Dr Adam Skinner

Qualifications

B.Sc., The University of Sydney, 2001.

M.Sc., The University of Adelaide, 2003.  Thesis title: 'Systematics of Hydrophiine Brown Snakes (Pseudonaja)'.  Supervisors: Steve Donnellan, Mark Hutchinson.

Ph.D., The University of Adelaide, 2008.  Thesis title: 'Phylogeny and Evolution of Lerista (Lygosominae, Scincidae, Squamata)'.  Supervisors: Mike Lee, Mark Hutchinson.

Research Interests

My research focuses on several important problems in evolutionary biology, including stochastic modeling of phenotypic evolution, applying and evaluating methods for reconstructing ancestral character states, understanding the mode of macroevolutionary transitions, and the delimitation of species.  Most of my recent work examines the evolution of body form in Australian sand-swimming skinks.

Research Funding

The Developmental Genetics of Major Evolutionary Transitions: A Multidisciplinary Investigation of Limb Reduction and Loss in Lizards (with Mike Lee).  Australian Research Council Discovery Project Grant, 2012-2014.

Publications

12.  Lee, M. S. Y., Skinner, A., 2011.  Testing fossil calibrations for vertebrate molecular trees.  Zool. Scripta 40, 538-543.  (Journal Impact Factor, 3.091; Ranking, 6/145 Zoology)

11.  Skinner, A., Hugall, A. F., Hutchinson, M. N., 2011.  Lygosomine phylogeny and the origins of Australian scincid lizards.  J. Biogeogr. 38, 1044-1058.  (Journal Impact Factor, 4.273; Ranking, 24/129 Ecology, 3/42 Physical Geography)

10.  Skinner, A., 2010.  Rate heterogeneity, ancestral character state reconstruction, and the evolution of limb morphology in Lerista (Scincidae, Squamata).  Syst. Biol. 59, 723-740.  (Journal Impact Factor, 9.532; Ranking, 3/45 Evolutionary Biology)

9.  Skinner, A., Lee, M. S. Y., 2010.  Plausibility of inferred ancestral phenotypes and the evaluation of alternative models of limb evolution in scincid lizards.  Biol. Lett. 6, 354-358.  (Journal Impact Factor, 3.651)

8.  Skinner, A., Lee, M. S. Y., 2009.  Body-form evolution in the scincid lizard clade Lerista and the mode of macroevolutionary transitions.  Evol. Biol. 36, 292-300.  (Journal Impact Factor, 2.736)

7.  Skinner, A., 2009.  A multivariate morphometric analysis and systematic review of Pseudonaja (Serpentes, Elapidae, Hydrophiinae).  Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 155, 171-197.  (Journal Impact Factor, 2.319; Ranking, 19/145 Zoology)

6.  Skinner, A., Lee, M. S. Y., Hutchinson, M. N., 2008.  Rapid and repeated limb loss in a clade of scincid lizards.  BMC Evol. Biol. 8, 310.  (Journal Impact Factor, 3.70)

5.  Lee, M. S. Y., Skinner, A., 2008.  Hierarchy and clade definitions in Phylogenetic Taxonomy.  Org. Divers. Evol. 8, 17-20.  (Journal Impact Factor, 1.581)

4.  Lee, M. S. Y., Skinner, A., 2007.  Stability, ranks, and the PhyloCode.  Acta Palaeontol. Pol. 52, 643-650.  (Journal Impact Factor, 1.949; Ranking, 11/48 Palaeontology)

3.  Skinner, A., 2007.  Phylogenetic relationships and rate of early diversification of Australian Sphenomorphus group scincids (Scincoidea, Squamata).  Biol. J. Linn. Soc. 92, 347-366.  (Journal Impact Factor, 2.166; Ranking, 30/45 Evolutionary Biology)

2.  Skinner, A., Donnellan, S. C., Hutchinson, Hutchinson, M. N., Hutchinson, R. G., 2005.  A phylogenetic analysis of Pseudonaja (Hydrophiinae, Elapidae, Serpentes) based on mitochondrial DNA sequences.  Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 37, 558-571.  (Journal Impact Factor, 3.889)

1.  Skinner, A., 2004.  Hierarchy and monophyly.  Cladistics 20, 498-500.  (Journal Impact Factor, 6.740; Ranking, 4/45 Evolutionary Biology)

Entry last updated: Friday, 9 Dec 2011