ProfessorNathan Lo
Professor of Evolutionary Biology
Faculty of Science
- Professor of Evolutionary BiologyFaculty of Science
Research projects & supervision summary
Project Opportunities
Title: Lord Howe Island Genomic Observatory
Summary of opportunity:
The vast majority of extinctions have occurred on islands. Island conservation programs have traditionally focussed on vertebrates, with invertebrates largely ignored. We will establish a 'genomic observatory' on World Heritage Listed Lord Howe Island (LHI) by comprehensively characterising its terrestrial invertebrate fauna. We will combine cutting edge DNA methods with traditional taxonomy to enable future monitoring of LHI’s biodiversity, and investigate its evolutionary past. We will utilise extensive collections made before and after the LHI Rodent Eradication Project (2019) to analyse its effects on invertebrate abundance. Our project will provide a model system for safeguarding island ecosystems against future anthropogenic change.
RESEARCH PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONA Meta-Transcriptomic Investigation of Virus Evolution and Ecology in Ectotherms
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONA tree of sticks: dispersal and speciation of Australian Phasmatodea
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONDigging deeper: phylogenetics and parallel evolution of Australian native cockroaches, their allies, and endosymbionts
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONDiscovery Phylogenetics and Biogeography of terrestrial Acari (mites) on Lord Howe Island
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONDiversity, island syndrome, and conservation for ants (Family Formicidae) on the Lord Howe Island
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONEvolution taxonomy and systematics of wrasses (Teleostei: Labridae)
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONEvolution on coral reefs, with systematic treatments of the pencil and fairy wrasses (Teleostei: Labridae: Pseudojuloides & Cirrhilabrus)
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONEvolutionary and ecological characteristics of island populations
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONExploring Evolutionary Rates and Patterns of Diversification Across the Tree of Life
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONFrom Biogeography to Genomics: Community Assembly Diversification and Adaptation of Beetles on Lord Howe Island
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONFrom Populations to Phylogeny: Biogeography Biology and Systematics of the Wirrahs (Teleostei: Acanthistiidae: Acanthistius)
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONGenomic based approaches for risk management in conservation
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONHost-Symbiont Interactions Evolution and Horizontal Gene Transfer in Ixodidae and Myriapoda
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONHybridisation and speciation: evolutionary trajectories of the Australian stingless bees
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONInsects and their endosymbionts: Phylogenetics and evolutionary rates
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONIntegrative Systematics of the Australian Peacock Spiders and Their Allies
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONInvestigating endemism and diversification in the Australian mosses with a comprehensive generic-level phylogeny
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONMetagenomic Applications in Virus Discovery, Ecology, and the Surveillance of Australian Wildlife
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONNext generation sequencing to explore microbial diversity, origins and evolution
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONPhotoregulation by GAF-containing photoreceptors in the chlorophyll f-producing cyanboacterium Halomicronema hongdechloris
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONPhylogenetic relationships and horizontal gene transfer in panesthiine and geoscapheine cockroaches
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONPhylogeography and population genetics of Australian threatened and invasive birds
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONRevealing the determinants of virus ecology, evolution and emergence in fish
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONRevealing the evolution of viruses using phylogenetics, metagenomics and structural prediction
- RESEARCH-BASED DEGREE SUPERVISIONRiverine Heatwaves: Current Trends and Physiological Responses