Dr Shannon Corrigan

PhD supervisor: Prof L Beheregaray

I am fascinated by the evolution and natural history of marine organisms. I have broad research interests in evolutionary ecology, biogeography and conservation biology, particularly of chondrichthyan fishes. I aim to use modern DNA technology to study the processes that drive population divergence and ultimately, speciation in order to better understand the evolution and conservation of my study species’.

I completed my PhD in 2009 at the Molecular Ecology Lab, Macquarie University. This research was focused on a group of economically valuable but vulnerable sharks, the wobbegongs (Orectolobiformes: Orectolobidae). This work was multifaceted, combining mitochondrial and nuclear DNA data to resolve species-interrelationships and taxonomic uncertainties; examine wobbegong evolution, biogeography and speciation; and describe patterns of population genetic structure and dispersal for multiple co-distributed wobbegong species.

More recently I have been studying movement and dispersal in shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus), from the southern hemisphere, using information from both satellite tracking and population genetic data. This work is a collaborative effort between the Molecular Ecology Lab at Flinders University and SARDI Aquatic Sciences. Information generated in this study will enhance our understanding of the population structure and movement ecology of shortfin makos, and contribute to future conservation and management regimes for this popular sport fish in Australian waters. I am currently a postdoctoral fellow on the chondrichthyan Tree of Life project at Hollings Marine Laboratory, Charleston, South Carolina.

For futher information please check my CV here.