Megan Higgie

Dr Megan Higgie is an evolutionary biologist and conservation geneticist whose research integrates field and laboratory approaches to understand how animals adapt to environmental change and how biodiversity evolves. Her work focuses on evolutionary adaptation—particularly to climate extremes such as heatwaves—as well as genomic investigations into how new species arise.

A significant part of Dr Higgie’s research involves working with threatened species to assess their genetic health and evolutionary potential. She is especially interested in how genetic and evolutionary rescue strategies can be used to support species facing environmental stressors and declining population viability. These approaches aim to enhance resilience and long-term survival in the face of climate change and biodiversity loss in the Tropics.

Through speciation genomics, Dr Higgie explores how genetic divergence and reproductive isolation emerge, contributing to the formation and persistence of biodiversity. This includes investigating how species interactions and environmental pressures shape patterns of adaptation across populations and ecological communities of the Tropics.

As a lecturer, Dr Higgie has taught thousands of students about the mechanisms of evolution and genetics that underpin biodiversity, equipping them to become future leaders in developing solutions to our environmental challenges.

In addition to her research and teaching, Dr Higgie serves as the co-Associate Dean of Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (EDIB) in the College of Science and Engineering at James Cook University. She is also a member of JCU’s Gender Equity Action Reference (GEAR) team. In these roles, she is committed to fostering a culture of equity and inclusivity for all—students and staff alike.

Dr Higgie welcomes Honours, Masters, and PhD students interested in evolutionary questions related to adaptation, selection (natural, sexual, or artificial), climate resilience, and species interactions. She also encourages potential DECRA applicants to get in touch if you share interests in these areas or in the biological systems she currently studies (see 'Research’ tab for more details).

Genetic health and conservation genomics of threatened species:

Many threatened and microendemic species, particularly in the Australian Wet Tropics, face declining population viability under climate change, with limited genetic information available to guide their management. We use genomic approaches to assess the genetic health of these species — including levels of inbreeding, genetic diversity, and evolutionary potential — to inform genetic-management strategies such as genetic and evolutionary rescue, including augmented gene flow between populations to restore genetic diversity and adaptive potential. This work spans several threatened and range-restricted taxa, including leaf-tailed geckos (Phyllurus), velvet geckos (Oedura), and treefrogs (Litoria), to understand their evolutionary history and support their long-term conservation management.

Evolutionary and ecological impacts of heatwaves on rainforest Drosophila communities:

Rainforest Drosophila communities in the Australian Wet Tropics are highly sensitive to climate extremes, making them a powerful system for studying how heatwaves affect both evolution and species interactions. Using a combination of field surveys along altitudinal and latitudinal gradients and lab-based experimental evolution, we are testing whether and how rainforest Drosophila populations can adapt to increased heat stress. We are also investigating how experimental warming affects host-parasitoid interactions in this system, including the success and diet breadth of parasitoids attacking Drosophila hosts, to understand how warming may reshape trophic interactions and community stability as heatwave frequency and severity increase under climate change.

Reproductive isolation in the Green-eyed Tree frog complex:

Two deeply-divergent genetic lineages of Green-eyed tree frog meet in two places in the Wet Tropics behind Cairns. At one contact there has been rapid and strong evolution of prezygotic isolation between the two lineages, driven by reinforcement and reproductive character displacement in response to costly hybridisation, and resulting in the recently speciated Kuranda Treefrog at the Kuranda contact. One question we are answering is - what were the genomic changes that allowed the rapid evolution of prezygotic isolation at this contact? At the other contact the two lineages still mate freely, with no hint of prezygotic isolation between the lineages. However, these hybrid matings leave almost no offspring - so why doesn't prezygotic isolation evolve, or reinforcement act, at this contact? This is another of the questions we are working on in this system.

Chemical signalling as a mating trait in Australian geckos:

Chemical signals (pheromones) are likely to be an important, but poorly understood, mating trait in many Australian lizard groups where genetics reveals high cryptic diversity that traditional morphology cannot detect. We are working on this question in two gecko systems in north-eastern Queensland: leaf-tailed geckos (Phyllurus), a group of paleoendemic rainforest specialists with deep, cryptic genetic divergences, and Gehyra geckos, where chemical signal variation may be driving or maintaining divergence between closely related lineages. Characterising these signals, and how they vary across divergent lineages, will help resolve the taxonomy of these groups and reveal how chemical communication contributes to speciation.

Evolution of sex-determination systems in treefrogs:

Sex-determination systems are remarkably variable across amphibians, yet remain unknown for most families due to a lack of genomic resources. Using genetic linkage mapping, we produced the first genomic resource for Australo-Papuan treefrogs (family Pelodryadidae) and identified a candidate sex-determination locus in the Green-eyed Treefrog (Litoria serrata), consistent with a male heterogametic (XY) system. We are continuing to build on this work to understand how sex-determination systems evolve and vary across treefrog lineages, and what this reveals about the broader diversity of sex-determination mechanisms in amphibians.