Pilbara and Kimberley
Phylogeny, biogeography and diversification of Australian plants
Postgraduate projects with research support: Drivers of climate change responses in the Australian Alps
Processes of community assembly
Rates of molecular evolution in parasites
Re-assembly of biological communities during the Cenozoic
Role of poisonous plants in the foraging ecology of marsupials
Speciation in co-evolved taxa: sexually-deceptive orchids and their mycorrhizal symbionts
Species discovery and refugia in the monsoonal tropics
Statistical methods of sequence divergence
Student opportunities in molecular analysis of CO2 acquisition by cyanobacteria
The chemical, biochemical, genetic and ecological basis of pollinator-driven speciation in Australian orchids
The ecological and molecular basis of pollinator-driven speciation in Australian orchids
Why are biodiversity hotspots found where they are?