Home - Molecular Ecology Lab at Flinders University

We use information from genetics and genomics to address pure and applied research questions in population, conservation and evolutionary biology.
Our emphasis is on aquatic animals (particularly fishes, marine mammals and invertebrates) – but we also enjoy working with terrestrial organisms!
We do fieldwork in Australia and in other regions of the world including Amazonia, Patagonia, Gulf of California, southern Africa, Pampas, Cerrado, Galapagos, Indo-Pacific and Antarctica.

News

Sea turtles like it local! Isolation by oceanic environment in the endangered... 9 May 18. Our recent paper in Proceedings B shows how seasonal ocean currents can influence the mating and connectivity in sea turtles. This extensive seascape genetics work (i.e. based on >600 turtles collected at 27 nesting beaches in five countries, from Mexico to Panama) has important implications for the conservation management of endangered Olive Ridley turtles in the eastern tropical Pacific (the main area of reproduction of the species in the world). Media release:...
Our seascape genomics paper is 'News and Views' in Molecular Ecology! 3 May 18. Our recent paper on genomics of adaptation in abalones is featuring in this month's 'News and Views' of Molecular Ecology! A nice article by University of Cologne's Kathryn Lampert, entitled "Oxygen concentration drives local adaptation in the greenlip abalone (Haliotis laevigata)." The PDF is free access at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/mec.14563
Genetic rescue is cover of Evolutionary Applications! 19 Jun 17. Our latest paper on genetic rescue is cover of Evolutionary Applications! This major and timely study of Macquarie perch is a collaboration with Paul Sunnuck's Lab at Monash University and with several government fisheries agencies. Title: "Severe consequences of habitat fragmentation on genetic diversity of an endangered Australian freshwater fish: A call for assisted gene flow" This paper is Open Access, access it here
Congratulations Fabricius for Doctoral Thesis Excellence! 11 Apr 17. Congratulations to MELFU's Fabricius Domingos for being awarded the Vice-Chancellor's Prize for Doctoral Thesis Excellence. This award recognises his outstanding academic performance in the course leading to the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Put it in another way, this is a badass PhD thesis about the evolution of lizards from Brazil's Cerrado. PARABÉNS FABRICIUS!!
SWINGER to the rescue of endangered species! 14 Nov 16. We have created SWINGER, the first computer software with an algorithm that uses information from DNA to match-make endangered animals for captive breeding. A quick look at the popularity of online dating services shows us that people are pretty comfortable with letting an algorithm choose them a mate. Now we want to do a similar thing for other animals. With human-driven extinctions on the rise, many species are likely to be left relying on captive breeding for their survival. We hope that our ...
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