by Toby Kovacs One of the most exciting (and nerve-wracking) milestones in a PhD is dressing your project up, which is often still a little rough around the edges, for a presentation at an international conference. While I’d previously attended several local Australian meetings, last year I had the first Continue Reading
Toby Kovacs
Genome-wide diversity and MHC characterisation in a critically endangered freshwater turtle susceptible to disease
Type: Journal Article Reference: Nelson, H.V., Silver, L., Kovacs, T.G.L. et al. Genome-wide diversity and MHC characterisation in a critically endangered freshwater turtle susceptible to disease. Immunogenetics 77, 21 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00251-025-01378-8 Abstract Small, isolated populations are often vulnerable to increased inbreeding and genetic drift, both of which elevate the risk Continue Reading
Genomics identifies koala populations at risk across eastern Australia
Type: Journal article Reference: McLennan, Elspeth A., Toby G. L. Kovacs, Luke W. Silver, Zhiliang Chen, Frederick R. Jaya, Simon Y. W. Ho, Katherine Belov, and Carolyn J. Hogg. 2025. “ Genomics Identifies Koala Populations at Risk across Eastern Australia.” Ecological Applications 35(1): e3062. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.3062 Abstract Koalas are an iconic, Continue Reading
Dating in the Dark: Elevated Substitution Rates in Cave Cockroaches (Blattodea: Nocticolidae) Have Negative Impacts on Molecular Date Estimates
Type: Journal article Reference: Toby G L Kovacs, James Walker, Simon Hellemans, Thomas Bourguignon, Nikolai J Tatarnic, Jane M McRae, Simon Y W Ho, Nathan Lo, Dating in the Dark: Elevated Substitution Rates in Cave Cockroaches (Blattodea: Nocticolidae) Have Negative Impacts on Molecular Date Estimates, Systematic Biology, Volume 73, Issue Continue Reading
Diversity in the Dark: the hidden wonders of subterranean life
by Toby Kovacs (PhD Student) Australia is famous for its unique flora and fauna, harbouring some of the most unique and highly endemic groups of organisms. When I’m sitting around with my family discussing Australian biodiversity, often the first places we think of are the rainforests, the Great Barrier Reef Continue Reading