Dr Liz Reed
Research Fellow
School of Biological Sciences
Faculty of Sciences
Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.
I am a vertebrate palaeontologist specialising in Quaternary aged cave deposits, notably in the south east region of South Australia. My particular interests are vertebrate taphonomy and site history, Quaternary palaeoclimate and biodiversity records from caves and refining megafauna extinction records.
I am a Research Fellow within the School of Physical Sciences and a member of the Environment Institute. I am also an Honorary Research Associate with the South Australian Museum.
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 Research
- Career
- Publications
- Grants and Funding
- Teaching
- Supervision
- Professional Activities
- Contact
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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Appointments
Date Position Institution name 2019 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 -
Education
Date Institution name Country Title 2005 Deakin University Australia Grad. Cert. Museum Studies 2004 Flinders University Australia PhD 1997 Flinders University Australia BA (Hons) -
Research Interests
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Journals
Year Citation 2021 Reed, E. (2021). World heritage values and conservation status of the australian fossil mammal sites (Riversleigh / naracoorte). Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie, 62(3), 213-233.
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.
Scopus10 WoS92018 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. 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.
Scopus7 WoS62014 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.
Scopus7 WoS62013 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.
Scopus6 WoS42013 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.
Scopus7 WoS82013 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.
Scopus6 WoS52012 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.
Scopus12 WoS112012 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.
Scopus20 WoS212011 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.
Scopus11 WoS102011 Kaplan, M. (2011). Once more unto the deep. NEW SCIENTIST, 211(2828), 38-+.
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., Norman, M., 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.
Scopus24 WoS262009 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.
Scopus20 WoS192009 Reed, E., & Bourne, S. (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.
Scopus13 WoS142009 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.
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.
Scopus62001 Reed, E. H. (2001). Disarticulation of kangaroo skeletons in semi-arid Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology, 49(6), 615-632.
Scopus17 WoS162000 Reed, E., & Bourne, S. (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.
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Books
Year Citation 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.. -
Book Chapters
Year Citation 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. -
Conference Papers
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. -
Conference Items
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. Online: EGU.
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.
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.
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. -
Report for External Bodies
Year Citation 2003 Reed, E. H. (2003). Draft fossil-based tourism scoping study.. -
Theses
Year Citation 2003 Reed, E. H. (2003). Vertebrate Taphonomy of large mammal bone deposits, Naracoorte Caves World Heritage Area.. (PhD Thesis, Flinders University). -
Internet Publications
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.
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2021 Australian Government, Australian Heritage Grants 2020-21. AJG111000084 Natural values assessment and conservation monitoring of Naracoorte Caves. $189,869.
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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.
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2017 ARC 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
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Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 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 2019 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 2019 Principal Supervisor Quaternary Vertebrate Fauna of Naracoorte, South Australia Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Miss Nerita Kai Turner 2019 Principal Supervisor Palaeoecology of Small Vertebrate Faunas from Naracoorte Caves Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Evan Arthur Parker 2019 Co-Supervisor Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating and Palaeoenvironmental Proxies on Quaternary Sediment Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms . Priya 2018 Principal Supervisor Surface and Sub-Surface LiDAR Mapping of Naracoorte Caves Fossil Region Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Mr Craig Robert Williams 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 -
Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name 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
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Committee Memberships
Date Role Committee Institution Country 2015 - ongoing Member — Australasian Cave and Karst Management Association — -
Memberships
Date Role Membership Country 2019 - ongoing Member Ecotourism Australia Australia 2019 - ongoing Member Interpretation Australia Australia 2019 - ongoing Member Tourism Industry Council of South Australia Australia 2019 - ongoing Member Australian Museums and Galleries Association Australia 2018 - ongoing Member Victorian Speleological Association Australia 2016 - ongoing Member Geological Society of Australia Australia 2016 - ongoing — Australian Mammal Society Australia 2015 - ongoing Member Society of Vertebrate Paleontology United States 2015 - ongoing — CSIRO Scientists in Schools Australia 2009 - ongoing Member Australasian Quaternary Association —
Connect With Me
External Profiles
