Molecular Ecology, Evolution, and Phylogenetics lab
We are interested in various aspects of molecular ecology and evolutionary biology, including phylogenetic methods, molecular clocks, molecular systematics, phylogeography, and environmental DNA.
Our research aims to resolve the evolutionary relationships across the Tree of Life, estimate evolutionary rates and timescales, and use genomic data to address ecological questions.
Our ongoing research projects span theoretical and applied aspects of genomic and molecular evolutionary analysis, and study systems including animals, plants, bacteria, and viruses.
Our research
Our experts: Professor Nathan Lo
Australia is a megadiverse nation, containing ~7% of the world’s biodiversity. Much of this is poorly understood and largely ignored invertebrate taxa. Yet these weird creatures hold many fascinating secrets.
We are sequencing the genomes of various Australian organisms, including insects, fish, and their bacterial symbionts, in order to better understand their biology, assist with the description of new species, and aid in their conservation.
Each genome tells an incredible story of how an organism’s ancestors made it through millions of years of evolution, and gradual yet drastic environmental change on Earth. Join us on this journey.
Our experts: Professor Simon Ho
This research programme aims to resolve the patterns and causes of evolutionary rate variation across the Tree of Life.
The research uses phylogenomic methods to analyse large data sets from various groups of organisms, including genomic data generated by major sequencing consortia such as the Bird 10,000 Genomes Project and the Oz Mammals Genomics initiative.
The project will improve our understanding of how evolutionary processes have shaped the diversity of life on Earth.
Our experts: Dr Mark De Bruyn
Our partners: NSW DPI Fisheries, Australian Museum, RPS Group.
We are building environmental DNA tools to better manage and conserve Australian biodiversity, particularly for threatened and endangered species.
These include mammals, sharks and rays, fishes, amphibians, birds, and invertebrates. These cutting-edge tools provide capacity to address critical research questions under the Australian Commonwealth Government’s science and research priority area of ‘Environmental Change’.