Lauren Hughes - Australian Museum

Staff profile: Dr Lauren Hughes

Lauren Hughes and Jim Lowry
Stuart Humphreys © Australian Museum

Position title:: Postdoctoral Researcher
Section:: Marine Research
Branch:: Research
Division:: Research & Collections
Phone:: 612 9320 6205
Email:: Contact Lauren Hughes using the form below

Profile

The ~1,100 described Australian amphipod species represent only a small proportion of the known biodiversity.

Research Interests

I use a taxonomic approach to understand questions of evolution, biogeography and invasive species. An important service of this taxonomic research is the development of bioinformatics tools, online interactive keys and genetic barcodes, to facilitate species identification and the broader use of amphipods in other research disciplines. With a focus on shallow-water marine fauna I am currently working with the dominant Australian amphipod families to develop a baseline for biodiversity and biogeography.

Research Projects

“Amphipods as a model organism”, using a brooding crustacean to test concepts of biogeography and bioregionalization
“Poor taxonomy vs Invasive species” understanding globally distributed benthic Amphipoda
Taxonomy within the Corophioidea amphipod families/genera: Ampithoidae, Aoridae (Aora, Bemlos), Ischyroceridae (Ericthonius), Photidae (Latigammaropsis) and Podoceridae.
Taxonomy of the amphipod families/genera: Maeridae and Melitidae.
Delta interactive keys to the dominant marine amphipod families of Australia: www.crustacea.net

Resumé

2010-current Post Doctoral researcher, Principal investigator ABRS grant, Australian Museum
2007-2010 Post Doctoral researcher, Circum-Australian Amphipod Project, DEWHA funding. Australian Museum
2007 PhD Biodiversity and Amphipod Recruitment to Artificial Substrate Units, University of New England/National Marine Science Centre
2006 Scientific illustrator, Great Barrier Reef Amphipod Project, Australian Museum
2005-2009 International working group describing the amphipod fauna of the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia. See special issue.

Field work & Museum visits

2010

Cape Leveque, Western Australia. Fieldwork, collecting on SCUBA (18 - 29 May 2010).
Lizard Island, Queensland. Fieldwork, fish collection (9 April - 3 May 2010).

2009

The Crandall Lab, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, United States (15 - 30 October). Research visit, to develop genetic techniques.
Aquenal Consultancy, Hobart, Tasmania (21 - 29 July). Identifying reference collections for museum acquisition.
Census of Marine Life: CReefs Ningaloo Reef field expedition, Ningaloo Station, (21 May - 3 June), collecting on SCUBA.

2008

Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, (18 - 25 October), collecting on SCUBA.
Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Indian Ocean (7 -17 October), collecting on SCUBA.
Norfolk Island, South Pacific (11 - 21 May), collecting on SCUBA.
Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria (19 - 25 February), Identifying Museum Collections
South Australian Museum, Adelaide, South Australia (4 - 18 February), Identifying museum collections
Census of Marine Life: CReefs Ningaloo field expedition, Yardie Creek 2008, (15 - 25 June), collecting on SCUBA.

2007

Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin, Northern Territory (20 - 31 May) Identifying museum collections.

2006

One Tree Island, Capricorn Bunker Group, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland (22 - 31 Oct) collecting on SCUBA.
Thursday Island, Torres Strait, Far North Queensland, (27 Sept - 4 Oct), collecting on SCUBA.
Museum Victoria, Melbourne, Victoria (29 - 31 Aug), research visit, FLEET software.

Scientific Publications

Hughes, L.E. (2011) New species of Hoho, Mallacoota and Parelasmopus in Australian waters. Zootaxa (in press)
Hughes, L.E & Lowry, J.K. (2011) The genus Elasmopus (Crustacea: Amphipoda: Maeridae in Australian waters. Journal of Natural History, 45(9-12), 579-628.
Hughes, L.E. & Lowry, J.K. (2010) Establishing a Neotype for Elasmopus rapax Costa, 1853 and its presence as an invasive species in temperate Australian waters. Journal of Crustacean Biology, 30(4), 699-709.
Hughes, L.E. (2009a) Exoedicerotidae In: Lowry, J.K. & Myers, A.A. (eds), Amphipoda of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Zootaxa, 2260, 430-433.
Hughes, L.E. (2009b) Megaluropidae In: Lowry, J.K. & Myers, A.A. (eds), Amphipoda of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Zootaxa, 2260, 708-712.
Hughes, L.E. (2009c) Paracalliopiidae In: Lowry, J.K. & Myers, A.A. (eds), Amphipoda of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Zootaxa, 2260, 759-765.
Hughes, L.E. (2009d) Platyischnopidae In: Lowry, J.K. & Myers, A.A. (eds), Amphipoda of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Zootaxa, 2260, 828-835.
Hughes, L.E. (2009e) Synopiidae In: Lowry, J.K. & Myers, A.A. (eds), Amphipoda of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Zootaxa, 2260, 880-891.
Hughes, L.E. (2009f) Parelasmopus poorei A New Species of Maeridae from Southern Australia. Memoirs of the Victorian Museum, 66, 77-80.
Hughes, L.E. & Lowry, J.K. (2009) Ampithoidae In: Lowry, J.K. & Myers, A.A. (eds), Amphipoda of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Zootaxa, 2260, 153-219.
Hughes, L.E. & Lowry, J.K. (2009) Oedicerotidae In: Lowry, J.K. & Myers, A.A. (eds), Amphipoda of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Zootaxa, 2260, 746-758.
Lowry, J.K. & Hughes, L.E. (2009) Iciliidae In: Lowry, J.K. & Myers, A.A. (eds), Amphipoda of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Zootaxa, 2260, 453-457.
Lowry, J.K. & Hughes, L.E. (2009) Maeridae, the Elasmopus group In: Lowry, J.K. & Myers, A.A. (eds), Amphipoda of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Zootaxa, 2260, 643-702.
Hughes, L.E.; Kilgallen, N.M.; King, R.A.; Lowry, J.K. and Peart, R.A. (2008) Ampithoidae (Amphipoda): World Genera and Australian, Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Species. DELTA interactive identification key, available at www.crustacea.net
Hughes, L.E. & Lowry, J.K. (2006) New species of Amphipoda (Crustacea: Peracarida) from the Solitary Islands, New South Wales, Australia. Zootaxa, 1222, 1-52.