Dr Peter Cowman is an ARC DECRA Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. He is a previous recipient of the prestigious Donnelley Postdoctoral Environmental Fellowship (2014-2016) administered by the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies (YIBS). Dr Cowman is a leading authority on the phylogenetic systematics and evolutionary origins of coral reef-associated fishes. 

His research focuses on reconstructing the evolutionary history of diverse groups of fishes and corals that are associated with tropical reefs habitats and uses those phylogenetic hypotheses to explore macroevolutionary questions on topics ranging from the origins of trophic novelty, processes driving biodiversity patterns, and the ancestral biogeography of reef-associated lineages. In a parallel research theme, he explores the causative relationships between genomic change, processes of diversification and life history traits across the tree of life.

Teaching

• BZ3450: Ecological and Conservation Genetics (Level 3; TSV)
• BZ5450: Ecological and Conservation Genetics (Level 5; TSV)

Experience

• 2014 to 2016 - Postdoctoral Associate, Yale University (New Haven (USA))
• 2012 to 2014 - Postdoctoral Fellow, Australian National University (Canberra)

Research Disciplines

• Evolutionary biology (3104)
• Ecology (3103)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Expanding knowledge (2801)
• Marine systems and management (1805)

Awards

• 2009 - Virginia Chadwick Award for Excellence in Publication
• 2017 to 2020 - ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA)

Fellowships

• 2017 to 2020 - ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award
• 2014 to 2016 - Donnelley Environmental Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies

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

• Bridge T, Cowman P, Quattrini A, Bonito V, Sinniger F, Harii S, Head C, Hung J, Halafihi T, Rongo T and Baird A (in press) A tenuis relationship: traditional taxonomy obscures systematics and biogeography of the ‘Acropora tenuis’ (Scleractinia: Acroporidae) species complex. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society,
• Glass J, Harrington R, Cowman P, Faircloth B and Near T (2023) Widespread sympatry in a species-rich clade of marine fishes (Carangoidei). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences, 290 (2010).
• Horowitz J, Quattrini A, Brugler M, Miller D, Pahang K, Bridge T and Cowman P (2023) Bathymetric evolution of black corals through deep time. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences, 290 (2008).
• Ghezelayagh A, Harrington R, Burress E, Campbell M, Buckner J, Chakrabarty P, Glass J, McCraney W, Unmack P, Thacker C, Alfaro M, Friedman S, Ludt W, Cowman P, Friedman M, Price S, Dornburg A, Faircloth B, Wainwright P and Near T (2022) Prolonged morphological expansion of spiny-rayed fishes following the end-Cretaceous. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 6. pp. 1211-1220
• Horowitz J, Opresko D, Molodtsova T, Beaman R, Cowman P and Bridge T (2022) Five new species of black coral (Anthozoa; Antipatharia) from the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea, Australia. Zootaxa, 5213 (1). pp. 1-35
• Ramírez-Portilla C, Baird A, Cowman P, Quattrini A, Harii S, Sinniger F and Flot J (2022) Solving the Coral Species Delimitation Conundrum. Systematic Biology, 71 (2). pp. 461-475
• Tea Y, Xu X, Dibattista J, Lloyd J, Cowman P and Ho S (2022) Phylogenomic Analysis of Concatenated Ultraconserved Elements Reveals the Recent Evolutionary Radiation of the Fairy Wrasses (Teleostei: Labridae: Cirrhilabrus). Systematic Biology, 71 (1). pp. 1-12
• Downie A, Leis J, Cowman P, McCormick M and Rummer J (2021) The influence of habitat association on swimming performance in marine teleost fish larvae. Fish and Fisheries, 22 (6). pp. 1187-1212
• Grinblat M, Cooke I, Shlesinger T, Ben-Zvi O, Loya Y, Miller D and Cowman P (2021) Biogeography, reproductive biology and phylogenetic divergence within the Fungiidae (mushroom corals). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 164.
• Hemingson C, Siqueira A, Cowman P and Bellwood D (2021) Drivers of eyespot evolution in coral reef fishes. Evolution, 75 (4). pp. 903-914
• Mcfadden C, Quattrini A, Brugler M, Cowman P, Dueñas L, Kitahara M, Paz-García D, Reimer J and Rodríguez E (2021) Phylogenomics, origin, and diversification of anthozoans (Phylum Cnidaria). Systematic Biology, 70 (4). pp. 635-647
• Siqueira A, Morais R, Bellwood D and Cowman P (2021) Planktivores as trophic drivers of global coral reef fish diversity patterns. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 118 (9).

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 52+ research outputs authored by A/Prof Peter Cowman from 2009 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

• Role of Hybridization in Evolutionary History of Scleractinian Corals (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Integrating physiological and environmental drivers of depth zonation patterns on coral reefs (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Drivers of Biodiversity on Coral Reefs - the role of Antipatharians Supporting Species Richness and Abundance on Shallow and Mesophotic Reefs (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Revisiting Coral Taxonomy: diversity and biogeography of Acropora across the Indian Ocean (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• An integrated taxonomic approach to understanding the diversity and biogeography of corals on the Great Barrier Reef. (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Morphological and molecular systematics of stoloniferous soft corals (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Phylogenomics and Whole Genome Assembly of Marine Angelfishes: The Evolutionary History of an Iconic Reef Fish Family (PhD , Primary Advisor)

Completed

• Biogeography, reproductive biology and early development in scleractinian corals (2022, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• The taxonomy, biodiversity, and evolutionary history of black corals (order Antipatharia) (2022, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• The colours of coral reef fishes (2021, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• How do coral reef fishes develop into athletes? (2021, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• The evolution, macroecology and biogeography of coral reef fishes: a trophic perspective (2021, PhD , Primary Advisor)

These are the most recent metadata records associated with this researcher. To see a detailed description of all dataset records, visit Research Data Australia.

• Hemingson, C. (2020) Data from: Body size determines eyespot size and presence in coral reef fishes. James Cook University
• Siqueira Correa, A. (2020) Data from 'Trophic innovations fuel reef fish diversification'. James Cook University
• Siqueira Correa, A. (2019) Data from 'Historical biogeography of herbivorous coral reef fishes: the formation of an Atlantic fauna'. James Cook University
• Hemingson, C. (2018) Data from: Colour pattern divergence in reef fish species is rapid and driven by both range overlap and range symmetry. James Cook University

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.