Griffith University

PhD (UQ), BSc (Hons) (UQ)

Lecturer, Griffith School of Environment

Contact details for Dr Sonya Clegg

Research Expertise

• Microevolution in wild vertebrate populations: evolutionary rates, phenotypic evolution, natural selection
• Molecular ecology: population and conservation genetics, phylogeography
• Avian ecology and behaviour
• Island biogeography
• Connectivity in migrant bird populations

Current Teaching

• Conservation Biology
• Wildlife Management
• Ecology

Selected Publications

• Clegg, SM, AB Phillimore (2010) The influence of gene flow and drift on genetic and phenotypic divergence in two species of Zosterops in Vanuatu. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 365 (1543) : 1077-1092.
• Ishtiaq F, SM Clegg, AB Phillimore, RA Black, IPF Owens, BC Sheldon (2010) Biogeographical patterns of blood parasite species diversity in avian hosts from southern Melanesian Islands. J. Biogeography 37:120-132.
• Clegg, SM (2009) Evolutionary changes following island colonization in birds: empirical insights into the roles of microevolutionary processes. In J Losos and R Ricklefs (eds) The Theory of Island Biogeography Revisited. Princeton University Press.
• Ishtiaq F, L Guillaumot, SM Clegg, AB Phillimore, RA Black, IPF Owens, NI Mundy, BC Sheldon (2008) Avian haematozoan parasites and their associations with mosquitoes across Southwest Pacific Islands. Molecular Ecology. 17, 4545-4555.
• Clegg, SM, DF Frentiu, J Kikkawa, G Tavecchia and IPF Owens (2008) 4000 years of phenotypic change in an island bird: heterogeneity of selection over three microevolutionary timescales. Evolution 62, 2393-2410.
• Phillimore AB, IPF Owens, RA Black, J Chittock, T Burke and SM Clegg (2008) Complex patterns of genetic and phenotypic divergence in an island bird and the consequences for delimiting conservation units. Molecular Ecology 17, 2839-2853.
• Frentiu FD, SM Clegg, J Chittock, T Burke, MW Blows and IPF Owens (2008) Pedigree free-animals models: the relatedness matrix reloaded. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 275, 639-647
• Frentiu FD, SM Clegg, MW Blows and IPF Owens (2007) Large body size in an island-dwelling bird: a microevolutionary analysis. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 20, 639-649.
• Ruegg K, H Slabbekoorn, SM Clegg, and TB Smith (2006) Divergence in mating signals correlates with ecological variation in the migratory songbird, Swainson’s thrush (Catharus ustulatus). Molecular Ecology 15, 3147-3156.
• Hadfield JD, MD Burgess, A Lord, AB Phillimore, SM Clegg and IPF Owens (2006) Direct versus indirect sexual selection: genetic basis of colour, size and recruitment in a wild bird. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 273, 1347-1353.
• Smith TB, SM Clegg, M Kimura, K Ruegg, B Milá and IJ Lovette (2005) Molecular genetic approaches to linking breeding and overwintering areas in five Neotropical migrant passerines In R Greenberg and P Marra (eds). Birds of Two Worlds: The Ecology and Evolution of Migration. John Hopkins University Press.
• Lovette IJ, SM Clegg, TB Smith (2004) Limited utility of mtDNA markers for determining connectivity among breeding and overwintering locations in three neotropical migrant birds. Conservation Biology 18,156-166.
• Clegg, SM, JF Kelly, M Kimura and TB Smith (2003) Combining genetic markers and stable isotopes to reveal population connectivity and migration patterns in a Neotropical migrant, Wilson's warbler (Wilsonia pusilla). Molecular Ecology 12, 819-830.
• Scott SN, SM Clegg, SP Blomberg, J Kikkawa and IPF Owens (2003) Morphological shifts in island-dwelling birds: the roles of generalist foraging and niche expansion. Evolution 57, 2147-2156.
• Estoup A and SM Clegg (2003) Bayesian inferences on the recent island colonisation history by the bird Zosterops lateralis lateralis. Molecular Ecology 12, 657-674.
• Kimura M, SM Clegg, IJ Lovette, KR Holder, DJ Girman, B Milá, P Wade and TB Smith (2002) Phylogeographical approaches to assessing demographic connectivity between breeding and overwintering regions in a Nearctic-neotropical warbler (Wilsonia pusilla). Molecular Ecology 11, 1605-1616.
• Clegg, SM, SM Degnan, C Moritz, J Kikkawa, A Estoup and IPF Owens (2002b) Microevolution in island forms: the roles of drift and directional selection in morphological divergence of a passerine bird. Evolution 56, 2090-2099.
• Clegg, SM, IPF Owens (2002) The ‘island rule’ in birds: medium body size and its ecological explanation. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B. 269, 1359-1366.
• Clegg, SM, SM Degnan, J Kikkawa, C Moritz, A Estoup and IPF Owens (2002a) Genetic consequences of sequential founder events by an island-colonizing bird. Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences USA 99, 8127-8123.
• Clegg, SM, P Hale and C Moritz (1998) Population genetics of the red kangaroo (Macropus rufus): mtDNA variation. Molecular Ecology 7, 679-686.
• Degnan SM, BC Robertson, SM Clegg and CC Moritz (1998) Microsatellite primers for studies of gene flow and mating systems in white-eyes (Zosterops). Molecular Ecology 7, 159-160.