
Jess Marsh
School of Biological Sciences
Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.
I am an ARC Industry Fellow in the School of Biological Sciences. I combine taxonomy and systematics with conservation biology to tackle the challenge of working out what species we have, what is threatening them, and how we can best conserve them. My research focuses on invertebrates, mostly spiders and I have a particular interest in short range endemic species, whose entire range is restricted to a small area, with perhaps the epitome of this being obligate cave-dwelling species, whose whole range can be restricted to a single cave.
My current research is centered on using molecular and morphological techniques to uncover the invertebrate diversity of the caves of the Nullarbor Plain, South Australia and Western Australia, and to develop management guidelines to aid in the conservation of this scientifically important and often imperilled biodiversity.
My major research interests include:
Taxonomy and systematics of troglobiont spiders
Conservation biology of short-range endemic taxa
Ecology of subterranean invertebrate fauna
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2025 - ongoing Co-chair Australia Species Specialist Group 2024 - ongoing Adjunct Research Associate Queensland Museum 2023 - ongoing Councillor Biodiversity Council 2022 - ongoing Honorary Researcher South Australian Museum -
Awards and Achievements
Date Type Title Institution Name Country Amount 2021 Award Alan Yen Award for best oral presentation that addresses issues relating to the conservation of invertebrates Australian Entomological Society Australia 200 -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2025 Ashman, K. R., Ward, M., Dickman, C. R., Harley, D., Valentine, L., Woinarski, J., . . . Lindenmayer, D. B. (2025). Policy decisions matter: Cessation of logging benefits 34 threatened species in Victoria, Australia. Plos One, 20(3 March), e0319531.
2025 Ward, M., Possingham, H. P., Wintle, B. A., Woinarski, J. C. Z., Marsh, J. R., Chapple, D. G., . . . Watson, J. E. M. (2025). The estimated cost of preventing extinction and progressing recovery for Australia's priority threatened species.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 122(6), e2414985122.
Scopus12024 Woinarski, J. C. Z., Braby, M. F., Gibb, H., Harvey, M. S., Legge, S. M., Marsh, J. R., . . . Murphy, B. P. (2024). This is the way the world ends; not with a bang but
a whimper: Estimating the number and ongoing
rate of extinctions of Australian non-marine
invertebrates. Cambridge Prisms: Extinction, 2, e23-1-e23-11.
Scopus32023 Marsh, J. R., Bradford, T. M., & Cooper, S. J. B. (2023). Strong Population Genetic Structure for the Endangered Micro-Trapdoor Spider Moggridgea rainbowi (Mygalomorphae, Migidae) in Unburnt Habitat after Catastrophic Bushfires. Diversity, 15(7), 827-1-827-16.
Scopus12023 Dielenberg, J., Bekessy, S., Cumming, G. S., Dean, A. J., Fitzsimons, J. A., Garnett, S., . . . Wintle, B. A. (2023). Australia's biodiversity crisis and the need for the Biodiversity Council. Ecological Management and Restoration, 24(2-3), 69-74.
Scopus32023 Marsh, J. R., Milner, S. J., Shaw, M., Stempel, A. J., Harvey, M. S., & Rix, M. G. (2023). A Case for Below-Ground Dispersal? Insights into the Biology, Ecology and Conservation of Blind Cave Spiders in the Genus Troglodiplura (Mygalomorphae: Anamidae). Insects, 14(5), 449-1-449-22.
Scopus22022 Marsh, J. R., Stevens, M. I., & Framenau, V. W. (2022). A taxonomic revision of the tube-web spiders of the genus Ariadna (Araneae: Segestriidae) in Tasmania. Zootaxa, 5105(2), 151-201.
Scopus22022 Marsh, J. R., Stevens, M. I., Bradford, T., & Framenau, V. W. (2022). The Tube-Web Spiders of the Genus Ariadna (Araneae: Segestriidae) from South Australia and Victoria. Taxonomy, 2(4), 370-461.
Scopus12022 Marsh, J. R., & Glatz, R. V. (2022). Assessing the impact of the black summer fires on Kangaroo Island threatened invertebrates: towards rapid habitat assessments for informing targeted post-fire surveys. Australian Zoologist, 42(2), 479-501.
Scopus22022 Ward, M., Southwell, D., Gallagher, R. V., Raadik, T. A., Whiterod, N. S., Lintermans, M., . . . Legge, S. (2022). Modelling the spatial extent of post-fire sedimentation threat to estimate the impacts of fire on waterways and aquatic species. Diversity and Distributions, 28(11), 2429-2442.
Scopus102022 Marsh, J. R., Bal, P., Fraser, H., Umbers, K., Latty, T., Greenville, A., . . . Woinarski, J. C. Z. (2022). Accounting for the neglected: Invertebrate species and the 2019–2020 Australian megafires. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 31(10), 2120-2130.
Scopus132022 Legge, S., Woinarski, J. C. Z., Scheele, B. C., Garnett, S. T., Lintermans, M., Nimmo, D. G., . . . Tingley, R. (2022). Rapid assessment of the biodiversity impacts of the 2019–2020 Australian megafires to guide urgent management intervention and recovery and lessons for other regions. Diversity and Distributions, 28(3), 571-591.
Scopus712021 Moggridgea rainbowi: Marsh, J. (2021).
2021 Dorey, J. B., Rebola, C. M., Davies, O. K., Prendergast, K. S., Parslow, B. A., Hogendoorn, K., . . . Caddy-Retalic, S. (2021). Continental risk assessment for understudied taxa post-catastrophic wildfire indicates severe impacts on the Australian bee fauna. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY, 27(24), 17 pages.
Scopus15 WoS9 Europe PMC42021 Marsh, J. R., Hudson, P., & Framenau, V. W. (2021). A ghost in the salt: A new species of halotolerant tube-web spider in the genus Ariadna (Araneae: Segestriidae). Zootaxa, 4952(3), 580-588.
Scopus32021 Zephyrarchaea austini: Marsh, J. & Harvey, M. (2021).
2021 Marsh, J. (2021). Nunciella kangarooensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
2021 Metaballus mesopterus: Glatz, R. & Marsh, J. (2021).
2018 Marsh, J. R., Baehr, B. C., Glatz, R. V., & Framenau, V. W. (2018). New species of tube web spiders of the genus Ariadna from South Australia (Araneae, Segestriidae). Evolutionary Systematics, 2(2), 137-149.
Scopus5- Marsh, J. R., Harrison, S. E., Wilson, J. D., & Rix, M. G. (n.d.). A new species of the spiny trapdoor spider genus Blakistonia (Mygalomorphae: Idiopidae) from Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Australian Journal of Taxonomy, 59, 1.
- Marsh, J. R. (n.d.). Five new species of mouse spiders in the genus Missulena (Mygalomorphae: Actinopodidae) from national parks and conservation reserves in Western Australia. Australian Journal of Taxonomy, 1-23.
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Book Chapters
Year Citation 2024 Marsh, J. (2024). Caving for Spiders. In H. P. Waudby (Ed.), Wild Science Unexpected Encounters When Working in Nature. CSIRO PUBLISHING. 2023 Marsh, J., Bal, P., Fraser, H., Greenville, A., Latty, T., Moir, M., . . . Woinarski, J. (2023). Impacts of the 2019-20 wildfires on Australian invertebrates.. In L. Rumpff, S. Legge, S. van Leeuwen, B. Wintle, & J. Woinarski (Eds.), Australia’s megafires: biodiversity impacts and lessons from 2019-2020 (pp. 141-153). CSIRO Publishing. 2023 Rumpff, L., Legge, S., Marsh, J., Fraser, H., & Woinarski, J. (2023). A precautionary tale: the consequences of, and remedies for, data deficiencies and uncertainty in conservation decisions related to the 2019–20 wildfires.. In L. Rumpff, S. Legge, S. van Leeuwen, B. Wintle, & J. Woinarski (Eds.), Australia's Megafires: Biodiversity Impacts and Lessons from 2019-2020 (pp. 417-429). CSIRO Publishing. 2023 Bluff, N., Moir, M., Marsh, J., Teixeira, D., Gray, J., Rumpff, L., . . . Woinarski, J. (2023). Of grief, spirit & hope; personal reflections of the 2019–20 wildfires.. In L. Rumpff, S. Legge, S. van Leeuwen, B. Wintle, & J. Woinarski (Eds.), Australia’s 2019-20 megafires: biodiversity impacts and lessons for the future. CSIRO Publishing. -
Datasets
Year Citation 2023 Bal, P., Ogilvie, J., Foon, J. -K., Wenk, E., Yang, S., & Marsh, J. (2023). InverTraits: a curated trait database for Australian invertebrates.
DOI
Marsh, J.M., Woods, J., Beasley-Hall, P.B. & Cooper, S.J.B. (2025-2028). A fragile window into the past: informing conservation of cave biodiversity with ancient invertebrate DNA, The Hermon Slade Foundation ($82,000, Chief Investigator)
Marsh, J.M., Woods, J., Beasley-Hall, P.B., Harvey, M.S., Rix, M.G., Deharveng, L. & Cooper, S.J.B. (2025-2028). Conserving caves: Developing tools to safeguard subterranean biodiversity, Australian Research Council ($467,691, Chief Investigator)
Marsh, J.M (2025-2028). Conserving caves: Developing tools to safeguard subterranean biodiversity, Australian Speleological Federation, ($15,000, Chief Investigator)
Marsh, J.M. (2025-2028). Taxonomy and systematics of the Australian tube-web spiders (Segestriidae). ABRS Postdoctoral Fellowship. ($300,000, Chief Investigator). DECLINED due to acceptance of ARC Industry Fellowship
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Board Memberships
Date Role Board name Institution name Country 2023 - ongoing Council Biodiversity Council Biodiversity Council Australia 2023 - ongoing Member Invertebrate Conservation Committee Australian Entomological Society Australia -
Committee Memberships
Date Role Committee Institution Country 2025 - ongoing Co-Chair Australia Species Specialist Group International Union for the Conservation of Nature, Species Survival Commission Australia -
Editorial Boards
Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country 2025 - ongoing Associate Editor Insect Conservation and Diversity Royal Entomological Society Australia -
Industry Partnerships
Date Engagement Type Partner Name 2025 - ongoing Collaboration Invertebrates Australia
Connect With Me
External Profiles