Dr Don Colgan

My interests focus on gastropod and bivalve Mollusca. Currently, I have three main research programs. (1) The phylogeography of molluscan populations in relation to how they are responding to the environmental challenges now confronting them. (2) The evolution of Gastropoda, particularly the genetic and physiological bases underlying their major habitat transitions. (3) The use of proteomics to maximise the potential of museums' molluscan collections.

Current projects

• Studying the fine scale phylogeography of the invasive mussel genus Xenostrobus with next generation sequencing
• The genomics of neritimorph Gastropoda
• The phylogeography of estuarine Gastropoda in southeasern Australia
• The use of shell proteomes in molluscan systematics

Colgan, D.J. (2023) Do Deep Mitochondrial DNA divergences within intertidal gastropods reveal phylogeographic signals from earlier glacial cycles? Diversity 15, 346. https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/15/3/346

Colgan, D.J. Woods, C.L.. (2022) Phylogeography and evolutionary dynamism of marine gastropods from the Lord Howe Island Group. Marine and Freshwater Research 73, 884–899.https://www.publish.csiro.au/mf/MF21301

Colgan, D.J. (2022). The potential for using shell proteins in gastropod systematics, assessed in patellogastropod limpets. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 194, 11771193https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab061

Colgan, D.J., Ahyong, S.T., Mardon, K. and Brereton, I. (2021) Rare specimen identification in an un-integrated taxonomy: Implications of DNA sequences from Taiwanese Philine (Mollusca: Philinidae). Zookeys 1060, 93–110. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1060.28809

Colgan, D.J. and Walton, K. (2021) Zoobank registration of articles published in Molluscan Research. Molluscan Research 41, 3–6. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13235818.2020.1820429

Colgan, D. J. (2020) Molluscan Research and the sustainable development goals. Molluscan Research 40, 283–285. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13235818.2020.1795965.

Pena, R. R. and Colgan, D.J. (2020). Does marine bioregionalisation provide a framework for the conservation of genetic structure? Regional Studies in Marine Science 40, 101505.

Colgan, D. and Lumsdaine, H. (2020) Genetic assessment of the variation and distribution of the species of Salinator (Panpulmonata: Amphibolidae) in south-eastern Australia. Biodiversity Data Journal 8, e54724. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7644653/pdf/bdj-08-e54724.pdf

Colgan, D.J., Willan, R.C. and Kirkendale, L.A. (2020). A genetic assessment of the taxonomic status of New Zealand mussels of the genus Xenostrobus Wilson, 1967. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 54, 271–285.

Colgan, D.J. (2019) Inter-boundary comparison between Bass Strait and southeastern Tasmania reveals taxon-specific effects of phylogeographic determinants in marine Mollusca. Regional Studies in Marine Science 25, 100449.

Sadlier, R. A., Colgan, D., Beatson, C. A. and Cogger, H. G. (2019). Ctenophorus spinodomus sp. nov., a new species of dragon lizard (Squamata: Agamidae) from Triodia Mallee habitat of southeast Australia. Records of the Australian Museum 71, 199–215. https://media.australian.museum/media/dd/documents/1700_complete.69c5196.pdf

Johnson, R.N., O’Meally, D., Chen, Z.-L, Etherington, G.J., Ho, S.Y.W., Nash, W.J., Grueber, C.E., Cheng, Y.-Y., Whittington, C.M., Dennison, S., Peel, E., Haerty, W., O’Neill, R.J., Colgan, D., Russell, T.L., 36 additional authors (in alphabetical order), Wilkins, M.R., Timms, P., Belov, K. 2018. Adaptation and conservation insights from the koala genome. Nature Genetics 50, 1102–1111. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-018-0153-5?dom=scribd&src=syn

Colgan, D.J. 2018. Genetic studies of Australian Trichomya hirsuta (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) suggest antitropical divergence of this species. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity 11, 146–150.

Colgan, D.J. 2018. Population genetic instability and the phylogeography of the mussel Austromytilus rostratus (Dunker, 1857)(Bivalvia: Mytilidae). Marine Biodiversity 49, 887–896.

Colgan, D.J. and *Santos, R. de P. 2018. A phylogenetic classification of gastropod aquaporins. Marine Genomics 38, 59–65.

Colgan, D.J., 2017. Fine-scale spatial partitioning of genetic variation and evolutionary contestability in the invasive estuarine mussel Xenostrobus securis. Marine Biology Research 13, 1059-1072.

Colgan, D.J. 2017. The invasive slug Deroceras invadens Reise, Hutchinson, Schunack and Schlitt, 2011 occurs on Norfolk Island. BioInvasions Records 6, 9–12. https://www.reabic.net/journals/bir/2017/1/BIR_2017_Colgan.pdf

Uribe, J.E., Colgan, D.J., Castro, L.R., Kano, Y. and Zardoya, R. 2016. Phylogenetic relationships among superfamilies of Neritimorpha (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 104, 21–31.

Colgan, D.J. 2016. Marine and estuarine phylogeography of the coasts of south-eastern Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 67, 1597–1610.