David Ayre Position:   Professor Room:   35 G05 Phone No:   +61 2 4221 Email:   dja@uow.edu.au Lab/other loc:   G08 Lab Phone:   +(61) 2 4221 4266

Research Interests

Ecological genetics and marine ecology

Evolutionary consequences of variation in the mating systems of terrestrial plants

The importance of selection in determining the genetic structure of populations of marine invertebrates

Behavioural Ecology - especially pollinator behaviour and behaviour of marine invertebrates

 

Representative Publications

Ayre, D.J. (1995) Localised adaptation of sea anemone clones: evidence from transplantation over two spatial scales. J. Animal Ecology 64: 186-196.

Ayre D.J. and T.P. Hughes (2000) Genotypic diversity and gene flow in brooding and spawning corals along the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Evolution 54: 1590-1605.

England, P.R. , R. Beynon, R.J. Whelan and D.J. Ayre (2001) A molecular genetic assessment of mating system variation in a naturally bird-pollinated shrub: contributions from birds and honeybees. Conservation Biology 15: 1645-55.

Ayre D.J. and T.P. Hughes (2004) Climate change, genotypic diversity and gene flow in reef-building corals. Ecology Letters 7: 273-278.
Paper in PDF (229k)

Ayre D.J. and K.J. Miller (2004) Where do clonal coral larvae go? Adult genotypic diversity conflicts with reproductive effort in the brooding coral Pocillopora damicornis. Marine Ecology Progress Series 277: 95-105.
Paper in PDF (122k)

Searchable Publication List

 

Current Students

Current ARC funded Postdoctoral Fellows:

Dr Jeff Wright

 

Recent PhD Graduates

Dr Tanya Llorens (2004)

W.A. Dept. of Conservation and Land Management - TanyaL@calm.wa.gov.au

Dr Glenn Johnston (2003)

Human Impacts Research Program Australian Antarctic Division - glenn.johnstone@aad.gov.au

Dr Tom Cellebrezze (2003)

Effects of European honeybees on the pollination ecology of Australian Plants. Thomas.Celebrezze@dipnr.nsw.gov.au

 

Currently supervised students

Ph.D.'s:

Mr David McKenna

Demographic consequences of fire-sensitivity in Persoonia

Ms Annette Usher

Hybridization in Banksia's

Mr Paul Rymer

Ecological and genetic assessments of gene flow and mating systems in Persoonia.

Mr David Field

Effects of habitat fragmentation on hybridization in Eucalypts

Ms Eszter Hidas

Processes determining species distributions on the south east coast of Australia

Mr Laurence Clarke

Effects of increased UV radiation on somatic mutation in Antarctic Moss.

Mr David Roberts

Evolutionary consequences of hybridization in Bream

 

Suggested Topics for Future Students

I would be happy to support research student projects across the range of my research interests i.e.

Effects of life-history variation on gene flow and population structure in Marine or Freshwater Invertebrates

Fisheries genetics

Behavioural Ecology e.g. competitive interactions between sea anemone clones (see picture)

Plant/pollinator interactions and their genetic and ecological consequences

See Also the Honours Topics Page

 

Abbreviated CV

Academic Degrees

B.Sc. (Hons) 1977, Department of Zoology, University of Western Australia.

Ph.D. 1983, Department of Zoology, University of Western Australia.

 

Academic and Research Appointments:

1978-79 Research Officer, Department of Microbiology, University of W.A.

1980-83 Ph.D. student, Department of Zoology, University of W. A..

1983-85 Postdoctoral Fellow, Australian Institute of Marine Science.

1985-88 Lecturer, Department of Biology, University of Wollongong.

1989-94 Senior Lecturer, Department of Biology, University of Wollongong.

1990, 1993 Visiting Research Zoologist, Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis (6 month sabbatical leaves).

1994-5 Co-ordinator of Australian Flora and Fauna Research Centre (AFFRC), University of Wollongong.

1995-2002 Associate Professor, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong.

2002 - Professor, Department of Biological Sciences and Director Institute for Conservation Biology, University of Wollongong.

Member of the editorial board of the Journals 'Evolution' and 'Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology'.

 

Fire, bees and other disturbances: the basis for variation in genetic diversity in long-lived plants.

A collaboration with Prof. Rob Whelan (Wollongong) – funded by ARC

A genetic and experimental assessment of the frequency and importance of hybridisation of Black and Yellow Fin Bream.

a collaboration with R. West and C. Gray
- ARC Linkage

Using microsatellites as markers to explore genetic variation in Ceratodon purpureus, an Antarctic moss.

A collaboration with Associate Professor Sharon Robinson funded by the Australian Antarctic Division.

 

Research Features

Allelic Diversity decreases with increasing latitude in scleractinian corals - D.J. Ayre and T,P Hughes (2004) Ecology Letters 7: 273-278. Large Image (30k)

Sea anemones fight across an interclonal boundary. The white structures are specialised fighting tentacles and are laden with nematocysts (stinging cells).
D.J. Ayre and R.K. Grosberg (2004) Animal behaviour (in press)