Overview
Topic status: We're looking for students to study this topic.
The history of organisms is written in their DNA. The program "Site-Strip" is being developed with colleagues at Massey University (NZ) with a view to enhancing the signal in DNA for inferring evolutionary relationships. This project aims to apply this signal enhancement to answer long-standing phylogenetic questions, such as the relationships among the major groups of mammals or birds. In addition, the results are expected to shed light on the influence of the dinosaur extinction on the early diversification of mammals or birds. The project would suit students with bioinformatics and/or programming skills and could also be tailored to interests in the evolutionary relationships of other groups of organisms.
This project may include a research visit to Massey University.
For further information please see the following article:
'The rise of birds and mammals: are microevolutionary processes sufficient for macroevolution?', Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Volume 19, Issue 10, October 2004.
- Study level
- Honours
- Supervisors
- QUT
- Organisational unit
Science and Engineering Faculty
- Research area
- Contact
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Please contact the supervisor.
Dr Matthew Phillips
