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

MELFU's first PhD thesis in landscape genomics 23 Sep 16. Congratulations Chris Brauer for finishing his PhD thesis! PhD #17 of the MELFU and the lab's first thesis on "population genomics". This work pioneers conservation genomics studies for southern hemisphere aquatic animals.Thesis title: "Conservation genomics and evolutionary potential of the southern pygmy perch, Nannoperca australis, in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia"
Fieldtrip to the Galápagos to save extinct biodiversity 12 Feb 16. In November/December 2015 we went on an expedition to the Galápagos Islands in search of two extinct species of giant tortoises. It may sound like a fool’s errand, but our expedition was a success. Here’s how we did it.
Our seascape genetics study is a 'feature article' in MEPS! 23 Jul 15. Boundary currents are often considered to be the main drivers of connectivity among populations of coastal animals. Teske and co-workers combined population genetic data from a southern Australian snail that has a very long planktonic larval duration with simulations of connectivity based on oceanographic data. They show that most propagules never reach the region's boundary currents, and few of those that do will return to the coast to settle. Retention of larvae on the continental shelf...
Successful sampling of rainbowfish ecotypes 23 Feb 15. Between September and December 2014 or team travelled over 10,000 km along eastern and central Australia to sample climatic ecotypes (i.e. locally adapted populations) of rainbowfish. We successfully managed to transport live specimens from the 7 ecotypes targeted by these expeditions to our captive breeding facility in Adelaide. All populations are already breeding! We also collected samples for studies of global gene expression in wild caught specimens (i.e. "transcriptomics in the wild")....
Great results from our reintroduction project! 23 Feb 15. Conservation work can sometimes be a little depressing but we have some great news from one of the projects in the lab. Recent fieldwork on Hindmarsh Island resulted in the capture of 45 southern pygmy perch (including pregnant females) at one of the sites where fish from the captive breeding program were released in 2011. This represents the largest number of this species found in the area since before the drought. This work is part of the PhD project of MELFU's Chris Brauer and is also a...
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