Name: / David Martin LAMBERT
Degrees: / PhD Zoology / Genetics, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 1980. Thesis Title: A genetic analysis of the taxon Anopheles marshallii (Theobald).
Address for correspondence: / Griffith School of Environment and School of Biomolecular and Physical Sciences, Griffith University, 170 Kessels Road, Nathan 4111, Australia
Contact Details: / Phone +61 7 3735 5298
Fax + 61 7 3735 7459
E-mail d.lambert@griffith .edu.au
Present Position: / Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Griffith University
Honours: / Queensland – Smithsonian Fellow 2010 - 2011
Fellow of the Queensland Academy of Arts and Sciences 2009 - present
James Cook Fellow 2007-8.
Massey University Individual Research Medal 2006
Massey University Distinguished Professor, 2005.
Inaugural winner of the Massey University Team Research Medal (Allan Wilson Centre) 2004
Recipient of the 100 level teaching award from the Institute of Molecular BioSciences, 2003
60th Cawthron Lecturer, 2003
Outstanding Service Award from the Institute of Molecular BioSciences, 2002.
Principal Investigator: Allan Wilson Centre for Molecular Ecology and Evolution 2002 – present
Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand, 1998
University Record: / Professor of Molecular Ecology and Evolution, Massey University, 1995 – 2008
Head, Department of Ecology, Massey University, 1995 – 1997
Leader, Ecology and Evolution Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, 1993-1995
Director, Centre for Conservation, University of Auckland, 1993-1995
Publications: / 170+
Graduate Students completed: / 25 MSc and 10 PhD
Current Research Laboratory Staff: / Three postdoctoral fellows, and three postgraduate students
Research Grants awarded since 1995: / ~$46,419,612
Current research: My research group in Molecular Ecology and Evolution has a strong research interest in ancient DNA and to use the resulting data to study some specific issues in ecology and evolution. We have used these techniques to measure rates of evolution in ancient penguins dating back 44,000 yrBP. This work was published in Science in 2002 and was featured on the cover of the issue. It has been widely cited and has stimulated similar research by other international groups. Our research programme has continued to maintain a high international standard. For example, in 2003 published a paper in Nature (Huynen, Millar, Scofield and Lambert) 2003 Nuclear DNA sequences detect species limits in ancient moa Nature 425: 175-178. More recently, in collaboration with Allan Baker’s group in Toronto, we have reported in PNAS the discovery of five new species of moa (Baker et al., 2005) and shown that many of these species can be distinguished by DNA barcoding (Lambert et al., 2005). Our current research involves a range of other ancient DNA studies. Research is continuing on new aspects of microevolution of Adélie penguins in Antarctica. Antarctica provides a rich source of a variety of animal tissues that have been well preserved by the extremely cold and very dry polar environment. Current studies involve the analysis of regurgitated fish samples from Snow Petrels. These samples are preserved in the Antarctic in the entrances to Snow Petrel nests. In combination with recovered DNA sequences from modern fish of the same species, we are using these data to measure evolutionary rates. Comparative studies are also underway to similarly study the sub-fossil and modern samples of the unique New Zealand tuatara.
Ten Most Significant Publications:
Lambert, D.M. and Huynen, L. 2010. Face of the past reconstructed. Nature 463: 739-740.Huynen, L., Gill, B., Millar, C.D. and Lambert, D.M.2010.Ancient DNA reveals extreme egg morphology and nesting behaviour in New Zealand’s extinct moa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA: 107 (37):16201-16206.31st August doi/10.1073/pnas.0914096107.
Lambert, D.M. Millar, C.D. Swaminathan, S. and Baroni, C. 2010. Ancient DNA: The Tempo and Mode of Evolution. American Scientist 98: 386-393.
Lambert, D.M. and Millar, C.D. 2006. Ancient genomics is born. Nature: 444: 275-276.
Shepherd, L.D., Millar, C.D. Ballard, G. Ainley, D.G., Wilson, P.R., Haynes, G.D., Baroni, C. and LambertD.M. 2005. Microevolution and mega-icebergs in the Antarctic. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 102: 16717-16722.
Baker, A.J., Huynen, L., Haddrath, O., Millar, C.D. Lambert, D.M. 2005. Reconstructing the tempo and mode of evolution in an extinct clade of birds with ancient DNA: the giant moas of New Zealand. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 102 (23): 8257-8262.
Huynen, C.D., Millar, C.D., Scofield, R.P. and Lambert, D.M. 2003. Nuclear DNA sequences detect species limits in ancient moa. Nature 425: 175-178.
Lambert, D.M., Ritchie, P.A., Millar, C.D., Holland, B., Drummond, A.J. and C. Baroni. 2002. Rates of evolution in ancient DNA from Adélie penguins. Science 295: 2270-2273.
Lambert, D.M., C.D. Millar, K. Jack, S. Anderson and J.L. Craig. 1994. Single and multilocus DNA fingerprinting of communally breeding pukeko - do copulations or dominance ensure reproductive success? Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91: 9641-9645.
Henderson, N.R. and D.M. Lambert 1982. No significant deviation from random mating of worldwide populations of Drosophila melanogaster. Nature: 300: 437-440.