Professor Jon Waters, Our People, Department of Zoology, University of Otago, New Zealand

Jon Waters

Teaching

Research interests

Kelp research on the shore of the Southern Ocean.

Extinction and recolonization - ancient DNA
(Co-director, Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory with Dr Nic Rawlence)
Rates of molecular evolution
Kelp rafting and Southern Ocean biogeography
Freshwater phylogeography and drainage evolution
Evolutionary genomics

Jon is also a member of the Coastal People: Southern Skies collaboration that connects communities with world-leading, cross-discipline research to rebuild coastal ecosystems.
Coastal People: Southern Skies

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Research highlights and news

Little Blue Penguin ancient DNA - NewsHub
Aquatic Mammal Prehistory - Kim Hill (15:50 duration)
Audit of Prehistoric NZ - Kathryn Ryan (25:20 duration)
Waitaha Penguin: BBC
Climate change: REUTERS
Molecular rates: ABC-TV
Rafting: Radio-NZ
Rafting: Science

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Research projects

Bull-kelp in the Southern Ocean Bull kelp in the Southern Ocean.

Use it or lose it: evolution of NZ’s flightless alpine insects (Marsden Funding)
Ancient DNA of NZ's prehistoric penguins and sea-lions (Marsden funding)
Oceanic rafting (Marsden funding)
River capture and fish evolution (Marsden funding)

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Postdoctoral and postgraduate students

Nevis River valley, Central Otago.

Postdoctoral student

Dr Graham McCulloch

Postgraduate students

Tess Cole, PhD - Ancient and modern genetics of crested penguins
Brodie Foster, PhD - Evolutionary genetics and biogeography of NZ stoneflies
Afroditi Kardamaki, PhD - Ancient DNA of NZ swans
Elahe Parvizi, PhD - Coastal phylogeography

Recent postdoctoral and postgraduate students

Megan Askew, MSc - Ancient DNA of elephant seals
Dr Sanne Boessenkoo
Dr Chris Burridge
Laura Bussolini, MSc - Genetics of rafting kelp
Catherine Collins, PhD - Ancient DNA of NZ sea-lions
Dr Shan Crow
Rebecca Cumming, PhD - Biogeography of Onchidella
Dr Ceridwen Fraser
Stefanie Grosser, PhD - Ancient DNA of little blue penguins
Dr Catherine Grueber
Dr Devon Keeney
Keith King, PhD - Evolutionary genetics of alpine insects
Dr Graham McCulloch
Dr Raisa Nikula, Postdoc
Kalinka Rexer-Huber, PhD - Conservation genetics of subantarctic petrels
Alex Salis, BSc(Hons) - Ancient DNA of NZ fur-seals
Jennifer Trickey, MSc - Biogeography of rafting nudibranchs
Dr Andrew Veale, Postdoc

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Publications

Cole, T. L., Dutoit, L., Dussex, N., Hart, T., Alexander, A., Younger, J. L., … Ellenberg, U., … Mattern, T., … Waters, J. M. (2019). Receding ice drove parallel expansions in Southern Ocean penguins. PNAS, 116(52), 26690-26696. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1904048116

Cole, T. L., Ksepka, D. T., Mitchell, K. J., Tennyson, A. J. D., Thomas, D. B., Pan, H., … Rawlence, N. J., … Waters, J. M. (2019). Mitogenomes uncover extinct penguin taxa and reveal island formation as a key driver of speciation. Molecular Biology & Evolution, 36(4), 784-797. doi: 10.1093/molbev/msz017

McCulloch, G. A., Foster, B. J., Dutoit, L., Ingram, T., Hay, E., Veale, A. J., Dearden, P. K., & Waters, J. M. (2019). Ecological gradients drive insect wing loss and speciation: The role of the alpine treeline. Molecular Ecology, 28, 3141-3150. doi: 10.1111/mec.15114

Parvizi, E., Craw, D., & Waters, J. M. (2019). Kelp DNA records late Holocene paleoseismic uplift of coastline, southeastern New Zealand. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 520, 18-25. doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2019.05.034

Fraser, C. I., Morrison, A. K., Hogg, A. M., Macaya, E. C., van Sebille, E., Ryan, P. G., … Waters, J. M. (2018). Antarctica's ecological isolation will be broken by storm-driven dispersal and warming. Nature Climate Change, 8, 704-708. doi: 10.1038/s41558-018-0209-7

Journal - Research Article

McCulloch, G. A., Foster, B. J., Ingram, T., & Waters, J. M. (2019). Insect wing loss is tightly linked to the treeline: Evidence from a diverse stonefly assemblage. Ecography, 42(4), 811-813. doi: 10.1111/ecog.04140

Journal - Research Article

McCulloch, G. A., Oliphant, A., Dearden, P. K., Veale, A. J., Ellen, C. W., & Waters, J. M. (2019). Comparative transcriptomic analysis of a wing-dimorphic stonefly reveals candidate wing loss genes. EvoDevo, 10, 21. doi: 10.1186/s13227-019-0135-4

Journal - Research Article

Waters, J. M., Burridge, C. P., & Craw, D. (2019). The lasting biological signature of Pliocene tectonics: Reviewing the re‐routing of Australia's largest river drainage system. Journal of Biogeography, 46, 1494-1503. doi: 10.1111/jbi.13612

Journal - Research Article

Cole, T. L., Rawlence, N. J., Dussex, N., Ellenberg, U., Houston, D. M., Mattern, T., … Waters, J. M. (2019). Ancient DNA of crested penguins: Testing for temporal genetic shifts in the world's most diverse penguin clade. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution, 131, 72-79. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.025

Journal - Research Article

Veale, A. J., Foster, B. J., Dearden, P. K., & Waters, J. M. (2018). Genotyping-by-sequencing supports a genetic basis for wing reduction in an alpine New Zealand stonefly. Scientific Reports, 8, 16275. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-34123-1

Journal - Research Article

Fraser, C. I., Davies, I. D., Bryant, D., & Waters, J. M. (2018). How disturbance and dispersal influence intraspecific structure. Journal of Ecology, 106(3), 1298-1306. doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.12900

Journal - Research Article

Rawlence, N. J., Kardamaki, A., Easton, L. J., Tennyson, A. J. D., Scofield, R. P., & Waters, J. M. (2017). Ancient DNA and morphometric analysis reveal extinction and replacement of New Zealand's unique black swans. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 284(1859), 20170876. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0876

Journal - Research Article

Waters, J. M., Fraser, C. I., Maxwell, J. J., & Rawlence, N. J. (2017). Did interaction between human pressure and Little Ice Age drive biological turnover in New Zealand. Journal of Biogeography, 44(7), 1481-1490. doi: 10.1111/jbi.12991

Journal - Research Article

Wallis, G. P., Waters, J. M., Upton, P., & Craw, D. (2016). Transverse alpine speciation driven by glaciation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 31(12), 916-926. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2016.08.009

Journal - Research Article

Dussex, N., Chuah, A., & Waters, J. M. (2016). Genome-wide SNPs reveal fine-scale differentiation among wingless alpine stonefly populations, and introgression between winged and wingless forms. Evolution, 70(1), 38-47. doi: 10.1111/evo.12826

Journal - Research Article

McCulloch, G. A., Wallis, G. P., & Waters, J. M. (2016). A time-calibrated phylogeny of southern hemisphere stoneflies: Testing for Gondwanan origins. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution, 96, 150-160. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2015.10.028

Journal - Research Article

Grosser, S., Rawlence, N. J., Anderson, C. N. K., Smith, I. W. G., Scofield, R. P., & Waters, J. M. (2016). Invader or resident? Ancient-DNA reveals rapid species turnover in New Zealand little penguins. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 283(1824), 20152879. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2015.2879

Journal - Research Article

Craw, D., Upton, P., Burridge, C. P., Wallis, G. P., & Waters, J. M. (2016). Rapid biological speciation driven by tectonic evolution in New Zealand. Nature Geoscience, 9, 140-144. doi: 10.1038/ngeo2618

Journal - Research Article

Rawlence, N. J., Collins, C. J., Anderson, C. N. K., Maxwell, J. J., Smith, I. W. G., Robertson, B. C., Knapp, M., Horsburgh, K. A., Stanton, J.-A. L., Scofield, R. P., … Matisoo-Smith, E. A., & Waters, J. M. (2016). Human-mediated extirpation of the unique Chatham Islands sea lion and implications for the conservation management of remaining New Zealand sea lion populations. Molecular Ecology, 25(16), 3950-3961. doi: 10.1111/mec.13726

Journal - Research Article

Grosser, S., Burridge, C. P., Peucker, A. J., & Waters, J. M. (2015). Coalescent modelling suggests recent secondary-contact of cryptic penguin species. PLoS ONE, 10(12), e0144966. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0144966

Journal - Research Article

Collins, C. J., Rawlence, N. J., Prost, S., Anderson, C. N. K., Knapp, M., Scofield, R. P., Robertson, B. C., Smith, I., Matisoo-Smith, E. A., … Waters, J. M. (2014). Extinction and recolonization of coastal megafauna following human arrival in New Zealand. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 281, 20140097. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2014.0097

Journal - Research Article

Waters, J. M., Fraser, C. I., & Hewitt, G. M. (2013). Founder takes all: Density-dependent processes structure biodiversity. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 28(2), 78-85. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2012.08.024

Journal - Research Article

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