Hamish G. Spencer

This paper uses ancient DNA to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the extinct Spectacled Cormorant, finding it diverged from relatives around 6.98 Mya and may have been a kelp-forest predator.

This study presents the first whole mitogenome-based phylogeny of Austral teals, revealing their divergence from mallards in the late Miocene and radiation into flightless and volant lineages.

The paper generates the first chromosome-length annotated genomes and transcriptomes of black and mute swans, revealing immune system limitations and plumage-related genetic differences.