Email hamish.spencer@otago.ac.nz
Phone 64-3-479-7981
Teaching
Research Interests
- The maintenance of genetic and epigenetic variation in populations
- The population genetics of genomic imprinting
- Population-genetic models of maternal selection
- New Zealand molluscs
- Population-genetic theory for frequency-dependent selection
- Phenotypic plasticity
- History of eugenics
- Applications of phylogenetics to NZ taxa
Public Outreach
History of Eugenics in New Zealand: Otago Access Radio Interview with Marvin Hubbard, 29 June 2018.
Checklist of Living Mollusca Recorded from the New Zealand Exclusive Economic Zone
Connecting Communities with Science. Interview with Lynley Hargreaves, 16 February 2017
Working with Iwi
Encounters and Exchanges Conference in partnership with Blenheim communities
Connecting Communities with Science. Interview with Lynley Hargreaves, 16 February 2017
Newspaper Articles on Science Topics
Spencer, H.G. 2021. As special as a moa, Otago Daily Times, 6 September 2021.
Spencer, H.G. 2021. Recognising what remains to be known, Otago Daily Times, 8 May 2021.
Spencer, H.G. 2020. A ringing endorsement for clean streams, Otago Daily Times, 12 December 2020.
Spencer, H.G. 2020. Shags for sure. Otago Daily Times, 25 July 2020.
Spencer, H.G. 2020. Science: Nature vs nurture debate dumb. Dominion Post, 22 June 2020.
Spencer, H.G. 2020. Naming the crisis. Otago Daily Times, 15 February 2020.
Possible PhD, MSc and BSc(Hons) Research Projects
I currently have two PhD projects in evolutionary theory available:
1. New Evolutionary Theory for the Maintenance of Genetic Variation (in conjunction with Tim Connallon, Monash University)
2. Novel Evolutionary Models Incorporating Epigenetic Inheritance (supported by the Marsden Fund)
I am also keen to hear from suitable students interested in other areas. Please contact me if you are interested in research projects in any of the following topics.
- Population-Genetic Models for Genomically Imprinted Loci
Genomic imprinting describes the unequal expression of paternally and maternally inherited genes in mammals. We are interested in the population-level consequences of this form of non-Mendelian expression. - Evolutionary Origin of Genomic Imprinting
There have been several hypotheses proposed for the evolution of the unequal expression of paternally and maternally inherited genes in mammals. We are interested in examining these hypotheses rigorously, using novel mathematical models. - Phylogeography of Molluscs
Molluscs often provide ideal models to investigate questions in phylogeography, including questions about the importance of dispersal. New Zealand (and the South Pacific in general) has a diverse terrestrial and marine molluscan fauna that has already provided such model systems. We are interested in using novel DNA data sets in phylogeographic investigations. - Testing the Power to Detect Neutral Polymorphisms
Many of the statistical tests of the neutral hypothesis of evolution do not detect non-neutral systems easily. This project involves examining the power of a number of these tests for polymorphisms constructed by mutation and selection. - Frequency-Dependent Selection and Genetic Variation
In theory, frequency-dependent selection can maintain large numbers of alleles in a population. We are interested in quantifying this ability and seeing if, in fact, this form of selection might be responsible for the standing variation observed in natural populations. - Evolutionary Genetics of Parental Effects
It is becoming increasingly clear that parents pass on more than just their genes to the offspring. For example, experiments with a species of weedy cress have shown that non-genetic factors inherited from grandparents can even alter the genetic constitution of individual plants. This project will construct mathematical models that show how various parental effects can have long-term evolutionary implications.
Current & Recent Projects
- Natural selection and the maintenance of genetic and epigenetic variation
- Population-genetic models of selection at genomically imprinted loci
- Phylogenies of pelicans, shags, cormorants and their relatives (with Dr Martyn Kennedy and Dr Nic Rawlence)
- Models of the evolution of genomic imprinting (with Prof Andrew Clark)
- Phylogeny of molluscan genera in the gastropod families Trochidae and Calliostomatidae (with Dr Kirsten Donald and Dr Bruce Marshall)
- Phylogeny of Australasian nudibranchs (with Dr Martyn Kennedy, Dr Richard Willan and Prof Steve Smith)
- Evolution and phylogeography of Australasian intertidal communities, especially those associated with the Bull Kelp Durvillaea (with Prof Jon Waters)
- Population genetic models with spatial structure (with Dr Peter Whigham and Dr Grant Dick)
- Modelling the Developmental Origins paradigm (with Prof Peter Gluckman)
- Phylogeny and biogeography of New Zealand landsnails (with Dr Martyn Kennedy and Dr Fred Brook)
- History of eugenics in New Zealand (with Assoc Prof John Stenhouse and Prof Diane Paul)
Recent and Current Postdocs and Students
- Philip Greenspoon, Postdoctoral Fellow, Epigenetics and Evolutionary Theory
- Rebecca Cumming, PhD, Evolutionary Biogeography and Patterns of Dispersal in the Intertidal Slug Onchidella
- Gert-Jan Jeunen, PhD, Evaluating Environmental DNA (eDNA) Metabarcoding as a Method for Monitoring Biodiversity in Marine Ecosystems
- Katherine Lockton, MSc, Genetics of Lasaea in New Zealand
- Bryce Peebles, PhD, Chiton Skeletal Genesis: Mechanics and Effects of Acidification
- Gertje Petersen, PhD, The Role of Molecular Genetic Variation and Population Structure in the Genetic Improvement of the Honeybee
- Kerry Walton, PhD, Ancient DNA Methods and Museum Biological Specimens
- Scott Davidson, PhD, An Experimental Test of the Robustness of Sensitivity Analysis
- Tim Byrne, PhD, Development and Comparison of Approaches to the Genetic Improvement of Sheep
- Kirsten Donald, Postdoctoral Fellow, The Co-evolution of Topshells and Trematodes (supported by the Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution)
- Crid Fraser, PhD, Phylogeography of Bull Kelp, Durvillaea spp.
- Jemma Geoghegan, PhD, Mathematical Population Epigenetics (supported by the National Research Centre for Growth and Development)
- Martyn Kennedy, Postdoctoral Fellow, The Behaviour and Phylogeny of the Pelecaniformes (supported by the Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution)
- Anna Santure, PhD, Quantitative Genetic Models Incorporating Genomic Imprinting
- Renate Sponer, PhD, Molecular Evolution in the Cosmopolitan, Brooding Brittle Star
- Bastiaan Star, PhD, Population Structure and Genetic Variability
- Rick Stoffels, Postdoctoral Fellow, Population-genetic Theory of Frequency-dependent Selection (supported by the Marsden Fund )
- Meredith Trotter, PhD, Frequency-dependent Selection and the Maintenance of Genetic Variation
- Anton Weisstein, Postdoctoral Fellow, Population-genetic Models of the Evolution of Genomic Imprinting (supported by the Marsden Fund)
- David Winter, PhD, Phylogeography of Pacific Landsnails (See also David's blog) (supported by the Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution)
- Alexey Yanchukov, Postdoctoral Fellow, Modelling the Evolutionary Genetics of Parental Effects (supported by the Marsden Fund )
Keywords
- population-genetic theory, genomic imprinting, phylogenetics, plasticity, molluscs, epigenetics
Publications
Karawita, A., Cheng, Y., Chew, K. Y., Challagulla, A., Krause, R., Mueller, R. C., … Spencer, H. G., … Short, K. (2023). The swan genome and transcriptome, it is not all black and white. Genome Biology, 24(1), 13. doi: 10.1186/s13059-022-02838-0
Spencer, H. G., & Paul, D. B. (2022). In memoriam: Richard Charles Lewontin (1929–2021): A self-critical critic. American Naturalist, 200(5), 621-626. doi: 10.1086/721258
Walton, K., Scarsbrook, L., Mitchell, K. J., Verry, A. J. F., Marshall, B. A., Rawlence, N. J., & Spencer, H. G. (2022). Application of palaeogenetic techniques to historic mollusc shells reveals phylogeographic structure in a New Zealand abalone. Molecular Ecology Resources. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.13696
Rosenfeld, S., Maturana, C. S., Spencer, H. G., Convey, P., Saucède, T., Brickle, P., … Gonzalez-Wevar, C. (2022). Complete distribution of the genus Laevilitorina (Littorinimorpha, Littorinidae) in the Southern Hemisphere: Remarks and natural history [Data paper]. ZooKeys, 1127, 61-77. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1127.91310
Greenspoon, P. B., Spencer, H. G., & M’Gonigle, L. K. (2022). Epigenetic induction may speed up or slow down speciation with gene flow. Evolution, 76(6), 1170-1182. doi: 10.1111/evo.14494
Karawita, A., Cheng, Y., Chew, K. Y., Challagulla, A., Krause, R., Mueller, R. C., … Spencer, H. G., … Short, K. (2023). The swan genome and transcriptome, it is not all black and white. Genome Biology, 24(1), 13. doi: 10.1186/s13059-022-02838-0
Journal - Research Article
Spencer, H. G., & Paul, D. B. (2022). In memoriam: Richard Charles Lewontin (1929–2021): A self-critical critic. American Naturalist, 200(5), 621-626. doi: 10.1086/721258
Journal - Research Other
Walton, K., Scarsbrook, L., Mitchell, K. J., Verry, A. J. F., Marshall, B. A., Rawlence, N. J., & Spencer, H. G. (2022). Application of palaeogenetic techniques to historic mollusc shells reveals phylogeographic structure in a New Zealand abalone. Molecular Ecology Resources. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.13696
Journal - Research Article
Rosenfeld, S., Maturana, C. S., Spencer, H. G., Convey, P., Saucède, T., Brickle, P., … Gonzalez-Wevar, C. (2022). Complete distribution of the genus Laevilitorina (Littorinimorpha, Littorinidae) in the Southern Hemisphere: Remarks and natural history [Data paper]. ZooKeys, 1127, 61-77. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1127.91310
Journal - Research Other
Greenspoon, P. B., Spencer, H. G., & M’Gonigle, L. K. (2022). Epigenetic induction may speed up or slow down speciation with gene flow. Evolution, 76(6), 1170-1182. doi: 10.1111/evo.14494
Journal - Research Article
Spencer, H. G., Pleasants, A. B., Gluckman, P. D., & Wake, G. C. (2022). A model of optimal timing for a predictive adaptive response. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health & Disease, 13, 101-107. doi: 10.1017/s2040174420001361
Journal - Research Article
Smith, A. M., Peebles, B. A., & Spencer, H. G. (2022). Directly observed images through the shell-lenses of Onithochiton neglectus (Mollusca: Polyplacophora: Chitonidae). Molluscan Research. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1080/13235818.2022.2144089
Journal - Research Article
Rawlence, N. J., Salis, A. T., Spencer, H. G., Waters, J. M., Scarsbrook, L., Mitchell, K. J., … Dutoit, L., King, T. M., … Kennedy, M. (2022). Rapid radiation of Southern Ocean shags in response to receding sea ice. Journal of Biogeography, 49, 942-953. doi: 10.1111/jbi.14360
Journal - Research Article
González-Wevar, C. A., Segovia, N. I., Rosenfeld, S., Maturana, C. S., Jeldres, V., Pinochet, R., … Spencer, H. G., & Poulin, E. (2022). Seven snail species hidden in one: Biogeographic diversity in an apparently widespread periwinkle in the Southern Ocean. Journal of Biogeography. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/jbi.14453
Journal - Research Article
Spencer, H. G., Willan, R. C., Mariottini, P., & Salvi, D. (2022). Taxonomic consistency and nomenclatural rules within oysters: Comment on Li et al. (2021). Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution, 170, 107437. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107437
Journal - Research Other
Greenspoon, P. B., & Spencer, H. G. (2021). Avoiding extinction under nonlinear environmental change: Models of evolutionary rescue with plasticity. Biology Letters, 17(12), 20210459. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0459
Journal - Research Article
Whigham, P. A., & Spencer, H. G. (2021). Graph-structured populations and the Hill-Robertson effect. Royal Society Open Science, 8, 201831. doi: 10.1098/rsos.201831
Journal - Research Article
González-Wevar, C. A., Segovia, N. I., Rosenfeld, S., Noll, D., Maturana, C. S., Hüne, M., … Spencer, H. G., … Poulin, E. (2021). Contrasting biogeographical patterns in Margarella (Gastropoda: Calliostomatidae: Margarellinae) across the Antarctic Polar Front. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution, 156, 107039. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2020.107039
Journal - Research Article
Lockton, K. G., & Spencer, H. G. (2021). Phylogeography of the intertidal marine bivalve Lasaea hinemoa (Mollusca: Bivalvia) in New Zealand. Molluscan Research, 41(3), 191-203. doi: 10.1080/13235818.2021.1966163
Journal - Research Article
Spencer, H. G. (2021). [Review of the book Biology and evolution of the mollusca]. Molluscan Research, 41(1), 80-82. doi: 10.1080/13235818.2020.1859344
Journal - Research Other
Spencer, H. G. (2020). Beyond equilibria: The neglected role of history in ecology and evolution. Quarterly Review of Biology, 95(4), 311-321. doi: 10.1086/711803
Journal - Research Article
Zuk, M., & Spencer, H. G. (2020). Killing the behavioral zombie: Genes, evolution, and why behavior isn't special. BioScience, 70(6), 515-520. doi: 10.1093/biosci/biaa042
Journal - Research Article
Donald, K. M., McCulloch, G. A., Dutoit, L., & Spencer, H. G. (2020). Population structure of the New Zealand whelk, Cominella glandiformis (Gastropoda: Buccinidae), suggests sporadic dispersal of a direct developer. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 130, 49-60. doi: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa033
Journal - Research Article
Spencer, H. G. (2020). A further perspective on speciation by reinforcement. Theoretical Biology Forum, 113(1/2), 63-66. doi: 10.19272/202011402007
Journal - Research Article
Brook, F. J., Kennedy, M., King, T. M., Ridden, J., Shaw, M. D., & Spencer, H. G. (2020). Catalogue of New Zealand land, freshwater and estuarine molluscan taxa named by Frederick Wollaston Hutton between 1879 and 1904. Zootaxa, 4865(1), 1-73. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.4865.1.1
Journal - Research Article
Jeunen, G.-J., Lamare, M. D., Knapp, M., Spencer, H. G., Taylor, H. R., Stat, M., … Gemmell, N. J. (2020). Water stratification in the marine biome restricts vertical environmental DNA (eDNA) signal dispersal. Environmental DNA, 2(1), 99-111. doi: 10.1002/edn3.49
Journal - Research Article
Kennedy, M., Seneviratne, S. S., Rawlence, N. J., Ratnayake, S., & Spencer, H. G. (2019). The phylogenetic placement of the enigmatic Indian Cormorant, Phalacrocorax fuscicollis (Phalacrocoracidae). Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution, 130, 227-232. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2018.10.019
Journal - Research Article
Kennedy, M., Seneviratne, S. S., Mendis, U. K., & Spencer, H. G. (2019). Sorting out the snakebirds: The species status, phylogeny, and biogeography of the Darters (Aves: Anhingidae). Journal of Zoological Systematics & Evolutionary Research, 57, 892-899. doi: 10.1111/jzs.12299
Journal - Research Article
González-Wevar, C. A., Hüne, M., Rosenfeld, S., Nakano, T., Saucède, T., Spencer, H., & Poulin, E. (2019). Systematic revision of Nacella (Patellogastropoda: Nacellidae) based on a complete phylogeny of the genus, with the description of a new species from the southern tip of South America. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 186(2), 303-336. doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zly067
Journal - Research Article
Rawlence, N. J., Rayner, M. J., Lovegrove, T. G., Stoddart, D., Vermeulen, M., Easton, L. J., … Kennedy, M., Spencer, H., & Waters, J. M. (2019). Archival DNA reveals cryptic biodiversity within the Spotted Shag (Phalacrocorax punctatus) from New Zealand. Condor, 121, 1-16. doi: 10.1093/condor/duz029
Journal - Research Article
Jeunen, G.-J., Knapp, M., Spencer, H. G., Taylor, H. R., Lamare, M. D., Stat, M., … Gemmell, N. J. (2019). Species‐level biodiversity assessment using marine environmental DNA metabarcoding requires protocol optimization and standardization. Ecology & Evolution, 9, 1323-1335. doi: 10.1002/ece3.4843
Journal - Research Article
Jeunen, G.-J., Knapp, M., Spencer, H. G., Lamare, M. D., Taylor, H. R., Stat, M., … Gemmell, N. J. (2019). Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding reveals strong discrimination among diverse marine habitats connected by water movement. Molecular Ecology Resources, 19, 426-438. doi: 10.1111/1755-0998.12982
Journal - Research Article
Paul, D. B., Stenhouse, J., & Spencer, H. G. (Eds.). (2018). Eugenics at the edges of empire: New Zealand, Australia, Canada and South Africa. Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave MacMillan, 320p. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-64686-2
Edited Book - Research
Spencer, H. G. (2018). Eugenic sterilization in New Zealand: The story of the Mental Defectives Amendment Act of 1928. In D. B. Paul, J. Stenhouse & H. G. Spencer (Eds.), Eugenics at the edges of empire: New Zealand, Australia, Canada and South Africa. (pp. 85-106). Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave MacMillan. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-64686-2
Chapter in Book - Research
Greenspoon, P. B., & Spencer, H. G. (2018). The evolution of epigenetically-mediated adaptive transgenerational plasticity in a subdivided population. Evolution, 72(12), 2773-2780. doi: 10.1111/evo.13619
Journal - Research Article
González-Wevar, C. A., Segovia, N. I., Rosenfeld, S., Ojeda, J., Hüne, M., Naretto, J., … Spencer, H. G., & Poulin, E. (2018). Unexpected absence of island endemics: Long-distance dispersal in higher latitude sub-Antarctic Siphonaria (Gastropoda: Euthyneura) species. Journal of Biogeography, 45(4), 874-884. doi: 10.1111/jbi.13174
Journal - Research Article
Kelly, S. T., & Spencer, H. G. (2017). Population-genetic models of sex-limited genomic imprinting. Theoretical Population Biology, 115, 35-44. doi: 10.1016/j.tpb.2017.03.004
Journal - Research Article
González-Wevar, C. A., Hüne, M., Segovia, N. I., Nakano, T., Spencer, H. G., Chown, S. L., … Poulin, E. (2017). Following the Antarctic Circumpolar Current: Patterns and processes in the biogeography of the limpet Nacella (Mollusca: Patellogastropoda) across the Southern Ocean. Journal of Biogeography, 44(4), 861-874. doi: 10.1111/jbi.12908
Journal - Research Article
Peebles, B. A., Smith, A. M., & Spencer, H. G. (2017). Valve microstructure and phylomineralogy of New Zealand chitons. Journal of Structural Biology, 197(3), 250-259. doi: 10.1016/j.jsb.2016.12.002
Journal - Research Article
Rawlence, N. J., Till, C. E., Easton, L. J., Spencer, H. G., Schuckard, R., Melville, D. S., … Waters, J. M., & Kennedy, M. (2017). Speciation, range contraction and extinction in the endemic New Zealand King Shag complex. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution, 115, 197-209. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2017.07.011
Journal - Research Article
Spencer, H. G., & Priest, N. K. (2016). The evolution of sex-specific dominance in response to sexually antagonistic selection. American Naturalist, 187(5), 658-666. doi: 10.1086/685827
Journal - Research Article
Spencer, H. G., & Mitchell, C. (2016). The selective maintenance of allelic variation under generalized dominance. Genes Genomes Genetics, 6(11), 3725-3732. doi: 10.1534/g3.116.028076
Journal - Research Article
Spencer, H. G., & Zuk, M. (2016). For host's sake: The pluses of parasite preservation [Forum]. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 31(5), 341-343. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2016.02.021
Journal - Research Other
Paul, D. B., & Spencer, H. G. (2016). Eugenics without eugenists? Anglo-American critiques of cousin marriages in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In S. Müller-Wille & C. Brandt (Eds.), Heredity explored: Between public domain and experimental science, 1850-1930. (pp. 49-79). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Chapter in Book - Research
Donald, K. M., & Spencer, H. G. (2016). Phylogeographic patterns in New Zealand and temperate Australian cantharidines (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Trochidae: Cantharidinae): Trans-Tasman divergences are ancient. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution, 100, 333-344. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2016.04.029
Journal - Research Article
Rawlence, N. J., Scofield, R. P., Spencer, H. G., Lalas, C., Easton, L. J., Tennyson, A. J. D., … Waters, J. M., & Kennedy, M. (2016). Genetic and morphological evidence for two species of Leucocarbo shag (Aves, Pelecaniformes, Phalacrocoracidae) from southern South Island of New Zealand. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 177(3), 676-694. doi: 10.1111/zoj.12376
Journal - Research Article
Donald, K. M., & Spencer, H. G. (2016). Host and ecology both play a role in shaping distribution of digenean parasites of New Zealand whelks (Gastropoda: Buccinidae: Cominella). Parasitology, 143(9), 1143-1156. doi: 10.1017/S0031182016000494
Journal - Research Article
Cumming, R. A., Nikula, R., Spencer, H. G., & Waters, J. M. (2016). Trans-Tasman genetic connectivity in the intertidal air-breathing slug Onchidella nigricans. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 562, 93-100. doi: 10.3354/meps11926
Journal - Research Article
Smith, A. M., & Spencer, H. G. (2016). Skeletal mineralogy of scaphopods: An unusual uniformity. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 82(2), 344-348. doi: 10.1093/mollus/eyv061
Journal - Research Article
Donald, K. M., Winter, D. J., Ashcroft, A. L., & Spencer, H. G. (2015). Phylogeography of the whelk genus Cominella (Gastropoda: Buccinidae) suggests long-distance counter-current dispersal of a direct developer. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 115(2), 315-332. doi: 10.1111/bij.12529
Journal - Research Article
Spencer, H. G., & Chiew, K. X. (2015). The maintenance of single-locus polymorphism by maternal selection. Genes Genomes Genetics, 5, 963-969. doi: 10.1534/g3.115.017392
Journal - Research Article
Donald, K. M., & Spencer, H. G. (2015). New Zealand screw shells Maoricolpus roseus (Gastropoda: Turritellidae): Two species, two subspecies or a single variable species? Molluscan Research, 35(2), 123-127. doi: 10.1080/13235818.2014.977838
Journal - Research Article
Spencer, H. G., & Clark, A. G. (2014). Non-conflict theories for the evolution of genomic imprinting. Heredity, 113, 112-118. doi: 10.1038/hdy.2013.129
Journal - Research Article
Herman, J. J., Spencer, H. G., Donohue, K., & Sultan, S. E. (2014). How stable 'should' epigenetic modifications be? Insights from adaptive plasticity and bet hedging. Evolution, 68(3), 632-643. doi: 10.1111/evo.12324
Journal - Research Article
Kennedy, M., & Spencer, H. G. (2014). Classification of the cormorants of the world. Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution, 79, 249-257. doi: 10.1016/j.ympev.2014.06.020
Journal - Research Article