Centre for Evolutionary Biology

Publications

I have broad research interests ranging from sexual selection through biogeography to conservation biology. What is the common theme? Conservation biology is about the recognition and maintenance of biodiversity at all levels, biogeographic studies give me a current and historical perspective on the distribution of diversity and the interest in sexual selection gives me a set of mechanisms to analyse diversity in, and the evolution of, mating systems, and the implications for speciation and the generation of diversity. I have recent funding from the Australian Research Council, with Discovery and Linkage grants, the Swan Catchment Council, the WA State Government with the Perth Zoo, and on Cane Toad genomics. I am currently supervising or co-supervising 10 PhD students working on projects ranging from sperm competition in frogs to systematics and biogeography of pseudoscorpions.

My personal research activity focuses on three areas:

	EVOLUTION OF THE AUSTRALIAN FROG FAUNA \| I am working with Scott Keogh and Phil Byrne to generate a phylogeny of Australian Myobatrachoid frogs (Families Myobatrachidae and Limnodynastidae) based on a combination of nuclear and mitochondrial markers. This phylogeny will be used in several contexts: to generate a global and Australian perspective on the spatial and temporal evolution of this frog fauna, and in a series of comparative analyses - evolution of life history strategies; patterns of call structure evolution, evolution of sexual size dimorphism, and just about anything else we can think of! This work was funded by an ARC Discovery grant to Keogh, Roberts & Byrne.
	SEXUAL SELECTION IN AUSTRALIAN FROGS \| I have a focus on sperm competition and the evolution of testis and ejaculate properties in frogs. The bulk of work in my lab has been on Crinia georgiana, where we have a very good understanding of mating system function and life history evolution. This work has recently expanded with comparative work on the evolution of the reproductive tracts of frogs globally. I am working on two review papers on simultaneous and sequential polyandry in frogs and their implications for anuran evolution. I am included in an ARC grant applicaiton with F Garcia-Gonzalez analysing factors affecting postcopulatory sexual selection and male reproductive success.
	CONSERVATION BIOLOGY AND BIODIVERSITY \| I am involved with continuing studies on the taxonomy of Australian frogs. I plan to look at how call structures vary between mt DNA defined lineages within species in south-western Australia, to look at diversity below the species level. I am also working on a review of the biogeography of the fauna of south-western Australia – a global biodiversity hot spot. I have two students jointly supervised by the Perth Zoo, where part of their focus is on the development of effective techniques for assisted reproduction in frogs, and with the WA Museum in analyses of arachnid systematics and diversity.

Current Ph D students

CLANCY, RACHEL | The dispersal of honey possums (Tarsipes rostratus) in relation to fire history, within the Walpole Wilderness Area, Western Australia (with O. Berry, CSIRO Fisheries)

DAVIES, REBECCA | Climate change impacts on aquatic systems in south-west Western Australia: understanding changing distributions and prioritizing management. (with Barbara Cook and Peter Speldewinde, Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management, University of Western Australia, Albany campus)

EDWARD, KAREN | Systematics and Biogeography of the goblin spider genus Ischnothyreus (Oonopidae). (with M Harvey, WA Museum)

FRANCIS, JENNIFER | Community dynamics of Australian subtropical tadpoles: understanding threats and values. (with J Prince)

HARMS, DANILO | Phylogeny and phylogeography of pseudoscorpions belonging to the subfamily Pseudotyranno-chthoniinae (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones: Chthoniidae). (with M Harvey, WA Museum)

NISTELBERGER, HEIDI | Ancient, terrestrial islands in a semi-arid landscape: Patterns of genetic diversity in regional endemics of the Yilgarn Banded Ironstone Formations. (with M Byrne & D Coates, Department of Environment and Conservation, Western Australia)

PERKS, SHARRON | Improving the quality and quantity of spermatozoa obtained from male anurans via assisted reproduction. (with H Robertson, Perth Zoo)

SCHMIDT, SYLVIE | Ecological physiology of macropod marsupials (with P Withers & C Cooper)

SILLA, AIMEE | Development and application of assisted reproductive technologies for the conservation of anuran amphibians (with N Mitchell, and, H Robertson, Perth Zoo)

WILLERS, NICOLE | Fertility control in quokkas (Setonix brachyurus) and rock wallabies (Petrogale lateralis subsp. lateralis) (with R Bencini and G Martin)

Collaborators

DR PAUL DOUGHTY | WA Museum

DR SCOTT KEOGH | School of Botany and Zoology, Australian National University

DR MICHAEL RIX | WA Museum

DR MARK HARVEY, WA Museum

DR DAN EDWARDS | University of Michigan

DR FRANCISCO GARCIA-GONZALEZ, Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia

PROFESSOR LEIGH SIMMONS | Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Animal Biology, University of Western Australia

Dale Roberts