My research and teaching interests focus on biodiversity: what's out there, how we discover and describe it, how it arises and adapts through time, and how we can conserve it.

I'm very interested in speciation and rapid adaptation, including to human-induced change like climate change and invasive species. To date, I've done a lot of evolutionary biology and species discovery but I'm increasingly focussing on conservation projects. My research methods include field data, genetics, and modelling. Many of my projects involve frogs and lizards because they show biogeographic patterns and evolutionary processes on a fine scale, and because Australia has a rich diversity. However, I'm interested in all groups and current projects include mammals (e.g., Spotted-tailed Quolls) and invertebrates (e.g., Drosophila experiments). 

Current projects include: phylogenetics and taxonomy of various reptile and frog groups; mating trait evolution in geckos, frogs and flies; speciation in hybrid zones; reinforcement and character displacement; conservation genetics of endangered frogs and mammals; climate change adaptation in native Drosophila; impacts of invasive geckos and toads; recovery of frogs from chytrid disease; and decline and threatened species recovery in all vertebrate groups.

Teaching

• BZ2450: Biodiversity of Tropical Australia (Level 2; TSV)
• BZ2725: Australian Terrestrial Diversity (Level 2; CNS & TSV)
• BZ3220: Population and Community Ecology (Level 3; TSV)
• BZ3740: Wildlife Ecology and Management (Level 3; TSV)
• BZ5220: Population and Community Ecology (Level 5; TSV)
• BZ5740: Wildlife Ecology and Management (Level 5; TSV)
• BZ5925: Australian Terrestrial Diversity (Level 5; CNS & TSV)

Interests

Research

• Biodiversity: what's out there, how we discover and describe it, how it arises and adapts throught time, and how we can conserve it.

Teaching

• Biodiversity: what's out there, how we discover and describe it, how it arises and adapts throught time, and how we can conserve it.

Experience

• 2011 to 2019 - ABRS Fellowship, Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 2007 to 2011 - ARC Fellowship, ARC postdoc, Australian National University (Canberra)
• 1996 to 2006 - Honours, PhD, Research Assistant on various projects, University of Queensland (Brisbane)

Research Disciplines

• Evolutionary Biology (0603)
• Environmental Science and Management (0502)
• Ecological Applications (0501)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity (9608)
• Climate and Climate Change (9603)

Awards

• 2009 - Eureka Prize - ABRS Early Career Species Discovery
• 2003 - Henry Seibert Award - Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles (International)

Fellowships

• 2011 to 2014 - ABRS BushBlitz Research Fellowship (2011-2014)
• 2007 to 2010 - ARC Australian Postdoctoral (APD) Research Fellowship (2007-2010)

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Cocciardi J, Hoskin C, Morris W, Warburton R, Edwards L and Higgie M (2019) Adjustable temperature array for characterizing ecological and evolutionary effects on thermal physiology. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 10 (8), pp. 1339-1346, DOI:10.1111/2041-210X.13236.
• Hoskin C (2019) Description of three new velvet geckos (Diplodactylidae: Oedura) from inland eastern Australia, and redescription of Oedura monilis De Vis. Zootaxa, 4683 (2), pp. 242-270, DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.4683.2.4.
• Hoskin C, Bertola L and Higgie M (2019) A new species of Phyllurus leaf-tailed gecko (Lacertilia: Carphodactylidae) from The Pinnacles, north-east Australia. Zootaxa, 4576 (1), pp. 127-139, DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.4576.1.6.
• Reside A, Critchell K, Crayn D, Goosem M, Goosem S, Hoskin C, Sydes T, Vanderduys E and Pressey R (2019) Beyond the model: expert knowledge improves predictions of species' fates under climate change. Ecological Applications, 29 (1), Article: e01824, DOI:10.1002/eap.1824.
• Tingley R, Macdonald S, Mitchell N, Woinarski J, Meiri S, Bowles P, Cox N, Shea G, Bohm M, Chanson J, Tognelli M, Harris J, Walke C, Harrison N, Victor S, Woods C, Amey A, Bamford M, Catt G, Clemann N, Couper P, Cogger H, Cowan M, Craig M, Dickman C, Doughty P, Ellis R, Fenner A, Ford S, Gaikhorst G, Gillespie G, Greenlees M, Hobson R, Hoskin C, How R, Hutchinson M, Lloyd R, McDonald P, Melville J, Michael D, Moritz C, Oliver P, Peterson G, Robertson P, Sanderson C, Somaweera R, Teale R, Valentine L, Vanderduys E, Venz M, Wapstra E, Wilson S and Chapple D (2019) Geographic and taxonomic patterns of extinction risk in Australian squamates. Biological Conservation, 238, Article: 108203, DOI:10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108203.
• Zozaya S, Higgie M, Moritz C and Hoskin C (2019) Are pheromones key to unlocking cryptic lizard diversity? American Naturalist, 194 (2), pp. 168-182, DOI:10.1086/704059.
• Barnett L, Phillips B, Heath A, Coates A and Hoskin C (2018) The impact of parasites during range expansion of an invasive gecko. Parasitology, 145 (11), pp. 1400-1409, DOI:10.1017/S003118201800015X.
• Bertola L, Higgie M and Hoskin C (2018) Resolving distribution and population fragmentation in two leaf-tailed gecko species of north-east Australia: key steps in the conservation of microendemic species. Australian Journal of Zoology, 66 (2), pp. 152-166, DOI:10.1071/ZO18036.
• Bragg J, Potter S, Afonso Silva A, Hoskin C, Bai B and Moritz C (2018) Phylogenomics of a rapid radiation: the Australian rainbow skinks. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 18, Article: 15, DOI:10.1186/s12862-018-1130-4.
• Couper P, Hoskin C, Potter S, Bragg J and Moritz C (2018) A new genus to accommodate three skinks currently assigned to Proablepharus (Lacertilia: Scincidae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 60, pp. 227-231, DOI:10.17082/J.2204-1478.60.2017.2017-15.
• Hoskin C, Hines H, Webb R, Skerratt L and Berger L (2018) Naive rainforest frogs on Cape York, Australia, are at risk of the introduction of amphibian chytridiomycosis disease. Australian Journal of Zoology, 66 (3), pp. 174-178, DOI:10.1071/ZO18041.
• Hoskin C, Zozaya S and Vanderduys E (2018) A new species of velvet gecko (Diplodactylidae: Oedura) from sandstone habitats of inland north Queensland, Australia. Zootaxa, 4486 (2), pp. 101-114, DOI:10.11646/zootaxa.4486.2.1.

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 83+ research outputs authored by Dr Conrad Hoskin from 1999 onwards.

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• Species Interations and the Evolution of Mating Traits (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Population Genomic Analyses to Resolve Connectivity and Retrovirus Transmission in the Australian Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Investigating the long term Viability and Resilience of the Northern Great Barrier Reef Green Turtle Population based on Hatchling Production and Hatchling Sex Ratio (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Can Species Interactions Cause Rapid Niche Adaptation? (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Conservation genomics and population status of endangered Mahogany gliders (Petaurus gracilis) (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Biogeography, Speciation, and Systematics of a Tree Frog Species Complex in the Amazon Basin (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Cane toads in Wet Tropics upland rainforest and their current and potential impact on native fauna (Masters , Primary Advisor)
• Resolving the genetics of rapid adaptation and speciation (Masters , Secondary Advisor)
• The effect of the pasasite Waddycephalus on native reptile communities and the role of the invasive Asian House Gecko (Masters , Secondary Advisor)

Completed

• Using pheromones to understand cryptic lizard diversity (2020, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Understanding range expansion of Asian house geckos (Hemidactylus frenatus) in natural environments (2017, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Locating adaptive diversity in the face of climate change (2016, PhD , Associate Advisor)

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.