Stephen Kolomyjec, visiting assistant professor of cell and molecular biology at Ohio Northern University, co-authored an article that has been published in the Australian Journal of Zoology.

Titled “Regional population structuring and conservation units in the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus),” the article was authored by Kolomyjec in collaboration with Tom Grant of the University of New South Wales, Chris Johnson of the University of Tasmania, and David Blair of James Cook University.

According to Kolomyjec, the duck-billed platypus is one of the charismatic icons of Australian wildlife, although until recently it has remained quite under-researched. The platypus has a wide distribution in Australia, encompassing the southern island of Tasmania and a broad latitudinal range of the mainland from the temperate south to the tropical north.

Kolomyjec and his associates’ research focused on understanding broad-scale population structuring across the platypus’ range. The article identified three large-scale groupings that correspond closely to geographically distinct regions of the species’ distribution and are highly isolated and distinct from a genetic point of view: the tropical northern mainland, the subtropical and temperate southern mainland, and the island of Tasmania.

The Australian Journal of Zoology is an international journal publishing contributions on evolutionary, molecular and comparative zoology. The journal focuses on Australasian fauna but also includes high-quality research from any region that has broader practical or theoretical relevance or that demonstrates a conceptual advance to any aspect of zoology.

Subject areas include, but are not limited to, anatomy, physiology, molecular biology, genetics, reproductive biology, developmental biology, parasitology, morphology, behavior, ecology, zoogeography, systematics and evolution.