Dr Jeremy Austin

Biography/ Background

I grew up in Tasmania and completed a Science Degree and PhD at the Unversity of Tasmania. Since then I have worked on ancient DNA projects at the Natural History Museum (London) from 1994-2000, a brief stint with a marine ecology consultancy company undertaking marine park surveys along the Victorian coastline, comparative phylogeography of rainforest vertebrates at the University of Queensland (2000-2003), phylogeography and molecular systematics of Australian owls and lizards at Museum Victoria (2003-2005), taught a one semester third year course in human evolutionary genetics at Latrobe University (2004) and am now based at the University of Adelaide undertaking some really exciting ancient DNA research at the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA.

Qualifications

BSc (Hons), University of Tasmania, 1991

PhD, University of Tasmania, 1995

Teaching Interests

RESEARCH STUDENTS AND PROJECTS

Alex Anderson, Honours Project: Population genetics of grey-headed robins in the Australian Wet Tropics (submitted 2002)

Sarah Bray, PhD Project: Evolution and demography of giant short-faced bears and brown bears (commenced 2005)

Gaynor Dolman, PhD Project: Speciation in Wet Tropics fauna: Carlia skinks (submitted February 2006)

Conrad Hoskin, PhD Project: Evolution in a secondary contact zone between two lineages of the Green-eyed Tree Frog Litoria genimaculata (submitted May 2006)

Andrew Hugall, PhD Project: Wet Tropics land snail phylogeography (commenced 2006)

James Nicholls, PhD Project: Call and genetic variation in the satin bowerbird (submitted 2005)

Nicolas Rawlence, PhD Project: Population demographics of moa in New Zealand during the late Pleistocene and Holocene (commenced 2005)

Michelle Roberts, Hons Project: Morphological and molecular analysis of diet in the arrow squid, Nototodarus gouldi (submitted November 2007)

Publications

Book Chapter

Kowalchuk GA, Austin JJ, Gooding PS & Stephen JR (2007) Valid Recovery of Nucleic Acid Sequence Information from High Contamination Risk Samples – Ancient DNA and Environmental DNA. In: Perspectives in Bioanalysis, Volume 2 (ed. K. Mitchelson), pp 357-371, Elsevier, Amsterdam

 

Austin, JJ (2001) DNA from Museum Specimens. In: Encyclopaedia of Genetics, (ed. ECR Reeve), pp 817-820, Fitzroy Dearborn, London.

 

Journal Articles

Austin JJ, Arnold EN, Jones CG (2009) Interrelationships and history of the slit-eared skinks
(Gongylomorphus, Scincidae) of the Mascarene islands, based on mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences. Zootaxa (accepted 4/4/2009)

 

Roberts Braley M, Goldsworthy S, Page B, Steer M, Austin JJ (2009) Assessing morphological and DNA-based diet analysis techniques in a generalist predator, the arrow squid Nototodarus gouldi. Molecular Ecology Resources (accepted June 2009)

 

Denham T, Atchison J, Austin J, Bestel S, Bowdery D, Crowther A, Dolby N, Fairbairn A, Field J, Kennedy A, Lentfer A, Matheson C, Nugent S, Parr J, Prebble M, Robertson G, Specht J, Torrence R, Barton H, Fullagar R, Haberle S, Horrocks M, Lewis T, Matthews P (2009) Archaeobotany in Australia and New Guinea: Practice, potential and prospects. Australian Archaeology 68: 1-10.

 

Sands, CJ, Lancaster ML, Austin JJ, Sunnucks P (2009) Single copy nuclear DNA markers for the onychophoran Phallocephale tallagandensis Conservation Genetics Resources DOI 10.1007/s12686-009-9004-0

 

Gongora J, Rawlence NJ, Mobegi VA, Jianlin H, Alcalde JA, Matus JT, Hanotte O, Moran C, Austin JJ, Ulm S, Anderson AJ, Larson G, Cooper A (2008) Reply to Storey et al.: More DNA and dating studies needed for ancient El Arenal-1 chickens. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 105: E100

 

Boessenkool S, Austin JJ, Worthy TH, Scofield P, Cooper A, Seddon PJ, Waters JM (2008) Relict or colonizer? Extinction and range expansion of penguins in the South Seas. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B. doi:10.1098/rspb.2008.1246

 

Wood JR, Rawlence, NJ, Rogers GM, Austin JJ, Worthy TH, Cooper A (2008) Coprolite deposits reveal the diet and ecology of the extinct New Zealand megaherbivore moas (Aves, Dinornithiformes). Quaternary Science Reviews 27: 2593-2602.

 

Gongora J, Rawlence NJ, Mobegi VA, Jianlin H, Alcalde JA, Matus JT, Hanotte O, Moran C, Austin JJ, Ulm S, Anderson AJ, Larson G, Cooper A (2008) Indo-European and Asian origins for Chilean and Pacific chickens revealed by mtDNA. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 105: 10308-10313.

 

Brotherton P, Endicott P, Beaumont M, Barnett R, Austin J, Cooper A, Sanchez JJ (2008) Single primer extension (SPEX) amplification to accurately genotype highly damaged DNA templates. Forensic Science International: Genetics Supplement Series 1: 19-21.

 

Shoo LP, Rose R, Doughty P, Austin JJ, Melville J (2008) Diversification patterns of pebble-mimic dragons are consistent with historical disruption of important habitat corridors in arid Australia. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 48: 528-542.

 

Brotherton P, Endicott P, Sanchez JJ, Beaumont M, Barnett R, Austin J & Cooper, A (2007) Novel high-resolution characterization of ancient DNA reveals C>U-type base modification events as the sole cause of post mortem miscoding lesions. Nucleic Acids Research 35: 5717-5728

 

Nicholls JA, Austin JJ, Pavlacky DC & Green DC (2007) Characterization of polymorphic microsatellites in the logrunner, Orthonyx temminckii (Aves : Orthonychidae) Molecular Ecology Notes 7:1117-1119

 

Melville J, Goebel S, Starr C, Keogh JS & Austin JJ (2007) Conservation genetics and species status of an endangered Australian dragon, Tympanocryptis pinguicolla (Reptilia: Agamidae). Conservation Genetics 8:185-195

 

Doughty P, Maryan B, Melville J & Austin JJ (2007) Independent evolution of salt lake specialization in the genus Ctenophorus (Lacertilia: Agamidae), with a description of a new species from Lake Disappointment, Western Australia. Herpetologica 63:72-86.

 

Nicholls JA, Austin JJ, et al. (2006) Genetic population structure and call variation in a passerine bird, the satin bowerbird, Ptilonorhynchus violaceus. Evolution 60: 1279-1290.

 

Austin, JJ & Arnold, EN (2006) Using ancient and recent DNA to explore relationships of extinct and endangered Leiolopisma skinks (Reptilia: Scincidae) in the Mascarene islands. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 39: 503-511.

 

Austin, JJ & Melville, J (2006) Incorporating historical museum specimens into molecular systematic and conservation genetics research. Molecular Ecology Notes 6: 1089-1092.

 

Austin, JJ, Rose, RJ & Melville, J (2006) Polymorphic microsatellite markers in the painted dragon lizard, Ctenophorus pictus. Molecular Ecology Notes 6:194-196

 

Nicholls, JA & Austin, JJ (2005) Phylogeography of an east Australian wet forest bird, the satin bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus), derived from mtDNA and morphology. Molecular Ecology 14, 1485-1496.

 

Rheindt, FE & Austin, JJ (2005) Major analytical and conceptual short-comings in a recent taxonomic revision of the Procellariiformes: a reply to Penhallurick and Wink (2004). Emu 105, 181-186.

 

Beadell, JS, Gering, E, Austin, JJ, Dumbacher, JP, Pierce, MA, Pratt, TK, Atkinson, CT & Fleischer, RC (2005) Host-specificity and prevalence of avian malaria parasites in the Austral-Papuan region. Molecular Ecology 13, 3829-3844.

 

Bardeleben, C, Semple-Delaney, K, Austin, JJ & Moore, RL (2005) Isolation of polymorphic tetra-nucleotide microsatellite markers for the grey-headed robin Poecilodryas albispecularis. Molecular Ecology Notes 5, 146-148.

 

Bardeleben, C, Gray, MM, Austin, JJ & Amorim do Rosario, I (2005) Isolation of polymorphic tetra-nucleotide microsatellite markers for the large-billed scrubwren Sericornis magnirostris. Molecular Ecology Notes 5, 143-145.

 

Bardeleben, C, Moore, RL, Austin, JJ & Robson, T (2005) Isolation of polymorphic tetra-nucleotide microsatellite markers for the Satin Bowerbird Ptilonorhynchus violaceus. Molecular Ecology Notes 5, 305-307.

 

Austin, JJ, et al. (2004) A global molecular phylogeny of the small Puffinus shearwaters and implications for the systematics of the Little/Audubon's shearwater complex. Auk 121, 847-864.

 

Austin, JJ, et al. (2004) Reconstructing an island radiation using ancient and recent DNA: the extinct and living geckos (Phelsuma) of the Mascarene islands. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31, 109-122.

 

Cook, CE, Austin, JJ, and Disney, RHL (2004) A mitochondrial 12S and 16S rRNA phylogeny of critical genera of the Phoridae (Diptera) and related families of Aschiza. Zootaxa 593, 1-11.

 

Austin, JJ, et al. (2003) Was there a second adaptive radiation of giant tortoises in the Indian Ocean? Using mitochondrial DNA to investigate speciation and biogeography of Aldabrachelys (Reptilia, Testudinidae) Molecular Ecology 12, 1415-1424

 

Austin, JJ, et al. (2002) The provenance of type specimens of extinct Mascarene Island giant tortoises (Cylindraspis) revealed by ancient mitochondrial DNA sequences. Journal of Herpetology 36, 280-285.

 

Shapiro, B, Sibthorpe, D, Rambaut, A, Austin, JJ, et al. (2002) Flight of the Dodo. Science 295,1683.

Entry last updated: Tuesday, 14 Jul 2009