My research to date has involved field work in Antarctica, Africa and New Zealand to sample for invertebrates in both terrestrial and aquatic realms. By utilizing genetic methods, such as DNA barcoding, we are able to assess the distribution of genetic variants (phylogeography) to answer ecological questions. For example, assessing levels of genetic variation between geographically-separated populations gives insight to potential dispersal pathways or the timing of past isolation events.

I would be interested in expanding on these skills through future research projects such as the metabarcoding of bulk arthropod samples for measuring community-level changes over space and time, or metabarcoding the gut contents of invertebrates to inform predator-prey relationships.

Theses:

PhD thesis (2019) The diversity and population genetic structure of Collembola (springtails) in Namib and Antarctic desert environments

MSc thesis (2015) Genetic diversity and potential responses of New Zealand Rotifera and Antarctic Collembola to environmental changes

Key Publications:

Collins, G. E., Hogg, I. D., Convey, P., Barnes, A. D., & McDonald, I. R. (2019). Spatial and temporal scales matter when assessing the species and genetic diversity of springtails (Collembola) in Antarctica. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 76. https://doi.org/10.3389/FEVO.2019.00076

Collins, G. E., Hogg, I. D., Baxter, J. R., Maggs‐Kölling, G., & Cowan, D. A. (2019). Ancient landscapes of the Namib Desert harbor high levels of genetic variability and deeply divergent lineages for Collembola. Ecology and Evolution, 9, 4969–4979. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5103

Beet, C. R., Hogg, I. D., Collins, G. E., Cowan, D. A., Wall, D. H., & Adams, B. J. (2016). Genetic diversity among populations of Antarctic springtails (Collembola) within the Mackay Glacier ecotone. Genome, 59, 762–770.

Zhou, X., Frandsen, P. B., Holzenthal, R. W., Beet, C. R., Bennett, K. R., Blahnik, R. J., … Kjer, K. M. (2016). The Trichoptera barcode initiative: A strategy for generating a species-level tree of life. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371(1702), 20160025. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2016.0025

Collins, G. E., & Hogg, I. D. (2015). Temperature-related activity of Gomphiocephalus hodgsoni (Collembola) mitochondrial DNA (COI) haplotypes in Taylor Valley, Antarctica. Polar Biology, 39, 1–11.

Telfer, A. C., Young, M. R., Quinn, J., Perez, K., Sobel, C. N., Sones, J. E., … deWaard, J. R. (2015). Biodiversity inventories in high gear: DNA barcoding facilitates a rapid biotic survey of a temperate nature reserve. Biodiversity Data Journal, (3), e6313. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.3.e6313

Watson, N. T. N., Duggan, I. C., Collins, G. E., Beet, C. R., Woods, S. M., Banks, J. C., & Hogg, I. D. (2014). A molecular-based assessment tool for characterising New Zealand freshwater zooplankton communities. Retrieved from https://researchcommons.waikato.ac.nz/handle/10289/12463