Overview
Background
I am a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Queensland working on a project co-supervised with Prof Diana Fisher. My background is in macroevolution and macroecology, phylogenetic inference and comparative methods and incorporating evolutionary history into conservation planning. I completed my PhD at the University of Cambridge in 2023 before working as a researcher at the Australian National University and as a quantitative ecologist in local government. In my current role I will be using comparative methods and quantitative modelling to investigate the evolutionary drivers of semelparity in animals.
Availability
- Dr Keaghan Yaxley is:
- Available for supervision
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours) of Zoology, Australian National University
- Masters (Research) of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge
- Doctor of Philosophy of Evolutionary Biology, University of Cambridge
Research interests
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Life History Evolution
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Functional and Phylogenetic Diversity
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Phylogenetic Inference
Works
Search Professor Keaghan Yaxley’s works on UQ eSpace
2025
Journal Article
Macroevolutionary analysis of polysynthesis shows that language complexity is more likely to evolve in small, isolated populations
Bromham, Lindell, Yaxley, Keaghan, Wilson, Oscar and Hua, Xia (2025). Macroevolutionary analysis of polysynthesis shows that language complexity is more likely to evolve in small, isolated populations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 122 (24) e2504483122, 1-7. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2504483122
2024
Journal Article
Islands are engines of language diversity
Bromham, Lindell, Yaxley, Keaghan J. and Cardillo, Marcel (2024). Islands are engines of language diversity. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 8 (10), 1991-2002. doi: 10.1038/s41559-024-02488-4
2024
Journal Article
Can cyclone exposure explain behavioural and demographic variation among lemur species?
Behie, Alison M., Steffens, Travis S., Yaxley, Keaghan, Vincent, Alan, Wright, Patricia C., Johnson, Steig E. and Pavelka, Mary S. M. (2024). Can cyclone exposure explain behavioural and demographic variation among lemur species?. PLoS One, 19 (3) e0300972, 1-17. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0300972
2024
Journal Article
On the evolutionary history of a simulated disk galaxy as seen by phylogenetic trees
Silva, Danielle de Brito, Jofre, Paula, Tissera, Patricia B., Yaxley, Keaghan J., Jara, Jenny Gonzalez, Eldridge, Camilla J. L., Sillero, Emanuel, Yates, Robert M., Hua, Xia, Das, Payel, Aguilera-Gomez, Claudia, Johnston, Evelyn J., Rojas-Arriagada, Alvaro, Foley, Robert and Gilmore, Gerard (2024). On the evolutionary history of a simulated disk galaxy as seen by phylogenetic trees. Astrophysical Journal, 962 (2) 154, 154. doi: 10.3847/1538-4357/ad036a
2024
Journal Article
Assembling a high-precision abundance catalogue of solar twins in GALAH for phylogenetic studies
Walsen, Kurt, Jofre, Paula, Buder, Sven, Yaxley, Keaghan, Das, Payel, Yates, Robert M., Hua, Xia, Signor, Theosamuele, Eldridge, Camilla, Rojas-Arriagada, Alvaro, Tissera, Patricia B., Johnston, Evelyn, Aguilera-Gomez, Claudia, Zoccali, Manuela, Gilmore, Gerry and Foley, Robert (2024). Assembling a high-precision abundance catalogue of solar twins in GALAH for phylogenetic studies. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, 529 (3), 2946-2966. doi: 10.1093/mnras/stae280
2023
Journal Article
Functional endemism captures hotspots of unique phenotypes and restricted ranges
Skeels, Alexander and Yaxley, Keaghan J. (2023). Functional endemism captures hotspots of unique phenotypes and restricted ranges. Ecography, 2023 (12) e06913, 1-4. doi: 10.1111/ecog.06913
2023
Journal Article
Global variation in the relationship between avian phylogenetic diversity and functional distance is driven by environmental context and constraints
Yaxley, Keaghan J., Skeels, Alexander and Foley, Robert A. (2023). Global variation in the relationship between avian phylogenetic diversity and functional distance is driven by environmental context and constraints. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32 (12), 2122-2134. doi: 10.1111/geb.13762
2023
Journal Article
Neighbours and relatives: accounting for spatial distribution when testing causal hypotheses in cultural evolution
Bromham, Lindell and Yaxley, Keaghan J. (2023). Neighbours and relatives: accounting for spatial distribution when testing causal hypotheses in cultural evolution. Evolutionary Human Sciences, 5 e27. doi: 10.1017/ehs.2023.23
2021
Journal Article
Using heritability of stellar chemistry to reveal the history of the Milky Way
Jackson, Holly, Jofre, Paula, Yaxley, Keaghan, Das, Payel, Silva, Danielle de Brito and Foley, Robert (2021). Using heritability of stellar chemistry to reveal the history of the Milky Way. Royal Astronomical Society. Monthly Notices, 502 (1), 32-47. doi: 10.1093/mnras/staa4028
2021
Journal Article
Phylogenetic diversity metrics from molecular phylogenies: modelling expected degree of error under realistic rate variation
Ritchie, Andrew M., Hua, Xia, Cardillo, Marcel, Yaxley, Keaghan J., Dinnage, Russell and Bromham, Lindell (2021). Phylogenetic diversity metrics from molecular phylogenies: modelling expected degree of error under realistic rate variation. Diversity and Distributions, 27 (1), 164-178. doi: 10.1111/ddi.13179
2019
Journal Article
Reconstructing the ancestral phenotypes of great apes and humans (Homininae) using subspecies-level phylogenies
Yaxley, Keaghan J. and Foley, Robert A. (2019). Reconstructing the ancestral phenotypes of great apes and humans (Homininae) using subspecies-level phylogenies. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 128 (4) blz140, 1021-1038. doi: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz140
Supervision
Availability
- Dr Keaghan Yaxley is:
- Available for supervision
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Media
Enquiries
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