Dr Simone Blomberg
Dr

Simone Blomberg

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+61 7 336 52506

Background

Methods and applications of statistics in evolutionary biology and population ecology.

My research involves the application and development of statistical methods in ecology, evolutionary biology, and general whole-organism biology. My two particular research foci are phylogenetic comparative methods and other uses of statistics in ecology, evolution, and systematics. I also have a strong interest in the application of Bayesian methods, and the statistical philosophy of the nature of evidence in whole-organism biology. How and why do scientists agree that certain data are evidence for or against a particular hypothesis?

I also provide a statistical consultation service for staff and students within the School of Biological Sciences

I am interested in taking graduate students at any level who are interested in quantitative methods in biology. Students in my lab will be able to (or be willing to learn) program computers in S (http://www.r-project.org), a compiled language such as C or Fortran, and/or a scripting language such as Python or Scheme in a Unix environment. Students are also encouraged to extend or develop their mathematical skills. A background in biology, statistics, mathematics, or computer science would be valuable. I can also co-supervise students who are interested in using quantitative methods for their thesis work, but for whom such methods are not a primary focus of research.

Availability

Dr Simone Blomberg is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Ecology Environmental Sciences Zoology

Research interests

  • Models of Quantitative Trait Evolution

    Macroevolution lacks mathematical theory. I am trying to develop new models of evolution and apply them to real data sets in order to bring the study of macroevolution into the 21st century. I concentrate on the use of diffusion processes as evolutionary models. Diffusions are a broad class of processes that have applications in finance, physics, and other quantitative disciplines. Their use in evolutionary studies has been at a fairly basic level, mainly using Brownian motion and the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process. These two processes are simple but are not very realistic descriptions of how evolution occurs. I aim to provide more, better models together with methods to fit them to real data.

Search Professor Simone Blomberg’s works on UQ eSpace

112 works between 1991 and 2024
All (112) Journal Article (103) Book Chapter (2) Conference Publication (5) Other Outputs (2)

101 - 112 of 112 works

2002

Journal Article

Thermal ecology and structural habitat use of two sympatric lizards (Carlia vivax and Lygisaurus foliorum) in subtropical Australia

Singh, Sarinda, Smyth, Anita K. and Blomberg, Simon P. (2002). Thermal ecology and structural habitat use of two sympatric lizards (Carlia vivax and Lygisaurus foliorum) in subtropical Australia. Austral Ecology, 27 (6), 616-623. doi: 10.1046/j.1442-9993.2002.01222.x

Thermal ecology and structural habitat use of two sympatric lizards (Carlia vivax and Lygisaurus foliorum) in subtropical Australia

2001

Conference Publication

Detecting phylogenetic signal in comparative data

Blomberg, SP, Ives, AR and Garland, T (2001). Detecting phylogenetic signal in comparative data. MCLEAN: SOC INTEGRATIVE COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY.

Detecting phylogenetic signal in comparative data

2001

Journal Article

Mechanisms of drought-induced population decline in an endangered wallaby

Fisher, D. O., Blomberg, S. P. and Hoyle, S. D. (2001). Mechanisms of drought-induced population decline in an endangered wallaby. Biological Conservation, 102 (1), 107-115. doi: 10.1016/S0006-3207(00)00200-7

Mechanisms of drought-induced population decline in an endangered wallaby

2001

Journal Article

Natural selection and quantitative genetics of life-history traits in Western women: A twin study

Kirk, K. M., Blomberg, S. P., Duffy, D. L., Heath, A. C., Owens, I. P. and Martin, N. G. (2001). Natural selection and quantitative genetics of life-history traits in Western women: A twin study. Evolution, 55 (2), 423-435. doi: 10.1554/0014-3820(2001)055[0423:NSAQGO]2.0.CO;2

Natural selection and quantitative genetics of life-history traits in Western women: A twin study

2001

Journal Article

Natural selection and quantitative genetics of life-history traits in Western women: a twin study

Kirk, Katherine M., Blomberg, Simon P., Duffy, David L., Heath, Andrew C., Owens, Ian P. and Martin, Nick G. (2001). Natural selection and quantitative genetics of life-history traits in Western women: a twin study. Evolution, 55 (2), 423-435. doi: 10.1111/j.0014-3820.2001.tb01304.x

Natural selection and quantitative genetics of life-history traits in Western women: a twin study

2001

Journal Article

Modelling life history strategies with capture-recapture data: Evolutionary demography of the water skink Eulamprus tympanum

Blomberg, S. P. and Shine, R. (2001). Modelling life history strategies with capture-recapture data: Evolutionary demography of the water skink Eulamprus tympanum. Austral Ecology, 26 (4), 349-359. doi: 10.1046/j.1442-9993.2001.01120.x

Modelling life history strategies with capture-recapture data: Evolutionary demography of the water skink Eulamprus tympanum

2001

Journal Article

Ultraviolet reflectance in the small skink Carlia pectoralis

Blomberg, S. P., Owens, I. P.F. and Stuart-Fox, D. (2001). Ultraviolet reflectance in the small skink Carlia pectoralis. Herpetological Review, 32 (1), 16-17.

Ultraviolet reflectance in the small skink Carlia pectoralis

2000

Journal Article

Fels-Rand: an Xlisp-Stat program for the comparative analysis of data under phylogenetic uncertainty

Blomberg, S. (2000). Fels-Rand: an Xlisp-Stat program for the comparative analysis of data under phylogenetic uncertainty. Bioinformatics, 16 (11), 1010-1013. doi: 10.1093/bioinformatics/16.11.1010

Fels-Rand: an Xlisp-Stat program for the comparative analysis of data under phylogenetic uncertainty

2000

Journal Article

Population dynamics and survival of an endangered wallaby: A comparison of four methods

Fisher, Diana O., Hoyle, Simon D. and Blomberg, Simon P. (2000). Population dynamics and survival of an endangered wallaby: A comparison of four methods. Ecological Applications, 10 (3), 901-910. doi: 10.2307/2641054

Population dynamics and survival of an endangered wallaby: A comparison of four methods

2000

Journal Article

Size-based predation by kookaburras (Dacelo novaeguineae) on lizards (Eulamprus tympanum : Scincidae): what determines prey vulnerability?

Blomberg, SP and Shine, R (2000). Size-based predation by kookaburras (Dacelo novaeguineae) on lizards (Eulamprus tympanum : Scincidae): what determines prey vulnerability?. Behavioral Ecology And Sociobiology, 48 (6), 484-489. doi: 10.1007/s002650000260

Size-based predation by kookaburras (Dacelo novaeguineae) on lizards (Eulamprus tympanum : Scincidae): what determines prey vulnerability?

1991

Journal Article

The High Intracellular Ph Buffering of Hagfish (eptatretus-Cirrhatus) Dental Plate Retractor Muscle Cannot Be Attributed to the Known Histidine-Related Compounds Present in Other Vertebrates

Baldwin, J, Blomberg, S, Aguilar, M, Stanton, P and Hearn, Mtw (1991). The High Intracellular Ph Buffering of Hagfish (eptatretus-Cirrhatus) Dental Plate Retractor Muscle Cannot Be Attributed to the Known Histidine-Related Compounds Present in Other Vertebrates. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A-Physiology, 100 (3), 731-734. doi: 10.1016/0300-9629(91)90398-V

The High Intracellular Ph Buffering of Hagfish (eptatretus-Cirrhatus) Dental Plate Retractor Muscle Cannot Be Attributed to the Known Histidine-Related Compounds Present in Other Vertebrates

1991

Journal Article

Non-Bicarbonate Intracellular Ph Buffering of Reptilian Muscle

Blomberg, S and Baldwin, J (1991). Non-Bicarbonate Intracellular Ph Buffering of Reptilian Muscle. Journal of Comparative Physiology B-Biochemical Systemic and Environmental Physiology, 161 (1), 101-107. doi: 10.1007/BF00258753

Non-Bicarbonate Intracellular Ph Buffering of Reptilian Muscle

Past funding

  • 2022 - 2025
    Ancestral state reconstruction and the evolution of Australian marsupials (ARC Discovery Project administered by Queensland University of Technology)
    Queensland University of Technology
    Open grant
  • 2020
    A new molecular/morphological view of animal evolution based on marsupials (ARC Discovery Project administered by Flinders University)
    Flinders University
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2020
    A new molecular/morphological view of animal evolution based on marsupials
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2019
    The ecology of trace metal contamination in native Australian mammals
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2019
    Fitting non-Gaussian diffusion models to evolutionary data: towards a generalized framework for phylogenetic comparative analyses.
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2012 - 2017
    Population fluctuations: models, mechanisms and management
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2008 - 2010
    Advances in Phylogenetic Comparative Methods.
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant

Availability

Dr Simone Blomberg is:
Available for supervision

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Available projects

  • Models of Evolution and the Fossil Record

    Current theory suggests that including fossils in macroevolutionary studies greatly improves the identifiability of models. However, it is not known how many fossils are necessary, where they should be placed in the tree (near the tips or near the root?), and how this interacts with tree shape and tree size. Also, are the fossils more important for ancestral character recosntruction, hypothesis testing, or model selection? This project will examine these factors in detail using simulations, with the possibility of examining case studies of taxa with good fossil records.

Supervision history

Current supervision

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Dr Simone Blomberg directly for media enquiries about:

  • Ecology - statistics
  • Evolution - statistics
  • Statistics - ecology, evolution

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