Liz Reed

Research Interests

Heritage and Cultural Conservation Palaeoecology Palaeontology Quaternary Environments

Dr Liz Reed

Senior Lecturer

School of Biological Sciences

College of Science

I am a vertebrate palaeontologist specialising in Quaternary cave deposits, notably in the south east region of South Australia. My particular interests are vertebrate taphonomy and site history, Quaternary palaeoclimate, biodiversity records from caves and refining megafauna extinction records.I am a Senior Lecturer within the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in the School of Biological Sciences and a member of the Environment Institute.I completed an Honours degree in vertebrate palaeontology at Flinders University, studying how kangaroo skeletons decompose and disarticulate in a natural environment. I was awarded my PhD in 2004. My thesis research involved taphonomic (fossil forensics) studies of large mammal fossils from the Pleistocene-aged deposits within the World Heritage listed Naracoorte Caves National Park. Since then I have taught at undergraduate and graduate level and continue to study cave deposits in the South East region of South Australia.

My current research projects centre on Quaternary aged vertebrate fossil deposits from caves in the Naracoorte area of the Limestone Coast region of South Australia. In collaboration with colleagues from University of Adelaide's Environment Institute and various institutions in Australia and overseas, I am working on refining the age and palaeoenvironmental context of key deposits at Naracoorte.

Current projects -:

  • Refining the chronology and environmental context of megafauna extinctions at Naracoorte.
  • Palaeontology and taphonomy of Naracoorte fossil assemblages.
  • Investigation of cave deposits found in limestone quarries at Naracoorte.
  • Review of fossil faunas including megafauna marsupials, bats, frogs and reptiles.

I am a member of the Environment Institute and Sprigg Geobiology Centre at University of Adelaide. I am also a Research Associate with the South Australian Museum.

I was named Unsung Hero of Science Communication for 2018 at the South Australian Science Excellence Awards.

Our latest article in The Conversation.

Sprigg Geobiology Centre LogoEnvironment Institute Logo

The Environment Institute Annual Report 2015 features a great story about research at Naracoorte Caves.

Check out the July 2015 issue of e-Science magazine to see my article on the fossils of Naracoorte. http://escience.realviewdigital.com/?iid=122820#folio=24

Don't forget to visit the amazing Naracoorte Caves!

 

Below - Digging for megafauna, Naracoorte Caves National Park. During the Pleistocene, megafauna and other animals fell into caves and became trapped with their remains accumulating in the cave below. Over time these remains were buried by sediments that washed or blew into the cave. Fossil bones are delicate, so we use small dental picks and brushes to expose the long buried fossils. The position of each bone is recorded in detail and samples of charcoal, bone, sediment and cave formations (speleothems) are used to determine the age of the deposits. Photo Steve Bourne. 

Digging for megafauna, Naracoorte Caves National Park. Photo Steve Bourne.

Below - Peeling back the layers in time - Liz Reed excavating in Blanche Cave (Naracoorte Caves National Park), assisted by Cath Loder. The finely layered strata are visible in the sandy cave sediments. Each layer represents a period of time. Like chapters in a book each has a story to tell about the past animals and environment at Naracoorte. Photo Steve Bourne.  

Peeling back the layers in time - Liz Reed excavating in Blanche Cave (Naracoorte Caves National Park), assisted by Cath Loder. Photo Steve Bourne.

 Below - One of the many exceptionally well preserved fossils from Naracoorte Caves. This is the skull of an extinct short-faced kangaroo. The fossil caves of the Naracoorte Caves National Park are deemed so signficant that they are World Heritage listed. Much of my research centres on these deposits. Photo Steve Bourne.

One of the many exceptionally well preserved fossils from Naracoorte Caves. This is the skull of an extinct short-faced kangaroo. Photo Steve Bourne.

Below - A tiny fossil bat dentary from the late Pleistocene of Naracoorte. Bats have lived in caves at Naracoorte for hundreds of thousands of years. Their fossil remains accumulated from natural deaths beneath roosts in the caves. Other small vertebrates such as rodents and dasyurids fell victim to owl predation, forming large accumulations derived from owl pellets. Photo Liz Reed 

A tiny fossil bat dentary from the late Pleistocene of Naracoorte. Photo Liz Reed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Date Position Institution name
2019 - ongoing Lecturer in palaeontology University of Adelaide
2015 - 2018 Research Fellow University of Adelaide
2011 - 2013 Research Fellow, vertebrate palaeontology Flinders University
2006 - 2010 Lecturer in palaeontology Flinders University

Date Institution name Country Title
2005 Deakin University Australia Grad. Cert. Museum Studies
2004 Flinders University Australia PhD
1997 Flinders University Australia BA (Hons)

Year Citation
2025 Fergusen, M., Reed, E., & García-Bellido, D. (2025). Investigating colour in marine Miocene molluscs: UV fluorescence patterns and pigment EDX spectroscopy in shells from the Murbko Marl, Murray Basin (South Australia). Palaeontologia Electronica, 28(1), 25 pages.
DOI
2025 Beasley-Hall, P., Trewick, S., Eberhard, S., Zwick, A., Reed, E., Cooper, S., & Austin, A. (2025). Molecular phylogenetics illuminates the evolutionary history and hidden diversity of Australian cave crickets (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae). Systematic Entomology, 50(4), 975-987.
DOI
2025 Beasley‐Hall, P. G., Trewick, S. A., Hedges, B. A., Cooper, S. J. B., Reed, E. H., & Austin, A. D. (2025). Integrative taxonomic revision of the Australian cave cricket Speleotettix Chopard, 1944 (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae): New species, distribution and conservation implications. Austral Entomology, 64(3), e70011.
DOI Scopus1
2025 Buckley, M., Mitchell, K. J., Arnold, L. J., Reed, E. H., & Eberhard, R. (2025). Collagen fingerprinting and sequence analysis provides a molecular phylogeny of extinct Australian megafauna.. Proceedings. Biological sciences, 292(2058), 20250856.
DOI Europe PMC1
2025 Scarsbrook, L., Cairns, K. M., Mitchell, K. J., Bougiouri, K., Evin, A., Harris, A. C., . . . Fillios, M. A. (2025). The impacts of European arrival on Australian dingoes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 122(48), e2421749122.
DOI Scopus1
2024 Atkins, R. A., Hill, R. S., Hill, K. E., Munroe, S. E. M., & Reed, E. H. (2024). Quaternary plant macrofossils from Robertson Cave, Naracoorte, South Australia: vegetative remains. Alcheringa, 48(4), 778-794.
DOI
2024 Donato, I., Palci, A., Hutchinson, M. N., & Reed, E. H. (2024). Putting a Name to a Face: Using Geometric Morphometrics to Identify Middle Pleistocene Varanid Cranial Fossils from Naracoorte Caves. Journal of Herpetology, 58(3), 221-237.
DOI Scopus1 WoS1
2024 Souilmi, Y., Wasef, S., Williams, M. P., Conroy, G., Bar, I., Bover, P., . . . Mitchell, K. J. (2024). Ancient genomes reveal over two thousand years of dingo population structure. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 121(30), e2407584121-1-e2407584121-12.
DOI Scopus7 WoS6 Europe PMC6
2024 Weij, R., Sniderman, J. M. K., Woodhead, J. D., Hellstrom, J. C., Brown, J. R., Drysdale, R. N., . . . Gordon, J. (2024). Elevated Southern Hemisphere moisture availability during glacial periods. Nature, 626(7998), 319-326.
DOI Scopus24 WoS25 Europe PMC5
2023 Reed, E., Treloar, J. -B., Binnie, M. -A., & Thurmer, J. (2023). A late nineteenth century collection of fossils from the Naracoorte Caves highlights the role of the South Australian Museum in the history of the site. Helictite, 48, 19-32.
2023 Turner, N., & Reed, E. (2023). Using historical research to constrain the provenance and age of the first recorded collection of extinct Pleistocene large mammal fossils from the Naracoorte Caves, South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 147(1), 143-159.
DOI
2023 Tomlinson, S., Lomolino, M., Woinarski, J., Murphy, B., Reed, E., Johnson, C., . . . Fordham, D. (2023). Reconstructing mechanisms of extinctions to guide mammal
conservation biogeography. Journal of Biogeography, 50(7), 1199-1212.
DOI Scopus6 WoS5
2023 Atkins, R., Hill, R., Hill, K., Munroe, S., & Reed, E. (2023). Quaternary plant macrofossils from Robertson Cave, Naracoorte, South Australia: reproductive structures. Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology, 47(3), 348-366.
DOI Scopus2 WoS2
2022 Atkins, R. A., Hill, R. S., Hill, K. E., Munroe, S. E. M., & Reed, E. H. (2022). Preservation quality of plant macrofossils through a Quaternary cave sediment sequence at Naracoorte, South Australia: Implications for vegetation reconstruction. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 299, 104607-1-104607-12.
DOI Scopus10 WoS10
2022 Priya., Arnold, L. J., Guilarte, V., Duval, M., Demuro, M., Weij, R., & Reed, E. H. (2022). ESR and OSL dating of fossil-bearing deposits from Naracoorte Cave Complex palaeontological sites, south Australia. Quaternary Geochronology, 69, 9 pages.
DOI Scopus13 WoS11
2022 Arnold, L. J., Demuro, M., Power, R., Priya., Duval, M., Guilarte, V., . . . Reed, E. H. (2022). Examining sediment infill dynamics at Naracoorte cave megafauna sites using multiple luminescence dating signals. Quaternary Geochronology, 70, 1-9.
DOI Scopus25 WoS22
2022 Weij, R., Woodhead, J., Sniderman, K., Hellstrom, J., Reed, E., Bourne, S., . . . Pollard, T. (2022). Cave opening and fossil accumulation in Naracoorte, Australia, through charcoal and pollen in dated speleothems. Communications Earth and Environment, 3(1), 210-1-210-8.
DOI Scopus15 WoS12
2021 Reed, E. (2021). World Heritage values and conservation status of the Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh / Naracoorte). Annales de Géomorphologie / Annals of Geomorphology / Zeitschrift für Geomorphologie, 62(Suppl. 3), 213-233.
DOI Scopus5
2019 Arnold, L. A., Demuro, M., Spooner, N., Prideaux, G. J., McDowell, M., Camens, A., . . . Carbonell, E. (2019). Single-grain TT-OSL bleaching characteristics: insights from modern analogues and OSL dating comparisons. Quaternary Geochronology, 49, 45-51.
DOI Scopus45 WoS39
2018 Beasley-Hall, P., Tierney, S., Weinstein, P., & Austin, A. (2018). A revised phylogeny of macropathine cave crickets (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae) uncovers a paraphyletic Australian fauna. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 126, 153-161.
DOI Scopus15 WoS11 Europe PMC7
2018 Reed, E., & Bourne, S. (2018). New evidence confirms Thomas Hannay as the first photographer of Naracoorte Caves and emphasises the importance of historical writing in caves. Helictite, 44, 45-58.
Scopus2
2017 Reed, E. (2017). Once more unto the deep: early history of Cathedral Cave, Naracoorte.. Journal of the Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association, 106, 9-14.
2016 Curry, M., Reed, E. H., & Bourne, S. (2016). Thylacoleo carnifex and the Naracoorte Caves. Australian Age of Dinosaurs: The annual publication of the Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History., (13), 40-51.
2016 Reed, E. (2016). The mystery photographer and the unknown engraving: new information on the first photographs of the Naracoorte Caves.. Journal of the Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association, 103, 5-10.
2016 Grealy, A., Macken, A., Allentoft, M., Rawlence, N., Reed, E., & Bunce, M. (2016). An assessment of ancient DNA preservation in Holocene-Pleistocene fossil bone excavated from the world heritage Naracoorte Caves, South Australia. Journal of Quaternary Science, 31(1), 33-45.
DOI Scopus17 WoS15
2014 Curry, M., Reed, L., & Bourne, S. (2014). Catching the 'marsupial lion' by the tail: Thylacoleo carnifex and the Naracoorte Caves.. Journal of the Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association, 97, 6-16.
2014 Macken, A., & Reed, E. (2014). Postglacial reorganization of a small-mammal paleocommunity in southern Australia reveals thresholds of change. Ecological Monographs, 84(4), 563-577.
DOI Scopus15 WoS12
2013 Macken, A., McDowell, M., Bartholomeusz, D., & Reed, E. (2013). Chronology and stratigraphy of the Wet Cave vertebrate fossil deposit, Naracoorte, and relationship to paleoclimatic conditions of the Last Glacial Cycle in south-eastern Australia. Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 60(2), 271-281.
DOI Scopus12 WoS9
2013 Macken, A., Staff, R., & Reed, E. (2013). Bayesian age-depth modelling of Late Quaternary deposits from Wet and Blanche Caves, Naracoorte, South Australia: a framework for comparative faunal analyses. Quaternary Geochronology, 17, 26-43.
DOI Scopus10 WoS10
2013 Reed, E. H. (2013). 'Old' cave, new stories: the interpretative evolution of Blanche Cave, Naracoorte.. Journal of the Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association, 90, 11-28.
2013 Macken, A., & Reed, E. (2013). Late Quaternary small mammal faunas of the Naracoorte Caves World Heritage Area. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 137(1), 53-67.
DOI Scopus16 WoS12
2012 Macken, A., Prideaux, G., & Reed, E. (2012). Variation and pattern in the responses of mammal faunas to Late Pleistocene climatic change in southeastern South Australia. Journal of Quaternary Science, 27(4), 415-424.
DOI Scopus18 WoS16
2012 Reed, E. H. (2012). Of mice and megafauna: new insights into Naracoorte's fossil deposits. Journal of the Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association, 86, 7-14.
2012 St Pierre, E., Zhao, J., Feng, Y., & Reed, E. (2012). U-series dating of soda straw stalactites from excavated deposits: method development and application to Blanche Cave, Naracoorte, South Australia. Journal of Archaeological Science, 39(4), 922-930.
DOI Scopus29 WoS28
2011 Macken, A., Jankowski, N., Price, G., Bestland, E., Reed, E., Prideaux, G., & Roberts, R. (2011). Application of sedimentary and chronological analyses to refine the depositional context of a Late Pleistocene vertebrate deposit, Naracoorte, South Australia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 30(19-20), 2690-2702.
DOI Scopus16 WoS15
2011 Kaplan, M. (2011). Once more unto the deep. NEW SCIENTIST, 211(2828), 38-+.
DOI
2009 Bourne, S., & Reed, E. H. (2009). The Australian Fossil Mammal sites (Riversleigh/Naracoorte).. World Heritage, 52, 46-47.
2009 Darrénougué, N., De Deckker, P., Fitzsimmons, K. E., Norman, M. D., Reed, L., van der Kaars, S., & Fallon, S. (2009). A late Pleistocene record of aeolian sedimentation in Blanche Cave, Naracoorte, South Australia. Quaternary Science Reviews, 28(25-26), 2600-2615.
DOI Scopus37 WoS39
2009 St Pierre, E., Zhao, J. X., & Reed, E. (2009). Expanding the utility of Uranium-series dating of speleothems for archaeological and palaeontological applications. Journal of Archaeological Science, 36(7), 1416-1423.
DOI Scopus31 WoS27
2009 Reed, E. H., & Bourne, S. J. (2009). Pleistocene fossil vertebrate sites of the South East region of South Australia II. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 133(1), 30-40.
DOI Scopus25 WoS26
2009 Reed, E. H. (2009). Decomposition and disarticulation of kangaroo carcasses in caves at Naracoorte, South Australia. Journal of Taphonomy, 7(4), 265-284.
2008 Reed, E. H. (2008). Pinning down the pitfall: Entry points for Pleistocene vertebrate remains and sediments in the Fossil Chamber, Victoria Fossil Cave, Naracoorte, South Australia.. Quaternary Australasia, 25(2), 2-8.
2006 Reed, E. H. (2006). In Situ Taphonomic Investigation of Pleistocene Large Mammal Bone Deposits from The Ossuaries, Victoria Fossil Cave, Naracoorte, South Australia. Helictite, 39(1), 5-15.
2006 Bourne, S., & Reed, E. (2006). Foreword. Alcheringa, 30(Special Issue 1), iii-iv.
DOI
2005 Reed, E., & Hutchinson, M. (2005). First record of a giant varanid (Megalania, Squamata) from the Pleistocene of Naracoorte, South Australia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 51(1), 203-213.
Scopus7
2001 Reed, E. H. (2001). Disarticulation of kangaroo skeletons in semi-arid Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology, 49(6), 615-632.
DOI Scopus21 WoS19
2000 Reed, E. H., & Bourne, S. J. (2000). Pleistocene fossil vertebrate sites of the south east region of South Australia. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, 124(2), 61-90.
Scopus61 WoS51

Year Citation
2023 Webb, J., White, S., & Smith, G. K. (Eds.) (2023). Australian Caves and Karst Systems. Springer International Publishing.
DOI
2006 Reed, E. H., Bourne, S., Megirian, D., Prideaux, G., & Young, G. (Eds.) (2006). Proceedings of the 10th Conference on Australasian Vertebrate Evolution, Palaeontology and Systematics. Alcheringa Special Issue 1..

Year Citation
2023 Reed, E. (2023). Vertebrate Fossils in Australian Caves: Underground Archives of Past Biodiversity. In J. Webb, S. White, & G. Smith (Eds.), Australian Caves and Karst Systems (1 ed., pp. 297-312). Springer.
DOI
2012 Reed, E. H. (2012). South Australia: Naracoorte Caves. In Australian Heritage Council (Ed.), Australia’s Fossil Heritage: a catalogue of important Australian fossil sites (pp. 69-70).
2012 Reed, E. H. (2012). South Australia: Naracoorte Caves. In Australian Heritage Council (Ed.), Australia’s Fossil Heritage: a catalogue of important Australian fossil sites (pp. 69-70).
2009 Reed, E. H. (2009). A vertebrate CSI. In South Australian Museum (Ed.), The Fossil Hunters (pp. 37-41). Adelaide: South Australian Museum.
2003 Reed, E. H., & Gillieson, D. (2003). Mud and bones: cave deposits and environmental history in Australia.. In B. Finlayson, & E. Hamilton-Smith (Eds.), Beneath the surface: a natural history of Australian Caves (pp. 89-110). Sydney: University of New South Wales Press.

Year Citation
2019 Reed, E. H. (2019). Naracoorte Caves: a critical window on faunal extinctions and past climates. In Proceedings of the 31st Biennial Conference of the Australian Speleological Federation (pp. 12-19). Devonport, Australia: Australian Speleological Federation.

Year Citation
2021 Weij, R., Woodhead, J., Reed, E., Sniderman, K., Hellstrom, J., & Drysdale, R. (2021). The World Heritage Naracoorte Caves beyond 500 ka: U-Pb dating and charcoal analysis from speleothems with implications for Pleistocene vertebrate fossil deposits. Poster session presented at the meeting of Abstracts of the EGU General Assembly 2021. virtual online: Copernicus GmbH.
DOI
2018 Weij, R., Woodhead, J., Hellstrom, J., Sniderman, K., Reed, E. H., Drysdale, R., & Bajo, P. (2018). Speleothem rubble as a new low-impact tool for cave-based palaeoclimate studies. Poster session presented at the meeting of European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2018. Vienna, Austria.
2017 Reed, E. (2017). The contribution of cave sites to the understanding of Quaternary Australian megafauna records. Poster session presented at the meeting of Proceedings of the 17th International Congress of Speleology, Volume 1 Edition 2. Sydney: Australian Speleological Federation Inc and Speleo2017 in the co-operation with the International Union of Speleology..
2016 Gray, J., Reed, E. H., Hutchinson, M., Jones, M., & McDowell, M. (2016). Agamid lizard fossils from South Australian caves and their implications for environmental change during the Quaternary. Poster session presented at the meeting of Geological Society of Australia Abstracts. Hornsby, NSW: Geological Society of Australia.
2016 Reed, E. H., & Reardon, T. (2016). Fossil bats from Quaternary cave deposits at Naracoorte, South Australia.. Poster session presented at the meeting of Geological Society of Australia Abstracts. Hornsby, NSW: Geological Society of Australia.
2015 Gray, J., Reed., & McDowell, M. (2015). Agamid (Reptilia: Squamata) assemblages from South Australia
suggest differences between Pleistocene and modern distributions that reflect climate change. Poster session presented at the meeting of Society of Vertebrate Paleontology annual meeting. Dallas, Texas, USA.
2015 Gray, J., Reed., & McDowell, M. (2015). Agamid (Reptilia: Squamata) assemblages from South Australia
suggest differences between Pleistocene and modern distributions that reflect climate change. Poster session presented at the meeting of Society of Vertebrate Paleontology annual meeting. Dallas, Texas, USA.
2015 Reed, E. H. (2015). Priests, parties and palaeontologists: a potted history of the Naracoorte Caves.. Poster session presented at the meeting of Reflections: The 22nd State History Conference. Robe, South Australia.
2015 Reed, E. H. (2015). Site formation processes and their influence on chronological records from cave deposits: examples from Naracoorte Caves. Poster session presented at the meeting of 4th Asia Pacific Luminescence and Electron Spin Resonance Dating Conference. University of Adelaide.
2006 Reed, E. H., Wells, R., Bourne, S., & Sellar, A. (2006). Discovering the history of life on Earth in South Australia. Poster session presented at the meeting of Alcheringa Special Issue 1. Naracoorte, SA.
2006 Reed, E. H., Wells, R., Bourne, S., & Sellar, A. (2006). Discovering the history of life on Earth in South Australia. Poster session presented at the meeting of Alcheringa Special Issue 1. Naracoorte, SA.
2006 Reed, E. H. (2006). A modern taphonomic analogue for Pleistocene pitfall cave deposits at Naracoorte, South Australia.. Poster session presented at the meeting of Alcheringa Special Issue 1. Naracoorte SA.
2006 Reed, E. H. (2006). A modern taphonomic analogue for Pleistocene pitfall cave deposits at Naracoorte, South Australia.. Poster session presented at the meeting of Alcheringa Special Issue 1. Naracoorte SA.
2006 Wells, R., Grun, R., Forbes, M., Sullivan, J., Bestland, E., & Reed, E. H. (2006). The Black Creek Swamp Megafauna Site, Kangaroo Island: pre or post blitzkreig?. Poster session presented at the meeting of Alcheringa Special Issue 1. Naracoorte SA.
2006 Wells, R., Grun, R., Forbes, M., Sullivan, J., Bestland, E., & Reed, E. H. (2006). The Black Creek Swamp Megafauna Site, Kangaroo Island: pre or post blitzkreig?. Poster session presented at the meeting of Alcheringa Special Issue 1. Naracoorte SA.
2006 ABSTRACTS FROM CAVEPS 2005 (2006). Poster session presented at the meeting of Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. Informa UK Limited.
DOI
2006 Sullivan, J., Wells, R., Reed, E. H., Forbes, M., & Bestland, E. (2006). A taphonomic investigation of the Black Creek Swamp megafaunal accumulation.. Poster session presented at the meeting of Alcheringa: an Australian journal of palaeontology. Naracoorte: Taylor & Francis.
DOI
1999 Reed, E. H. (1999). A taphonomic study of the disarticulation of macropodid skeletons in a semi-arid environment.. Poster session presented at the meeting of Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement No. 57 01/1999. Perth, Australia.

Year Citation
2003 Reed, E. H. (2003). Draft fossil-based tourism scoping study..

Year Citation
2003 Reed, E. H. (2003). Vertebrate Taphonomy of large mammal bone deposits, Naracoorte Caves World Heritage Area.. (PhD Thesis, Flinders University).

Year Citation
2017 Reed, E. H., & Arnold, L. (2017). Naracoorte, where half a million years of biodiversity and climate history are trapped in caves. The Conversation.
2015 Reed, E. H. (2015). Underground archives: Naracoorte's fossil caves and their record of deep time.. University of Adelaide.

Year Citation
2024 Beasley-Hall, P., Trewick, S., Eberhard, S., Zwick, A., Reed, E., Cooper, S., & Austin, A. (2024). Molecular phylogenetics illuminates the evolutionary history and hidden diversity of Australian cave crickets (Orthoptera: Rhaphidophoridae).
DOI
  • 2024 Australian Research Council Linkage Project Linkage project scheme Fordham DA, Wood J, Austin JA, Reed E, Helgen K Preventing extinctions of threatened mammals with DNA in sediment archives  $670, 000 (2025-2028)
  • 2022 Australian Research Council Linkage Project Scheme. LP21020070. Louys J, Arnold LJ, Demuro M, Reed E, Moss P, Price GJ, Duval M, Wolf P. Deep time extinctions and environments in Australian underwater caves. $260,820.
  • 2021 Australian Government, Australian Heritage Grants 2020-21. AJG111000084 Natural values assessment and conservation monitoring of Naracoorte Caves. $189,869.
  • 2018 Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO) Research Portal grant - proposal 11688. Reconstructing Quaternary climate sequence at Alexandra Cave using single-grain OSL dating and environmental proxies. Priya, P. Gadd, J. Tibby, L.J. Arnold, E. Reed, M. Demuro.
  • 2017 Australian Research Council Linkage Project Scheme. LP160101249 Dr Lee Arnold, Prof. Bob Hill, Dr Elizabeth Reed, Prof. Alan Cooper, Assoc. Prof. Jeremy Austin, Dr John Tibby, Associate Professor Russell Drysdale; Dr John Hellstrom; Dr Gilbert Price; Dr Helen Macdonald; Dr Daniel Rogers; Dr Mark Hutchinson; Adjunct Professor Nigel Spooner. Naracoorte caves: a critical window on faunal extinctions and past climates. $669,000.
  • 2017 Babara Kidman Women's Fellowship, Dr Elizabeth Reed, University of Adelaide. $20,000.
  • 2016 DVCR Interdisciplinary Research Grants University of Adelaide - Dr Elizabeth Reed, Professor Alan Cooper, Dr Lee Arnold, Dr John Tibby, Professor Nigel Spooner. Preliminary investigation of Quaternary vertebrate fossil sites from caves in central and northwest Tasmania: testing a multi-proxy approach for reconstructing past biodiversity and environment. $23,600.
  • 2015 Environment Institute grant - Refining the timing and palaeoenvironmental context for megafauna extinction records at Naracoorte, South Australia. EI Investigators – Dr Liz Reed (CI), Dr Lee Arnold, Dr Francesca McInerney, Dr John Tibby, Dr Jonathan Tyler and Dr Juraj Farkas. $50,000.

My current undergraduate teaching:

PALAEO3500 Field Palaeontology - teacher

PALAEO3005 Geochronology, Fossils and Palaeoenvironments III - teacher

ENVBIOL3590 Evolutionary Biology III - Coordinator and teacher

 

Below - The reconstructed skeleton of Thylacoleo carnifex looms large over the fossil bed in Victoria Fossil Cave, Naracoorte Caves NP. Photo Steve Bourne

The reconstructed skeleton of Thylacoleo carnifex looms large over the fossil bed in Victoria Fossil Cave, Naracoorte Caves NP. Photo Steve Bourne

 

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2024 Co-Supervisor Shaping palaeoherpetology in Australia: a spatial and temporal view of the palaeoecology of Varanus. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Isabella Donato
2024 Co-Supervisor A phenotypic and genetic approach to identify fossil frogs from Naracoorte caves with comparison to modern Australian species in the southeast. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Natasha Lee Hiotis
2024 Co-Supervisor Shaping palaeoherpetology in Australia: a spatial and temporal view of the palaeoecology of Varanus. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Isabella Donato
2024 Co-Supervisor A phenotypic and genetic approach to identify fossil frogs from Naracoorte caves with comparison to modern Australian species in the southeast. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Natasha Lee Hiotis
2022 Co-Supervisor Miocene marine fossils of southern Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Mahala Ann Fergusen
2022 Co-Supervisor Miocene marine fossils of southern Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Mahala Ann Fergusen
2021 Co-Supervisor Examining Fossil Preservation Histories at the UNESCO World Heritage Naracoorte Caves National Park Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Andrew Jeremy Chua
2021 Co-Supervisor Examining Fossil Preservation Histories at the UNESCO World Heritage Naracoorte Caves National Park Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Andrew Jeremy Chua
2016 Principal Supervisor Palaeoecology of vertebrates of the Late Quaternary from the Naracoort Caves fossil deposits Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Miss Jessie-Briar Treloar
2016 Principal Supervisor Palaeoecology of vertebrates of the Late Quaternary from the Naracoort Caves fossil deposits Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Jessie-Briar Treloar

Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
2019 - 2024 Co-Supervisor Reconstructing the Late Pleistocene environmental history of South Australia using Optically Stimulated Luminescence, Electron Spin Resonance dating and palaeoenvironmental proxies Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms . Priya
2019 - 2025 Principal Supervisor Palaeoecology and isotopic geochemistry of Quaternary vertebrate faunas from Naracoorte Caves, South Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Tiah Louise Bampton
2014 - 2015 External Supervisor New approaches to explore the past and present diversity of Australian sandalwood species -- from palaeobotany to next generation sequencing. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Ms Patricia Fuentes-Cross

Date Role Research Topic Location Program Supervision Type Student Load Student Name
2023 - 2023 Principal Supervisor Identifying fossil frog ilia from Naracoorte Caves via the comparison of their geometric morphometric measurements to ilia of extant Limestone Coast frogs The University of Adelaide Bachelor of Science with Honours in Evolution and Palaeobiology Honours Full Time Natasha Lee Hiotis

Date Role Membership Country
2018 - ongoing Member Victorian Speleological Association Australia
2016 - ongoing Member Geological Society of Australia Australia
2016 - ongoing - Australian Mammal Society Australia
2009 - ongoing Member Australasian Quaternary Association -

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