Peter J. Unmack
Curriculum vitae last modified: December 02, 2024
Adjunct Associate Professor
Faculty of Science and Technology
University of Canberra, ACT 2601
Australia
email:
1999-05 PhD program, Biology Department, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. Dissertation: Historical biogeography and a priori hypotheses based on freshwater fishes. Supervisor: T.E. Dowling.
1996-99 Master's degree, Zoology Department, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. Thesis: Biogeography of Australian freshwater fishes. Supervisor: W.L. Minckley.
1994-95 Through La Trobe University's student exchange program I completed the last year of my B.Sc. at the University of California, Davis.
1992-93 Bachelor of Science, Zoology. Latrobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
2022-ongoing Unmack AquaEvolutionary
Environmental Consultant: Use molecular techniques to investigate species identifications, identify fish of unknown origins, conservation genetics, evolution, phylogeny and phylogeography of aquatic organisms (primarily fishes). Write reports and publish resuts of these studies. I conduct research for various government departments and management agencies. Please contact me should you have any projects you need done!
2013-2021 University of Canberra
Research Fellow: Use molecular techniques to investigate the phylogeny, phylogeography, evolution and conservation genetics of freshwater organisms. I have three major areas of ongoing research. 1) Understanding the evolution and maintenance of a species complex of hemi-clonal unisexual fishes (carp gudgeons) in eastern Australia; 2) the evolution and role of introgression in rainbowfish diversification and ecological success and 3) conservation genetics and how to improve outcomes in translocations and conservation actions.
2010-2013 National Evolutionary Synthesis Center
Post-doctoral Research Associate: Develop and test GIS applications for the a priori prediction of biogeographic connectivity between drainage basins and how sea level changes influence habitats for marine organisms.
2006-2010 Brigham Young University
Post-doctoral Research Associate: Investigate the biogeography of fishes as part of NSF PIRE funded project on Patagonian biogeography which is testing for congruent phylogeographic patterns between several species of fishes, freshwater crabs, lizards and plants with overlapping distributions. Supervise undergraduate students on independent research projects. (Supervisor Dr. J. Johnson)
Post-doctoral Research Associate: Investigate the phylogeography of various fish families in western North America including Catostomidae, Cottidae and Salmonidae. Assist graduate students on their research projects. (Supervisor Dr. D.K Shiozawa)
Instructor: Develop and teach graduate class on molecular techniques in phylogeography. This class teaches students the necessary tools for conducting phylogenetic research from sample storage, DNA extraction, PCR, sequencing, data checking and sequence analysis.
2008-2009 University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Instructor: Developed and taught an intensive two week class on biogeography as part of the Federal Fire Management Specialists education program.
1996-2004 Arizona State University
Research Assistant: Two GIS bioinformatics based projects. 1) Assessed areas of high native fish diversity, documented change over time, and determine conservation priorities for fishes in the Lower Colorado River Basin (funding from American Rivers, USFWS, USFS). 2) Determined how patterns of rarity, extinction dynamics, and life-history traits are linked among fishes within the Sonoran Desert region (funding from NSF).
1997-2004 Arizona State University
Teaching Assistant: Taught laboratory sections for Ichthyology (1997, 1999, 2001), Field Techniques in Conservation Biology (2004, 2005), Vertebrate Zoology (2000), and Introductory Biology (1998, 2000). Responsible for developing topics, preparing and collecting material for class, writing and grading exams and supervising students on overnight field trips.
1997-2004 Arizona State University
Guest Lecturer: Ichthyology, Conservation Biology, Desert Biology and Introductory Biology.
1995 Texas Natural History Collections, University of Texas, Austin
Museum Collection Assistant: Assisted with maintenance of the fish collection.
1994 Inland Waters Section, South Australian Research and Development Institute
Entry Level Scientist: I was responsible for designing and implementing a sampling program, staff management, maintaining and purchasing equipment.
1990-93 Whitelaw Chemicals/Vival Chemicals
Electroplating Manufacturer: Managing the factory in the absence of the manager, precise mixing and packaging of electroplating chemicals, quality control, preparing goods for transport, maintenance and cleaning of laboratory, familiarity with regulations regarding handling dangerous goods, and the ability to recognize potentially hazardous situations.
Biogeography of obligate aquatic organisms
Ecology, systematics, and conservation of fishes
Ecology and conservation of spring ecosystems
Invasion biology and exotic species
Application of GIS in collections based biology
Peer reviewed
My Orchid profile for 0000-0003-1175-1152
Lintermans, M., Lutz, M., Whiterod, N.S., Gruber, B., Hammer, M.P., Kennard, M.J., Morgan, D.L., Raadik, T.A., Unmack, P.J., Brooks, S., Ebner, B.C., et al. 2024. Troubled waters in the land down under: pervasive threats and high extinction risks demand urgent conservation actions to protect Australia's native freshwater fishes. Biological Conservation, 300, p.110843. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110843
Dedukh, D., Majtánová, Z., Ráb, P., Ezaz, T. & Unmack, P.J. 2024. Gradual chromosomal lagging drive programmed genome elimination in hemiclonal fishes from the genus Hypseleotris. Scientific Reports, 14, 26866. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-78278-6
Booth, E.J., Brauer, C., Sandoval-Castillo, J., Harrisson, K., Rourke, M.L., Attard, C., Gilligan, D.M., Tonkin, Z., Thiem, J., Zampatti, B., Unmack, P.J. & Beheregaray, L.B. 2024. Genomic vulnerability to climate change of an Australian migratory freshwater fish, the golden perch (Macquaria ambigua). Molecular Ecology, 33, e17570. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17570
Allen, G.R., Hammer, M.P., Unmack, P.J. & Storey, A.W. 2024. A review of the genus Kiunga (Pisces: Pseudomugilidae) from fresh waters of Papua New Guinea with descriptions of three new species. Fishes of Sahul, 38, 2137–2157.
Hammer, M.P., Allen, G.R., Adams, M. & Unmack, P.J. 2024. The Mangrove Blue-eye, a new species of Pseudomugil (Pisces: Pseudomugilidae) from eastern Queensland, Australia. Fishes of Sahul, 38, 2158–2171.
Buckley, S.J., Brauer, C.J., Unmack, P.J., Hammer, M.P., Beatty, S.J., Morgan, D.L. & Beheregaray, L.B. 2024. Long-term climatic stability drives accumulation and maintenance of divergent lineages in a temperate biodiversity hotspot. Heredity, 133, 149–159. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-024-00700-6
Campbell, M.A., Hammer, M.P., Adams, M., Raadik, T.A. & Unmack, P.J. 2024. Evolutionary origins and fine-scale geographic structuring in the temperate percichthyid genus Gadopsis (blackfishes) to support fisheries and conservation management. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 199, 108159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2024.108159
Tims, A.R., Unmack, P.J., Hammer, M.P., Brown, C., Adams, M. & McGee, M.D. 2024. Historic museum samples reveal hybrid origin of an extinct crater lake endemic embedded in a background of multi-species gene flow. Systematic Biology, 73, 506–520. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syae017
Unmack, P.J., Cook, B.D., Hammer, M.P., Adams, M. & Johnson, J.B. 2023. Phylogeography of a widespread Australian freshwater fish, western carp gudgeon (Eleotridae: Hypseleotris klunzingeri): cryptic species, a hybrid zone and strong intra-specific divergences. Ecology and Evolution, 13, e10682. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10682
Moy, K., Schaffer, J., Hammer, M.P., Attard, C.R.M., Beheregaray, L., Duncan, R.P., Lintermans, M., Brown, C. & Unmack, P.J. 2023. Alternative conservation outcomes from aquatic fauna translocations: Losing and saving the Running River rainbowfish. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 33, 1445–1459. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.4023
Adams, M., Hammer, M.P., Unmack, P.J., Raadik, T.A., Jense, C. & Burridge, C.P. 2023. Multi-gene insights into the taxonomy and conservation of Tasmania’s galaxiid fishes. Marine and Freshwater Research, 74, 1113–1128. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF22263
Thacker, C.E., McCraney, W.T., Harrington, R.C., Near, T.J., Shelley, J.J., Adams, M., Hammer, M.P. & Unmack, P.J. 2023. Diversification of the sleepers (Gobiiformes: Gobioidei: Eleotridae) and evolution of the root gobioid families. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 186, 107841. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107841
Gates, K., Sandoval-Castillo, J., Brauer, C.J., Unmack, P.J., Laporte, M., Bernatchez, L. & Beheregaray, L. 2023. Environmental selection, rather than neutral processes, best explain regional patterns of diversity in a tropical rainforest fish. Heredity, 130, 368–380. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41437-023-00612-x
Mossop, K.D., Lemmon, A.R., Lemmon, E.M., Eytan, R., Adams, M., Unmack, P.J., Date, K.S., Morales, H.E., Hammer, M.P., Wong, B.B. & Chapple, D.G. 2023. Phylogenomics and biogeography of arid-adapted Chlamydogobius goby fishes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 182, 107757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107757
Brauer, C., Sandoval-Castillo, J.B., Gates, K., Hammer, M., Unmack, P.J., Bernatchez, L. & Beheregaray, L.B., 2022. Natural hybridisation reduces vulnerability to climate change. Nature Climate Change, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-022-01585-1
Allan, H., Duncan, R.P., Unmack, P.J., White, D. & Lintermans, M. 2022. PIT POP! Bursting the bubble on home-range bias with fine-scale PIT telemetry. Marine and Freshwater Research, 73, 1297–1309. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF22021
Thacker, C.E., Geiger, D.L. & Unmack, P.J. 2022. Species delineation and systematics of a hemiclonal hybrid complex in Australian freshwaters (Gobiiformes: Gobioidei: Eleotridae: Hypseleotris). Royal Society Open Science, 9(7): 220201. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.220201
Buckley, S.J., Brauer, C.J., Unmack, P.J., Hammer, M.P. & Beheregaray, L.B. 2022. Variation in intraspecific demography drives localised concordance but species-wide discordance in responses to Plio-Pleistocene climatic change. BMC Ecology and Evolution, 22, 35. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-022-01990-2
Thacker, C.E., Shelley, J., McCraney, W.T., Adams, M., Hammer, M.P. & Unmack, P.J. 2022. Phylogeny and mitonuclear discordance in a hemiclonal hybrid system of native Australian freshwater fishes. BMC Ecology and Evolution, 22, 22. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12862-022-01981-3
Ghezelayagh, A., Harrington, R.C., Burress, E.D., Campbell, M.A., Buckner, J.C., Chakrabarty, P., Glass, J.R., McCraney, W.T., Unmack, P.J., Thacker, C.E., Alfaro, M.E., Friedman, S.T., Ludt, W.B., Cowman, P.F., Friedman, M., Price, S.A, Dornburg, A., Faircloth, B.C., Wainwright, P.C. & Near, T.J. 2022. Morphological expansion of spiny-rayed fishes following the end-Cretaceous. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 6, 1211–1220. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01801-3
Booth, E., Sandoval-Castillo, J., Attard, C., Gilligan, D., Unmack, P.J. & Beheregaray, L. 2022. Aridification-driven evolution of a migratory fish revealed by niche modelling and coalescence simulations. Journal of Biogeography 49, 1726–1738. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14337
Attard, C., Sandoval-Castillo, J., Gilligan, D., Unmack, P.J., Faulks, L. & Beheregaray, L. 2022. Genomics outperforms genetics to manage mistakes in fisheries stocking of threatened species. Biodiversity and Conservation, 31, 895–908. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-022-02369-x
Attard, C., Brauer, C.J., Sandoval-Castillo, J., Unmack, P.J., Schmarr, D., Bernatchez, L. & Beheregaray, L. 2021. Fish out of water: eco-evolutionary dynamics of rainbowfish populations in the desert. Evolution, accepted. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14399
Buckley, S.J., Brauer, C.J., Unmack, P.J., Hammer, M.P. & Beheregaray, L.B. 2021. The roles of aridification and sea level changes in the diversification and persistence of freshwater fish lineages. Molecular Ecology, 30, 4866–4883. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.16082
Unmack, P.J., Adams, M., Hammer, M.P., Johnson, J.B., Gruber, B., Gilles, A. & Georges, A. 2021. Plotting for change: an analytic framework to aid decisions on which lineages are candidate species in phylogenomic species discovery. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blab095
Tims, A.R., Unmack, P.J. & Ho, S.Y.W. 2021. A fossil-calibrated time-tree of all Australian freshwater fishes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 161, 107180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107180
Hammer, M.P., Adams, M., Unmack, P.J., Hassell, K.L. & Bertozzi, T. 2021. Surprising Pseudogobius: molecular systematics of benthic gobies reveals new insights into estuarine biodiversity (Teleostei: Gobiiformes). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 160, 107140. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2021.107140
Thacker, C.E., Shelley, J.J., McCraney, W.T., McGee, M. & Unmack, P.J. 2021. Waiting for radiation: joint estimation of divergence time and trait evolution in a newly delineated island species flock. Systematic Biology, , 71, 13–23. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syab014
Majtánová, Z., Dedukh, D., Choleva, L., Adams, M., Ráb, P., Unmack, P.J. & Ezaz, T. 2021. Uniparental genome elimination in hemiclonal Australian carp gudgeons. Genome Biology and Evolution, 13(6). https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evab030
Hammer, M.P., Taillebois, L., King, A.J., Crook, D.A., Adams, M., Unmack, P.J., Hoese, D.F. & Bertozzi, T. 2021. Unravelling the taxonomy and identification of a problematic group of benthic fishes from tropical lowland rivers (Gobiidae: Glossogobius). Journal of Fish Biology, 99, 87–100. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14701
Allan, H., Duncan, R.P., Unmack, P.J., White, D. & Lintermans, M. 2021. Reproductive ecology of a critically endangered alpine galaxiid. Journal of Fish Biology, 98, 622–633. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.14603
Smith, S., Brauer, C., Sasaki, M., Unmack, P.J., Guillot, G., Laporte, M., Bernatchez, L. & Beheregaray, L. 2020. Latitudinal variation in climate-associated genes imperils range-edge populations. Molecular Ecology, 29, 4337–4349. https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.15637
Majtánová, Z., Unmack, P.J., Prasongmaneerut, T., Shams, F.I., Srikulnath, K., Ráb, P. & Ezaz, T. 2020. Evidence of interspecific chromosomal diversification in rainbowfishes (Melanotaeniidae, Teleostei). Genes, 11(7), 818. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes11070818
Lintermans, M., et al. (17 authors). 2020. Big trouble for little fish: identifying Australian freshwater fishes in imminent risk of extinction. Pacific Conservation Biology, 26, 365–377. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC19053
Thiele, S., Adams, M., Hammer, M.P., Wedderburn, S., Whiterod, N., Unmack, P.J., Sasaki, M. & Beheregaray, L.B. 2020. Range-wide population genetics study informs on conservation translocations and reintroductions for the endangered Murray hardyhead (Craterocephalus fluviatilis). Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 30, 1959–1974. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.3408
Shelley, J.J., Swearer, S.E., Adams, M., Dempster, T., Le Feuvre, M.C., Hammer, M. & Unmack, P.J. 2020. Plio-Pleistocene sea-level changes drive speciation of freshwater fishes in north-western Australia. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 47, 1727–1738. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jbi.13856
Rochat, E.C., Blasco-Costa, I., Scholz, T. & Unmack, P.J. 2020. Molecular prospecting reveals a high diversity of metazoan parasites in carp gudgeons (Eleotridae: Hypseleotris spp.) from eastern Australia. Journal of Helminthology, 94, e146. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022149X20000280
Shelley, J.J., David, B.O., Thacker, C.E., Hicks, A.S., Jarvis, M.G. & Unmack, P.J. 2020. Phylogeography of the Cran’s bully Gobiomorphus basalis (Gobiiformes: Eleotridae) and an analysis of species boundaries within the New Zealand radiation of Gobiomorphus. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 130, 365–381. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blaa052
Furlan, E.M., Gruber, B., Attard, C.R.M., Wager, R.N.E., Kerezsy, A., Faulks, L.K., Beheregaray, L.B. & Unmack, P.J. 2020. Assessing the benefits and risks of translocations in depauperate species: a theoretical framework with empirical validation. Journal of Applied Ecology, 57, 831–841. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.1358
Hammer, M.P., Adams, M., Thacker, C.E., Johnson, J.B. & Unmack, P.J. 2020. Comparison of genetic structure in co-occurring freshwater eleotrids (Actinopterygii: Philypnodon) reveals cryptic species, likely translocation and regional conservation hotspots. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 139, 139, 106556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2019.106556
Hammer, M.P., Allen, G.R., Martin, K.C., Adams, M. & Unmack, P.J. 2019. Two new species of dwarf rainbowfishes (Atheriniformes: Melanotaeniidae) from northern Australia and southern New Guinea. Zootaxa, 4701(3), 301–234. http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4701.3.1
Cioffi, M.B., Ráb, P., Bertollo, L.A.C., Oliveira, E.A., Lavoué, S., Sember, A., Molina, W.F., Ezaz, T., Souza, F.H.S., Majtánová, Z., Liehr, T., Al-Rikabi, A.B.H., Viana, P., Feldberg, E., Yano, C.F., Unmack, P.J., Hatanaka, T., Tanomtong, A. & Perez, M.F. 2019. Deciphering the evolutionary history of Arowana fishes (Teleostei, Osteoglossiformes, Osteoglossidae): insight from comparative cytogenomics. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 20(17), 4296. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms20174296
Shelley, J.J., Unmack, P.J., Dempster, T., Le Feuvre, M.C. & Swearer, S.E. 2019. The Kimberley, north-western Australia, as a cradle of evolution and endemic biodiversity: an example using Grunters (Terapontidae). Journal of Biogeography, 46, 2420–2432. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.13682
Majtánová, Z., Moy, K.G., Unmack, P.J., Ráb, P. & Ezaz, T., 2019. Characterization of the karyotype and accumulation of repetitive sequences in Australian Darling hardyhead Craterocephalus amniculus (Atheriniformes, Teleostei). PeerJ, 7:e7347 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7347
Unmack, P.J., Young, M., Gruber, B., White, D., Kilian, A., Zhang, X. & Georges, A. 2019. Phylogeography and species delimitation of Cherax destructor (Decapoda: Parastacidae) using Genome-wide SNPs. Marine and Freshwater Research, 70, 857–869. https://doi.org/10.1071/MF18347
Unmack, P.J., Adams, M., Bylemans, J., Hardy, C.M., Hammer, M.P. & Georges, A. 2019. Perspectives on the clonal persistence of presumed ‘ghost’ genomes in unisexual or allopolyploid taxa arising via hybridization. Scientific Reports, 9(1), p.4730. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-40865-3
Moy, K., Brown, C., Lintermans, M., Duncan, R. & Unmack, P.J. 2019. Barriers to hybridisation and their conservation implications for a highly threatened Australian fish species. Ethology, 125, 142–152. https://doi.org/10.1111/eth.12837
Shelley, J.J., Le Feuvre, M.C., Hammer, M.P., Dempster, T., Unmack, P.J. & Swearer, S.E. 2019. A revision of the bioregionalisation of freshwater fish communities in the Australian Monsoonal Tropics. Ecology and Evolution, 9, 4568–4588. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5059
Radar, R.B., Unmack, P.J. Christensen, W.F. & Jiang, X. 2019. Connectivity of two species with contrasting dispersal abilities: a test of the isolated tributary hypothesis. Journal of Freshwater Ecology, 38,142–155. https://doi.org/10.1086/701671
Georges, A., Gruber, B., Pauly, G.B., White, D., Adams, M., Young, M.J., Kilian, A., Zhang, X., Shaffer, H.B. & Unmack, P.J. 2018. Genome-wide SNP markers breathe new life into phylogeography and species delimitation for the problematic short-necked turtles (Chelidae: Emydura) of eastern Australia. Molecular Ecology, 27, 5195–5213.
Allan, H., Unmack, P.J., Duncan, R.P. & Lintermans, M. 2018. Potential impacts of PIT tagging on a critically endangered small-bodied fish: a trial on the surrogate Mountain Galaxias. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, 147, 1078–1084.
Brauer, C.J., Unmack, P.J., Smith, S., Bernatchez, L. & Beheregaray, L.B. 2018. On the roles of landscape heterogeneity and environmental variation in determining population genomic structure in a dendritic system. Molecular Ecology, 27, 3484–3497.
Buckley, S.J., Domingos, F.M., Attard, C.R., Brauer, C.J., Sandoval-Castillo, J., Lodge, R., Unmack, P.J. & Beheregaray, L.B. 2018. Phylogenomic history of enigmatic pygmy perches: implications for biogeography, taxonomy and conservation. Royal Society Open Science, 5, 172125.
Shelley, J.J., Swearer, S.E., Adams, M., Dempster, T., Le Feuvre, M.C., Hammer, M.P. & Unmack, P.J. 2018. Cryptic biodiversity in the remote Kimberley region of northwestern Australia: a freshwater case study involving the terapontid grunters (Pisces, Actinopterygii, Percoidei, Terapontidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 127, 843–858.
García‐Díaz, P., Kerezsy, A., Unmack, P.J., Lintermans, M., Beatty, S.J., Butler, G.L., Freeman, R., Hammer, M.P., Hardie, S., Kennard, M.J. and Morgan, D.L., 2018. Transport pathways shape the biogeography of alien freshwater fishes in Australia. Diversity and Distributions, 24, 1405–1415.
Hammer, M.P., Allen, G.R., Martin, K.C., Adams, M., Ebner, B.C., Raadik, T.A. & Unmack, P.J. 2018. Revision of the Australian Wet Tropics endemic rainbowfish genus Cairnsichthys (Atheriniformes: Melanotaeniidae), with description of a new species. Zootaxa, 4413, 271–294.
Gruber, B., Unmack, P.J., Berry, O. & Georges, A. 2018. dartR: an R package to facilitate analysis of SNP data generated from reduced representation genome sequencing. Molecular Ecology Resources, 18, 691–699.
Attard, C.R.M., Brauer, C.J., Sandoval-Castillo, J., Faulks, L.K., Unmack, P.J., Gilligan, D,M. & Beheregaray, L.B. 2018. Ecological disturbance influences adaptive divergence despite high gene flow in golden perch (Macquaria ambigua): implications for management and resilience to climate change. Molecular Ecology, 27, 196–215.
Brauer, C.J., Unmack, P.J. & Beheregaray, L.B. 2017. Comparative ecological transcriptomics and the contribution of gene expression to the evolutionary potential of a threatened fish. Molecular Ecology, 26, 6841–6856.
Zhang, X., Unmack, P.J., Kuchling, G., Wang, Y. & Georges, A. 2017. Resolution of the enigmatic phylogenetic relationship of the critically endangered Western Swamp Tortoise Pseudemydura umbrina (Pleurodira: Chelidae) using a complete mitochondrial genome. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 115, 58–61.
Smith, G.R., Chow, J., Unmack, P.J., Markle, D.F. & Dowling, T.E. Evolution of the Rhinichthys osculus complex (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) in western North America. pp. 45–84, 17 figs., 5 tables, 5 maps and supplementary material. In: Fishes of the Mio-Pliocene Western Snake River Plain and vicinity. Miscellaneous Publications Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan, No. 204 no.2.
Beheregaray, L.B., Pfeiffer, L.V., Attard, C.R.M., Sandoval-Castillo, J., Domingos, F.M.C.B., Faulks, L.K., Gilligan, D,M. & Unmack, P.J. 2017. Genome-wide data delimits multiple climate-determined species ranges in a widespread Australian fish, the golden perch (Macquaria ambigua). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 111, 65–75.
Cook, B.D., Adams, M., Unmack, P.J., Burrows, D., Pusey, B.J., Perna, C. & Hughes, J.M. 2017. Phylogeography of the mouth-brooding freshwater fish Glossamia aprion (Apogonidae) in northern and eastern Australia: historical biogeography and cryptic speciation. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 121, 833–848.
Unmack, P.J., Sandoval-Castillo, J., Hammer, M.P., Adams, M., Raadik, T.R. & Beheregaray, L.B. 2017. Genome-wide SNPs resolve a key conflict between sequence and allozyme data to confirm another threatened candidate species of river blackfishes (Teleostei: Percichthyidae: Gadopsis). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 109, 415–420.
Pusey, B.J., Burrows, D., Kennard, M.J., Perna, C., Unmack, P.J., Allsop, Q. & Hammer, M.P. 2017. Freshwater fishes of northern Australia. Zootaxa, 4253, 1–104.
Page, T.J., Sternberg, D., Adams, M., Balcombe, S.R., Cook, B.D., Hammer, M.P., Hughes, J.,M. Woods, R.J. & Unmack, P.J. 2017. Accurate systematic frameworks are vital to advance ecological and evolutionary studies, with an example from Australian freshwater fish (Hypseleotris). Marine and Freshwater Research, 68, 1199–1207.
Radar, R.B., Unmack, P.J. & Moore, J.N. 2017. Population genetics and dispersal of the flatworm, Polycelis coronata: a test of the habitat stability hypothesis. Journal of Freshwater Ecology, 32, 179–192.
Lean, J., Hammer, M.P., Unmack, P.J., Adams, M., & Beheregaray, L.B. 2017. Landscape genetics informs mesohabitat preference and conservation priorities for a surrogate indicator species in a highly fragmented river system. Heredity, 118, 374–384.
Couch, A.J., Unmack, P.J., Dyer, F.J. & Lintermans, M. 2016. Who’s your mama? Riverine hybridisation of threatened freshwater Trout Cod and Murray Cod. PeerJ, 4:e2593 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.259
Cole, T.L., Hammer, M.P., Unmack, P.J., Teske, P.R., Brauer, C.J., Adams, M., & Beheregaray, L.B. 2016. Range-wide fragmentation in a threatened fish associated with post-European settlement modification in the Murray–Darling Basin, Australia. Conservation Genetics, 17, 1377–1391.
Faulks, L.K., Kerezsy, A., Unmack, P.J., Johnson, J.B. & Hughes, J.M. 2016. Going, going, gone? Loss of genetic diversity in two critically endangered Australian freshwater fishes, Scaturiginichthys vermeilipinnis and Chlamydogobius squamigenus, from Great Artesian Basin springs at Edgbaston, Queensland, Australia. Aquatic Conservation Marine And Freshwater Ecosystems, 27, 39–50.
Morgan, D.L., Beatty, S.J., Close, P.G., Allen, M.G, Unmack, P.J., Hammer, M.P. &.Adams, M. 2016. Resolving the taxonomy, range and ecology of biogeographically isolated and critically endangered populations of an Australian freshwater galaxiid, Galaxias truttaceus. Pacific Conservation Biology, 22, 350–359.
Allen, G.R., Unmack, P.J. & Hadiaty, R.K. 2016. Pseudomugil luminatus, a new species of blue-eye (Teleostei: Pseudomugilidae) from southern New Guinea. Fishes of Sahul, 29, 950–961.
Sasaki, M., Hammer, M.P., Unmack, P.J., Adams, M. & Beheregaray, L.B. 2016. Population genetics of a widely distributed small freshwater fish with varying conservation concerns: the southern purple-spotted gudgeon, Mogurnda adspersa. Conservation Genetics, 17, 875–889.
Muñoz-Ramírez, C., Unmack P.J., Habit, E., Johnson J.B. & Victoriano, P. 2016. Low genetic diversity in Diplomystes camposensis, an endemic and endangered catfish from south Chile. Zoological Studies, 55, DOI:10.6620/ZS.2016.55-16.
Allen, G.R., Unmack, P.J. & Hadiaty, R.K. 2016. The goldiei group of rainbowfishes (Melanotaeniidae) from the Birds Neck region of New Guinea (Papua and West Papua Provinces, Indonesia) with descriptions of five new species and recognition of Melanotaenia dumasi Weber. Aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology, 22, 1–32.
Davis, A.M., Unmack, P.J., Vari, R.P. & Betancur-R., R. 2016. Herbivory promotes lineage diversification and dental disparification in grunters (Teleostei: Terapontidae), a freshwater adaptive radiation. The American Naturalist, 187, 320–333.
Mossop, K.D., Adams, M., Unmack, P.J., Smith, K.L., Wong, B.B.M. & Chapple, D.G. 2015. Dispersal in the desert: ephemeral water drives connectivity and phylogeography of an arid-adapted fish. Journal of Biogeography, 42, 2374–2388.
Gonzalez-Orozco, C.E., Mishler, B.D., Miller, J.T., Laffan, S.W., Knerr, N., Unmack, P.J., Georges, A., Thornhill, A.H., Rosauer, D.F. & Gruber, B. 2015. Assessing biodiversity and endemism using phylogenetic methods across multiple taxonomic groups. Ecology and Evolution, 5, 5177–5192.
Hammer, M.P., Goodman, T.S., Adams, M., Faulks, L.F., Unmack, P.J., Whiterod, N.S. & Walker, K.F. 2015. Regional extinction, rediscovery and rescue of a freshwater fish from a highly modified environment: the need for rapid response. Biological Conservation, 192, 91–100.
Morgan, D.L., Unmack, P.J., Beatty, S.J., Ebner, B.C., Allen, M.G, Keleher, J., Donaldson, J.A. & Murphy, J. 2015. An overview of the ‘freshwater fishes’ of Western Australia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Western Australia, 97, 263–278.
Allen, G.R., Hadiaty, R.K., Unmack, P.J. & Erdmann, M.V. 2015. Rainbowfishes (Melanotaenia: Melanotaeniidae) of the Aru Islands, Indonesia with descriptions of five new species and redescription of M. patoti Weber and M. senckenbergianus Weber. Aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology, 21, 66–108.
Allen, G.R., Unmack, P.J. & Hadiaty, R.K. 2015. Melanotaenia rubrivittata, a new species of rainbowfish (Melanotaeniidae) from northwestern Papua Province, Indonesia. Fishes of Sahul, 29, 846–858.
Campanella, D., Hughes, L.C., Unmack, P.J., Bloom, D.D., Piller, K.R. & Orti, G. 2015. Multi-locus fossil-calibrated phylogeny of Atheriniformes (Teleostei, Ovalentaria). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 86, 8–23.
Echelle, A.A., Schwemm, M.R., Lang, N.J., Nagle, B.C., Simons, A.M., Unmack, P.J., Fisher, W.L. & Hoagstrom, C.W. 2014. Molecular systematics and historical biogeography of the Nocomis biguttatus species group (Teleostei: Cyprinidae): muclear and mitochondrial introgression and a cryptic Ozark species. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 81, 109-119.
Allen, G.R., Unmack, P.J. & Hadiaty, R.K. 2014. Three new species of rainbowfishes (Melanotaeniidae) from the Birds Head Peninsula, West Papua Province, Indonesia. Aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology, 20, 139-158.
Davis, A.M., Unmack, P.J., Pusey, B.J., Pearson, R.G. & Morgan, D.L. 2014. Evidence for a multi-peak adaptive landscape in the evolution of trophic morphology in terapontid fishes. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 113, 623-634.
Zúñiga-Vega, J.J., Ingley, S.J., Unmack, P.J. & Johnson, J.B. 2014. Do freshwater ecoregions and continental shelf width predict patterns of historical gene flow in the freshwater fish Poecilia butleri? Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 112, 399-416.
Unmack, P.J., Dowling, T.E., Laitinen, N.J., Secor, C.L., Mayden, R.L., Shiozawa, D.K. & Smith, G.R. 2014. Influence of introgression and geological processes on phylogenetic relationships of western North American mountain suckers (Pantosteus, Catostomidae). PLoS One, 9(3): e90061. Data available at Trees available at TreeBASE.
Muñoz-Ramírez C.P., Unmack P.J., Habit, E., Johnson J.B., Cussac V.E. & Victoriano, P. 2014. Phylogeography of the ancient catfish family Diplomystidae: biogeographic, systematic, and conservation implications. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 73, 146-160.
Huey, J.A., Cook, B.D., Unmack, P.J. & Hughes, J.M. 2014. Broadscale phylogeographic structure of five freshwater fishes across the Australian Monsoonal Tropics. Freshwater Science. 33, 273-287.
Cook, B.D., Unmack, P.J., Huey, J.A. & Hughes, J.M. 2014. Do common disjunct populations of freshwater fishes in northern Australia form from the same biogeographic events? Freshwater Science. 33, 263-272.
Hammer, M.P., Unmack, P.J., Adams, M., Raadik, T.A. & Johnson, J.B. 2014. A multi-gene molecular assessment of cryptic biodiversity in the iconic freshwater blackfishes (Teleostei: Percichthyidae: Gadopsis) of southeastern Australia. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 111, 521-540. Data available at Trees available at TreeBASE.
Davis, A.M., Unmack, P.J., Pusey, B.J., Pearson, R.G. & Morgan, D.L. 2014. Effects of an adaptive zone shift on morphological and ecological diversification in terapontid fishes. Evolutionary Ecology, 28, 205-227.
Allen, G.R., Hadiaty, R.K. & Unmack, P.J. 2014. Melanotaenia flavipinnis, a new species of rainbowfish (Melanotaeniidae) from Misool Island, West Papua Province, Indonesia. Aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology, 20, 35-52.
Georges, A., Zhang, X., Unmack, P.J., Reid, B.N., Le, M. & Mccord, W.P. 2014. Phylogeography of an endemic New Guinea freshwater turtle reflects geological events during the Miocene. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 111, 192-208. Data available at
Brauer, C.J., Unmack, P.J., Hammer, M.P., Adams, M. & Beheregaray, L.B. 2013. Catchment-scale conservation units identified for the threatened Yarra pygmy perch (Nannoperca obscura) in highly modified river systems. PLoS ONE. 8(12), e82953. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0082953
Unmack, P.J., Hammer, M.P., Adams, M., Johnson, J.B. & Dowling, T.E. 2013. The role of continental shelf width in determining freshwater phylogeographic patterns in southeastern Australian pygmy perches (Teleostei: Percichthyidae). Molecular Ecology. 22, 1683-1699. Data available at Trees available at TreeBASE.
Davis, A.M., Unmack, P.J., Pusey, B.J., Pearson, R.G. & Morgan, D.L. 2013. Ontogenetic development of intestinal length and relationships to diet in an Australasian fish family (Terapontidae). BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13, 53. Data available at
Unmack, P.J., Allen, G.R. & Johnson, J.B. 2013. Phylogeny and biogeogeography of rainbowfishes (Teleostei: Melanotaeniidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 67, 15-27. Data available at Trees available at TreeBASE.
Allen, G.R. & Unmack, P.J. 2012. A new species of rainbowfish (Chilatherina: Melanotaeniidae), from the Sepik River system of Papua New Guinea. Aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology. 18, 227-237.
Unmack, P.J., Bagley, J.C., Adams, M., Hammer, M.P. & Johnson, J.B. 2012. Molecular phylogeny and phylogeography of the Australian freshwater fish genus Galaxiella, with an emphasis on dwarf galaxias (G. pusilla). PLoS ONE. 7(6), e38433. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0038433 Data available at Trees available at TreeBASE.
Davis, A.M., Unmack, P.J., Pusey, B.J., Johnson, J.B. & Pearson, R.G. 2012. Marine-freshwater transitions are associated with the evolution of dietary diversification in terapontid grunters (Teleostei: Terapontidae). Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 25, 1163-1179. Data available at Trees available at TreeBASE.
Near, T.J., Sandel, M., Kuhn, K.L., Unmack, P.J., Wainwright, P.C. & Smith, W.M. 2012. Nuclear gene inferred phylogenies resolve the relationships of the enigmatic pygmy sunfishes, Elassoma (Teleostei: Percomorpha). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 63, 388-395.
Bloom, D.B., Unmack, P.J., Gosztonyi, A.E., Piller K.R. & Lovejoy, N.R. 2012. It's a family matter: molecular phylogenetics of Atheriniformes and the polyphyly of the surf silversides (Family: Notocheiridae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 62, 1025-1030. Data available at
Unmack, P.J., Barriga, J.P., Battini, M.A., Habit, E.M. & Johnson, J.B. 2012. Phylogeography of the catfish Hatcheria macraei reveals a negligible role of drainage divides in structuring populations. Molecular Ecology. 21, 942-959. Data available at Trees available at TreeBASE.
McClain, C.R., Taylor Gullet, T., Ricketts, J.J. & Unmack, P.J. 2012. Increased energy promotes size-based niche availability in marine mollusks. Evolution. 66, 2204-2215. Data available at
Barber, B.R., Unmack, P.J., Pérez-Losada, M., Johnson, J.B. & Crandall K.A. 2011. Different processes lead to identical patterns: a test of codivergence and the role of sea-level and climate changes in shaping a southern temperate species assemblage. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 11: 343.
Unmack, P.J., Hammer, M., Adams, M. & Dowling, T.E. 2011. A phylogenetic analysis of pygmy perches (Teleostei: Percichthyidae) with an assessment of the major historical influences on aquatic biogeography in southern Australia. Systematic Biology. 60: 797-812. Trees available at TreeBASE.
Adams, M., Wedderburn, S.D., Unmack, P.J., Hammer, M.P., & Johnson, J.B. 2011. Congeneric assessment demonstrates the linked genetic histories of two threatened fishes (Atherinidae: Craterocephalus) in Australia's Murray-Darling Basin. Conservation Biology. 25: 767-776. Trees available at TreeBASE.
Unmack, P.J. & Dowling, T.E. 2010. Biogeography of the genus Craterocephalus (Teleostei: Atherinidae) in Australia. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 55: 968-984.
Cashner, R.C., Matthews, W.J., Marsh-Matthews, E., Unmack, P.J. & Cashner, F.M. 2010. Recognition and redescription of a distinctive stoneroller from the Southern Interior Highlands. Copeia. 2010: 300-311.
Hammer, M.P., Unmack, P.J., Adams, M., Walker, K.F. & Johnson, J.B. 2010. Phylogeographic structure in the threatened Yarra pygmy perch Nannoperca obscura (Teleostei: Percichthyidae) has major implications for declining populations. Conservation Genetics. 11: 213-223. doi:10.1007/s10592-009-0024-9
Unmack, P.J., Habit, E.M. & Johnson, J.B. 2009. New records of Hatcheria macraei from Chilean Province. Gayana. 73: 102-110.
Unmack, P.J., Bennin, A., Habit, E.M., Victoriano, P.F. & Johnson, J.B. 2009. Impact of ocean barriers, topography, and glaciation on phylogeography of the catfish Trichomycterus areolatus (Teleostei: Trichomycteridae) in Chile. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 97: 876-892.
Allen, G.R., Unmack, P.J. & Hadiaty, R.K. 2008. Two new species of rainbowfishes (Melanotaenia: Melanotaeniidae), from western New Guinea (Papua, Barat Province, Indonesia). Aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology. 14: 209-224.
Thacker, C., Unmack, P.J., Matsui, L., Duong, P. & Huang, E. 2008. Phylogeography of Philypnodon species (Teleostei: Eleotridae) across eastern Australia: comparative evolution of a sister pair. Journal of the Linnean Society. 95: 175-192.
Abell, R. et al. 2008. Freshwater ecoregions of the world: a new map of biogeographic units for freshwater biodiversity conservation. Bioscience. 58: 403-414.
Allen, G.R. & Unmack, P.J. 2008. A new species of rainbowfish (Melanotaenia: Melanotaeniidae), from Batanta Island, western New Guinea. Aqua, Journal of Ichthyology and Aquatic Biology. 13: 109-120.
Brown, D.E., Unmack, P.J. & Brennan, T.C. 2007. Digitized map of biotic communities for plotting and comparing distributions of North American animals. The Southwestern Naturalist. 52: 610-616.
Unmack, P.J. & Wager, R. 2007. Threatened fishes of the world, Chlamydogobius micropterus. Environmental Biology of Fishes. 80: 489-490.
Thacker, C., Unmack, P.J., Matsui, L. & Rifenbark, N. 2007. Comparative phylogeography of five sympatric Hypseleotris species (Teleostei: Eleotridae) in southeastern Australia reveals a complex pattern of drainage basin exchanges with little congruence across species. Journal of Biogeography. 34: 1518-1533.
Hammer, M., Adams, M., Unmack, P.J. & Walker, K.F. 2007. Retropinna in retrospect: additional taxa and significant genetic sub-structure redefine conservation approaches for Australian smelts (Pisces: Retropinnidae). Marine and Freshwater Research. 58: 327-341.
Fairfax, R., Fensham, R., Wager, R., Brooks, S., Webb, A. & Unmack, P. 2007. Recovery of the red-finned blue-eye: an endangered fish from springs of the Great Artesian Basin. Wildlife Research. 34: 156-166.
Sheller, F.J., Fagan, W.F. & Unmack, P.J. 2006. Using survival analysis to study translocation success in the Gila topminnow (Poeciliopsis occidentalis). Ecological Applications. 16: 1771-1784.
Fagan, W.F., Kennedy, C. & Unmack, P.J. 2005. Quantifying rarity, losses, and risks for lower Colorado River Basin fishes: implications for conservation listing. Conservation Biology. 19: 1872-1882.
Fagan, W.F., Kennedy, C., Aumann, C. & Unmack, P.J. 2005. Rarity, fragmentation and the scale-dependence of extinction risk in desert fishes. Ecology. 86: 34-41.
Thacker, C. & Unmack, P.J. 2005. Phylogeny and biogeography of the eleotrid genus Hypseleotris (Teleostei: Gobioidei: Eleotridae), with redescription of H. cyprinoides. Records of the Australian Museum. 57: 1-13.
Wager, R. & Unmack, P. J. 2004. Threatened fishes of the world, Scaturiginichthys vermeilipinnis. Environmental Biology of Fishes. 70: 300.
Unmack, P.J. & Fagan, W.F. 2004. Convergence of differentially-invaded systems toward invader-dominance: time-lagged invasions as a predictor in desert fish communities. Biological Invasions. 6: 233-243.
Fagan, W., Unmack, P.J., Burgess, C. & Minckley, W.L. 2002. Rarity, fragmentation, and extinction risk in desert fishes. Ecology. 83: 3250-3256.
Unmack, P.J. 2001. Biogeography of Australian freshwater fishes. Journal of Biogeography. 28: 1053-1089.
Unmack, P.J. 2001. Fish persistence and fluvial geomorphology in central Australia.Journal of Arid Environments. 49: 653-659.
Unmack, P.J. 2001. Designation of a lectotype for Porochilus argenteus (Zietz 1896) (Osteichthyes: Plotosidae). Records of the South Australian Museum. 34: 57-59.
Books & book chapters
Moy, K.G., Hammer, M.P., Martin, K.C., Ebner, B.C., Brown, C. & Unmack, P.J. 2021. Conservation introductions of the Malanda Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia sp.) in the Wet Tropics Bioregion, Australia. Pp: 21–25. In Global Reintroduction Perspectives: 2021. Ed. Soorae, P.S. IUCN/SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group & Environment Agency, Abu-Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Moy, K.G., Schaffer, J., Lintermans, M. & Unmack, P.J. 2018. Conservation introductions of the Running River rainbowfish into Deception and Puzzle Creeks, Australia. Pp: 34–37. In Global Reintroduction Perspectives: 2018. Ed. Soorae, P.S. IUCN/SSC Reintroduction Specialist Group & Environment Agency, Abu-Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Shiozawa, D. K., Evans, R.P., Houston, D. D. & Unmack, P.J. 2018. Geographic variation, isolation, and evolution of cutthroat trout with comments on future directions for management and research. Pp. 129–190. In: Trotter, P., Bisson, P., Schultz, L. & Roper, B., eds, Cutthroat Trout: evolutionary biology and taxonomy. American Fisheries Society, Special Publication 36, Bethesda, Maryland.
Unmack, P.J. 2013. Biogeography. Pp: 25-48. In The Ecology of Australian Freshwater Fishes. Eds. Humphries, P. and Walker, K.F. CSIRO Publishing.
Fagan, W.F., Grant, E.H.C., Lynch, H.J., Goldberg, E.C. & Unmack, P.J. 2009. Riverine landscapes: ecology for an alternative geometry. Pp: 33-48. In Spatial Ecology. Eds. Cantrell, R.S., Cosner, C. & Ruan, S. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida.
Unmack, P.J. & Minckley, W.L. 2008. The demise of desert springs. Pp: 11-33. In Aridland Springs in North America, Ecology and Conservation. Eds. Stevens, L.E. & Meretsky, V.J. University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona.
Kingsford, R.T., Georges, A. & Unmack, P.J. 2006. Vertebrates of desert rivers: meeting the challenges of spatial and temporal unpredictability. Pp: 154-200. In Ecology of Desert Rivers. Ed. R.T. Kingsford. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Wager, R. & Unmack, P.J. 2000. Fishes of the Lake Eyre Catchment of Central Australia. Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Brisbane. 88 pp.
Minckley, W.L. & Unmack, P.J. 2000. Western springs: their faunas, and threats to their existence. Pp: 52-53. In: Freshwater Ecoregions of North America. Eds. Abell, R.A., Olson, D.M., Dinerstein, E., Hurley, P.T. et al. Island Press, Washington DC.
Contract reports
Unmack, P.J. 2002. Arizona State University GIS Manual For Use With the Lower Colorado Basin Fish Database. Final Report to US Bureau of Reclamation, Phoenix Area Office, Contract No. 02PG321016. Biology Department, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona. www.peter.unmack.net/gis/fish/colorado
Natural history articles
Unmack, P.J. 2024. Magnificent Blue-eyes. Fishes of Sahul 38(2), 2111–2126.
Unmack, P.J. 2024. How to bring Smelt home alive. Fishes of Sahul 38(1), 2104–2108.
Unmack, P.J. 2023. Salt, your next best friend. Fishes of Sahul 37(2), 2058–2060.
Unmack, P.J. & Scharpf, C. 2023. Fish in Focus: Drysdale Gudgeon Hypseleotris notata (Eleotridae). Fishes of Sahul 37(2), 2073–2074.
Unmack, P.J. 2022. Fish in Focus: Goldie Rainbowfish Melanotaenia goldiei (Melanotaeniidae). Fishes of Sahul 36(1), 1850–1854.
Lintermans, M., Raadik, T.A. & Unmack, P.J. 2021. Taking stock of Stocky’s: the discovery of a second population of the threatened Galaxias tantangara in the upper Murrumbidgee catchment. Fishes of Sahul 35(4), 1812–1826.
O’Reilly, L. & Unmack P.J. 2021. The great debate: bags vs buckets. Fishes of Sahul 35(3), 1787–1788.
Martin, G., Briggs, G., Unmack, P.J. & Scharpf, C. 2021. Fish in focus: Twospine Blackfish Gadopsis bispinosa (Gadopsidae). Fishes of Sahul 35(3), 1789–1794.
Martin, K., Hammer, M.P. & Unmack P.J. 2021. New locality records for carp gudgeons (Hypseleotris spp) in the Queensland Wet Tropics. Fishes of Sahul 35(2), 1745–1749.
Unmack P.J. & Hammer, M.P. 2021. A range extension into the Gulf of Carpentaria for Midgley’s Carp Gudgeon. Fishes of Sahul 35(2), 1750–1752.
Cousins, J., Briggs, G., Unmack, P.J. & Scharpf, C. 2021. Fish in focus: Poreless Gudgeon Oxyeleotris nullipora (Eleotridae). Fishes of Sahul 35(2), 1753–1766.
Martin, G., Unmack, P.J. & Scharpf, C. 2020. Fish in focus: Congolli Pseudaphritis urvillii (Pseudaphritidae). Fishes of Sahul 34(4), 1676–1688.
Cousins, J., Unmack, P.J. & Scharpf, C. 2020. Fish in focus: Sorong Rainbowfish Melanotaenia fredericki (Melanotaeniidae). Fishes of Sahul 34(3), 1637–1640.
Moy, K.G., Jones, M. & Unmack, P.J. 2020. Dust, ash, blackwater and mud: what have they done to my Darling Hardyhead? Fishes of Sahul 34(2), 1550–1567.
Moy, K.G., Wilson, D., Briggs, G., Hansen, B., Unmack, P.J. & Scharpf, C. 2020. Fish in foscus: Craterocephalus “stercusmuscarum” group species (Atherinidae). Fishes of Sahul 34(2), 1583–1608.
Gauci, P, Lange, G., Wilson, D., Briggs, G., Unmack, P.J. & Scharpf, C. 2020. Fish in focus: Blueback Blue-eye Pseudomugil cyanodorsalis (Pseudomugilidae). Fishes of Sahul 34(1), 1540–1548.
Shoesmith, D, Romanowksi, N., Briggs, G., Unmack, P.J. & Scharpf, C. 2019. Fish in focus: Spotted Galaxias Galaxias truttaceus (Galaxiidae). Fishes of Sahul 33(4), 1509–1518.
Tappin, A.R. Briggs, G., Stanton, M., Unmack, P.J. & Scharpf, C. 2019. Fish in focus: Pygmy Rainbowfish Melanotaenia pygmaea (Melanotaeniidae). Fishes of Sahul 33(3), 1484–1490.
Lamin, C., Unmack, P.J. & Scharpf, C. 2019. Fish in Focus: Western Pygmy Perch Nannoperca vittata (Percichthyidae). Fishes of Sahul, 33(2), 1440–1446.
Unmack, P.J. 2018. Rains of fishes: real or myth in Outback Australia? Fishes of Sahul, 32(3), 1303–1305.
Briggs, G., Unmack, P.J., Hammer, M. & Scharpf, C. 2018. Fish in focus: Central Australian Mogurnda species (Eleotridae). Fishes of Sahul, 32(3), 1324–1334.
Moy, K.G. & Unmack, P.J. 2017. Update on saving the Running River Rainbowfish – new populations established and going well!. Fishes of Sahul. 31(4), 1189–1197.
Briggs, G., Unmack, P.J., Stanton, M. & Scharpf, C. 2017. Fish in focus: Marjorie’s Hardyhead Craterocephalus marjoriae (Atherinidae). Fishes of Sahul. 31(4), 1205–1211.
Lenagan, J., Unmack, P.J., Hansen, B. & Scharpf, C. 2017. Fish in focus: Peacock Gudgeon Tateurndina ocellicauda (Eleotridae). Fishes of Sahul. 31(3), 1175–1180.
Tappin, A., Unmack, P.J., O’Reilly, L., Briggs, G., Hansen, B., Stanton, M. & Scharpf, C. 2017. Fish in foscus: Crimson-spotted Rainbowfish Melanotaenia duboulayi (Melanotaeniidae). Fishes of Sahul. 31(2), 1123–1141.
Unmack, P.J., Sambell, B., Wilson, D., Lach, M. & Scharpf, C. 2017. Fish in Focus: Neosilurus hyrtlii, Hyrtl’s Catfish (Plotosidae). Fishes of Sahul. 31(1): 1081–1093.
Unmack, P.J., Martin, K.C., Hammer, M.P., Ebner, B., Moy, K. & Brown C. 2016. Malanda Gold: the tale of a unique rainbowfish from the Atherton Tablelands, now on the verge of extinction. Fishes of Sahul. 30(4): 1039–1054.
Moores, G., Lenagan, J., Unmack, P.J., Martin, K.C. & Scharpf, C. 2016. Fish in focus: Snakehead Gudgeon Giuris margaritacea (Eleotridae). Fishes of Sahul. 30(4), 1061 1066.
Unmack, P.J. 2016. Update on saving Running River Rainbowfish. Fishes of Sahul. 30(3): 1025–1032.
Unmack, P.J., Hansen, B., Briggs, G., Stanton, M., Scharpf, C. & Gill, A.. 2016. Fish in Focus: Empire Gudgeon Hypseleotris compressa (Eleotridae). Fishes of Sahul. 30(3): 1033–1037.
Unmack, P.J. & Hammer, M.P. 2015. Burdekin Rainbowfish on the verge of disappearing from Running River! Fishes of Sahul. 29(4): 933–937.
Unmack, P.J. & Hammer, M.P. 2015. Burdekin Rainbowfish on the verge of disappearing from Running River! Amazonas Magazine. 5(1): 8–11.
Unmack, P.J., Sjöberg, J.C., Ward, D.L., Parmenter, S. & Muller, B. 2011. Aquarists and fisheries managers: building bridges to fill knowledge gaps on native fishes. American Currents. 36(4): 7-9.
Unmack, P.J. 2007. The Batanta and Waigeo rainbowfishes, further clarified. Fishes of Sahul. 21: 334-336.
Unmack, P.J. 2005. The changing role of aquarists in aquatic convervation. American Currents. 31(2): 6-8.
Unmack, P.J. 2002. Darwin rainbows. Rainbowfish populations with unusual colour varieties within the range of Melanotaenia australis, with miscellaneous observations on other fishes in the Darwin area. Fishes of Sahul. 16(3): 854-863.
Unmack, P.J. 2000. The genus Hypseleotris in southeastern Australia: its identification and breeding biology. Fishes of Sahul. 14(1): 645-657.
Unmack, P.J. 1996. The unique Cooper Creek catfish from central Australia. Fishes of Sahul. 10(2): 460-464.
Unmack, P.J. 1995. Desert fishes Down Under. Proceedings of the Desert Fishes Council 1994. 26: 71-95.
Unmack, P.J. & Paras, G. 1995. The dwarf galaxias around Melbourne, going, going, nearly gone. Fishes of Sahul. 9(1): 398-400.
Unmack, P.J. 1992. Victorian pigmy perches. Fishes of Sahul. 7(3): 321-323.
Unmack, P.J. 1992. Further observations on the conservation status of the redfinned blue-eye. A.N.G.F.A. Bulletin. 12: 8-9.
Ivantsoff, W., Unmack, P.J., Saeed, B. & Crowley, L.E.L.M. 1991. A redfinned blue-eye, a new species and genus of the family Pseudomugilidae from central Western Queensland. Fishes of Sahul. 6(4): 277-282.
Unmack, P.J. & Brumley, C. 1991. Initial observations on the spawning and conservation status of the redfinned blue-eye, (Scaturiginichthys vermeilipinnis). Fishes of Sahul. 6(4): 282-284.
Websites
Unmack, P.J. Australian desert fishes, via the Desert Fishes Council, www.desertfishes.org/australia with over 50 separate files and photos. Established 1995.
Webster, T.J. & Unmack, P.J. Desert Springs Action Committee, www.pupfish.net/dsac with extensive information on Ash Meadows habitats, and aquatic inhabitants as well as historical photographic time series of changes to the springs and summaries of our bi-annual trips undertaking desert fish conservation. Established 1999.
Aarn & Unmack, P.J. Gambusia control network, www.gambusia.net with considerable background on Gambusia, problems associated with their introduction and potential avenues for control. Established 1999.
Brown, D.E., Unmack, P.J. & Brennan, T.C. Biotic Communities of North America, www.peter.unmack.net/biotic/ with information and GIS data available for download. Established 2008.
Unmack, P.J. Personal website, www.peter.unmack.net with information on my biogeographic research and Australian fishes in general, hundreds of photos from various field trips, a GIS dataset on southwestern USA fishes and information on fishes of Aravaipa Creek. Established 2000.
Unmack, P.J. Species Bank, Australian Department of the Environment and Heritage, contributed text, distribution maps and photographs to 50 freshwater fish species accounts. Fish pages were established in 2006. http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/species-bank/sbank-browse.pl?alt=Y&restrict=Y&id=43
Unmack, P.J. Australian content within the Freshwater Ecoregions of the World webpage. Pages were established in 2009. www.feow.org
Popular publications
Unmack, P.J. 2010. NANFA convention 2010: Part 2: North Beyond Las Vegas. American Currents. 36(1): 6-8.
Unmack, P.J. 2010. 2010 convention teaser: the Nevadan desert and Ash Meadows. American Currents. 35(4): 23-24. Similar version reprinted in Journal of the American Killifish Association. 43(2): 60-64.
Unmack, P.J. 2004. Seining downstream and other tips. American Currents. 29(4): 11-12.
Unmack, P.J. 1998. A spring conservation trip to Nevada. American Currents. 24(3): 15.
Unmack, P.J. 1997. Arizona / Nevada regional report: Spring 1997. American Currents. 23(3): 17-20.
Unmack, P.J. 1997. Australian native fishes. Aquarium Fish Magazine. 9(11): 30-39.
Unmack, P.J. 1996. Book review: ACN Captive Breeding Guidelines. Fishkeepers Advocate. 3(3): 1, 4-5.
Unmack, P.J. 1996. Vinegar eels: separating myths from facts or how the hell do you get the little suckers out of their culture. The Rainbow Times. 9(3): 15-17. Similar version reprinted in Aquarium Fish Magazine. 1999. 11(6): 74-76.
Unmack, P.J. 1995. The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow: a weekend at the Greater Pittsburgh Aquarium Society conference with the 'bowheads. The Rainbow Times. 9(2): 12-15.
Unmack, P.J. 1995. Threats to fishes in desert springs. Fishkeepers Advocate. 2(2): 1, 3, 5-8.
Lawson, J.E. & Unmack, P.J. 1995. Field Trip to Railroad Valley, Nevada. Fishkeepers Advocate. 2(1): 1-3, 12. Reprinted in American Currents. 1996. 22(1): 15-18.
Unmack, P.J. 1995. Book review-Battle Against Extinction. Fishkeepers Advocate. 2(1): 4-5. Reprinted in American Currents. 1996. 22(2): 8-10.
Unmack, P.J. 1995. Book review-the South Australian Aquarium Society 1918-1932, the First Fifteen Years. An Official History. Sacramento Aquarium Society magazine.
Unmack, P.J. 1994. Australian native fishes. The Rainbow Times. 8(4): 9-14, 16. Similar version reprinted in Aquarium Fish Magazine. 1996. 9(11): 30-39.
Unmack, P.J. 1994. Wolffia: great food for rainbowfish. The Rainbow Times. 8(3): 15-16.
Unmack, P.J. 1994. Galaxias fuscus. A threat to trout fishing? Local Content. 48: 2.
Unmack, P.J. 1989. Aquarium notes on some galaxiids. A.N.G.F.A. Bulletin. 1: 7.
2017-2018 Australian Research Council LIEF Project: Access to the National Computing Infrastructure peak supercomputing facility. With 15 authors. $900,000
2015-2017 Australian Research Council Discovery Project: Sexual parasitism in carp gudgeons: evolutionary origins, comparative genomics, and establishing a future animal model. With co-investigator M. Adams. $344,600
2014-2017 Australian Research Council Linage Project: Drivers of fine scale genetic spatial structuring in aquatic organisms. With co-investigators B. Gruber, D. White, A. Georges and A. Kilian. $269,692
2007-2008 All Catfish Species Inventory. Australian plotosid catfishes: an examination of species diversity. With co-PI's J. Johnson, M. Adams and G. Allen. $10,000
2007 All Catfish Species Inventory. A catfish survey of Papua New Guinea. With co-PI's J. Armbruster and R. Betancur. $17,000
2002-2005 Los Angeles County Museum, via the W.M. Keck Foundation and R.M. Parsons Foundation. Patterns of freshwater invasion from marine ancestors in
2002
2001
2000 Associated
2000 Sigma Xi, Grant in aid of research. Biogeography of Percichthyidae (Osteichthyes): using fishes to test biogeographic hypotheses. $600
2000 Sigma Xi,
1999
1997 Arizona State University Biology Department. Australian field work as part of my Masters degree. $500
Aqua, International Journal of Ichthyology, Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, Austral Ecology, Australian Zoologist, Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation, Biological Invasions, Diversity and Distributions, Ecography, Ecology, Evolutionary Ecology, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, Hydrobiologia, International Journal of Limnology, International Journal of Molecular Science, Journal of Applied Ecology, Journal of Biogeography, Journal of Fish Biology, Journal of New Zealand Freshwater and Marine Research, Journal of the North American Benthological Society, Marine and Freshwater Research, Methods in Ecology and Evolution, Molecular Ecology, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, National Science Foundation, Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Research Letters in Ecology, Southwestern Naturalist, Systematic Biology, Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, Western North American Naturalist, Wildlife Research, Zootaxa.
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists (1994-), Conservation Committee (2001-)
Aquatic Conservation Network (1992-2001), Email Working Group, Chairperson (1999-2001)
Australian and New Guinea Fishes Association (1985-), Executive Committee (1989-1993)
Australian Society for Fish Biology (1989-)
DeepFin (2004-), Steering Committee (2004-2009)
Desert Fishes Council (1994-)
Native Fish Australia (1985-), Executive Committee (1989-1993)
North American Native Fishes Association (1994-), Executive Committee (1998-2003)
Society of Systematic Biologists (1998-)
Trout Unlimited (1994-2013)
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Chatanooga, TN, August 2014.
Phylogeny, biogeography and evolution of the temperate perches (Percichthyidae). Unmack, Bagley, Davis, Hammer, Adams & Johnson.
Comparative phylogeography of four aquatic species from the Murray-Darling Basin. (poster) Unmack, Young, Gruber, Killian & Georges.
Australian Society for Fish Biology / Australian Society for Limnology, Darwin, July 2014.
Phylogeny, biogeography and evolution of the temperate perches (Percichthyidae). Unmack, Bagley, Davis, Hammer, Adams & Johnson.
Comparative phylogeography of four aquatic species from the Murray-Darling Basin. (poster) Unmack, Young, Gruber, Killian & Georges.
International Biogeography Society Early Career Conference 2014, Canberra, January 2014.
Using GIS to predict how changes in sea level potentially influence phylogeographic patterns in freshwater and coastal marine fishes. Unmack.
Australian Society for Limnology, Canberra, December 2013.
Origins of Australian freshwater fishes. Unmack.
Systematics without Borders Conference 2013, Sydney, December 2013.
Origins of Australian freshwater fishes. Unmack.
Western Australian Freshwater Fish Symposium, Perth, November 2013.
Origins of Australian freshwater fishes. Unmack.
Australian Society for Fish Biology, Hamilton, New Zealand, August 2013.
Murray-Darling Basin fishes: phylogenetic relationships and distributional patterns. Unmack, Gonzalez-Orozco, Hammer, Adams, Gruber & Georges.
Southeastern Fishes Council, Chattanooga, TN, November 2011.
Using GIS to predict population connectivity in southeastern USA rivers based on continental shelf width. Unmack.
Using GIS to predict how changes in sea level potentially influence phylogeographic patterns in freshwater and coastal marine fishes. (poster) Unmack.
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Minneapolis, MN, July 2011.
Using GIS to predict population connectivity in southeastern USA rivers based on continental shelf width. Unmack.
Using GIS to predict how changes in sea level potentially influence phylogeographic patterns in freshwater and coastal marine fishes. (poster) Unmack.
Evolution, Norman, OK, June 2011.
Using GIS to predict how changes in sea level potentially influence phylogeographic patterns in freshwater and coastal marine fishes. (poster) Unmack.
Desert Fishes Council, Moab, UT, November 2010.
A mitochondrial DNA phylogeny of the mountain suckers, Pantosteus. Unmack, Shiozawa, Secor, Smith, Mayden, & Dowling.
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Providence, RI, July 2010.
A mitochondrial DNA phylogeny of Oncorhynchus clarkii, Cutthroat Trout. Unmack, Shiozawa & Evans.
Desert Fishes Council, Death Valley, CA, November 2009.
Cutt through the bull trout, a mitochondrial DNA phylogeny of Oncorhynchus clarkii, Cutthroat Trout. Unmack & Shiozawa.
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Portland, OR, July 2009.
Phylogeny and species boundaries within the catfish family Plotosidae. Unmack, Adams, Hardy, Hartley, Allen & Johnson.
Phenotypic Plasticity or Hybridization? Meristic and genetic variation in the Australian fish species Retropinna semoni along the Murray River. (poster) Haynie, Adams, Unmack, Hammer & Johnson.Australian Society for Fish Biology, Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia, June 2009.
Comparative phylogeography of Australian freshwater fishes. Unmack.
Desert Fishes Council, Cuatro Cienegas, Coahuila, Mexico, November 2008.
Phylogeographic patterns within the central Australian rainbowfishes. Unmack, Adams & Dowling.
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, St. Louis, MO, July 2007.
Phylogeography of trichomycterid catfishes of Chilean Patagonia. Unmack, Bennin, Habit, Victoriano, and Johnson.
Desert Fishes Council, Death Valley, CA, November 2006.
Phylogenetic patterns within Australian desert gobies. Unmack, Admas & Dowling.
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, New Orleans, LA, July 2006.
Historical biogeographic patterns across multiple Australian freshwater fish groups. (poster) Unmack.
A test of vicariant patterns in southeastern Australia in multiple sympatric Hypseleotris species. Thacker & Unmack.
Desert Fishes Council, Cuatro Cienegas, Coahuila, Mexico, November 2005.
Analyzing translocation success from sporadic monitoring data using survival analysis: lessons from the Gila topminnow (Poeciliopsis occidentalis). Sheller, Fagan & Unmack.
Missouri Botanical Garden - 52nd Annual Systematics Symposium, St Louis, MO, October 2005 (invited).
Historical biogeography and a priori hypotheses based on Australian freshwater fishes.Unmack.
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Tampa, FL, July 2005.
Extensive introgression in Australian rainbowfishes: identification, patterns, implications, and misleading phylogenetic influence. Unmack.
Desert Fishes Council, Tucson, AZ, November 2004.
Patterns of exotic and native fish richness in the Gila River Basin. Unmack & Fagan.
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Norman, OK, May 2004.
The biogeography of Craterocephalus (Atherinidae) in Australia: a test of whether common distributions indicate a common history. Unmack.
Biodiversity and Management of the Madrean Archipelago II: Connecting Mountain Islands and Desert Seas, Tucson, AZ, May 2004.
Identifying areas of conservation priority for native fishes in the Southwest using GIS. Unmack & Minckley.
Desert Fishes Council, Death Valley, CA, November 2003.
Nonnative fishes in the southwestern USA versus northwestern Mexico: time-lagged invasions as a predictor in desert fish communities. Unmack & Fagan.
Green sunfish impacts on Gila chub, a natural experiment thanks to a waterfall. Knowles, Unmack & Baltzly.
Rarity, fragmentation, and the scale-dependence of extinction risk in desert fishes. Fagan & Unmack.
Southwestern Association of Naturalists, Norman, OK, April 2003.
Nonnative fishes in the southwestern USA versus northwestern Mexico: time-lagged invasions as a predictor in desert fish communities. Unmack & Fagan.
Ecological Society of America, Tucson, AZ, August, 2002. Symposium: Every Last Drop: Ecology, Conservation, and Restoration of North American Springs Ecosystems.
Springs and desert fishes: their ecology, management, and restoration. Unmack.
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Kansas City, MO, July 2002.
Predicting freshwater biogeographic patterns: development of a model based on Australia. Unmack.
Spring-fed Wetlands: Important Scientific and Cultural Resources of the Intermountain Region, Las Vegas, NV, May 2002.
Australian desert spring fishes: their extreme habitats and ecological attributes. Unmack.
Desert Fishes Council, Alpine, TX, November 2001.
Native catostomids as prey of largemouth bass. Schwemm & Unmack.
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, State College, PA, July 2001.
Phylogenetic relationships, hybridization, and biogeography within the Australian pygmy perches (Percichthyidae). Unmack, Hammer, Adams & Dowling.
Desert Fishes Council, Death Valley, CA, November 2000.
Ash Meadows: a photographic perspective 1938-2000. Webster & Unmack.
Identifying areas of conservation priority for native fishes in the Gila River Basin using GIS. Unmack & Minckley.
Winter reproduction of introduced poeciliids in warm springs. Phelps, Wald & Unmack.
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, June 2000.
Phylogenetics of Australian rainbowfishes (Melanotaeniidae). Unmack & Dowling.
Spring Ecosystems of the North American Deserts: Ecology, Hydrology, and Conservation, Tucson, AZ, May 2000.
Springs as unique aquatic environments. Unmack & Minckley.
Dampier 300, biodiversity in Australia 1699-1999 and beyond, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, December 1999.
Biogeography of Australian freshwater fishes. Unmack.
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, State College, PA, June 1999.
Biogeography of Australian freshwater fishes. Unmack.
Desert Fishes Council, Page, AZ, November 1998.
The fish are going on the byte: GIS analysis of western fishes. Unmack & Minckley.
American Fisheries Society, Hartford, CT, August 1998.
Identifying areas of high native fish diversity and examining change over time. A data rich GIS study on the Gila River system in Southwestern North America. Unmack & Minckley.
Arizona GIS Council, Tempe, AZ, July 1998.
Use of GIS to analyze native fish decline in the Gila River Basin, Arizona. Unmack & Minckley.
American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, June 1998.
Biogeography of Australian freshwater fishes: patterns of faunal occurrence in southeastern Australia. Unmack.
Desert Fishes Council, Death Valley, CA, November 1997.
Water limits the occurrence of fishes, but what limits the occurrence of water? Unmack.
Australian Society for Fish Biology, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, July 1997.
Biogeography of Australian freshwater fishes. Unmack.
Desert Fishes Council, La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico, November 1996.
Fish on the byte: GIS analysis of fishes in the Gila Basin. Unmack, Minckley & Fry.
Desert Fishes Council, Reno, NV, November 1995.
A comparison of North American and Australian riverine desert habitats, fishes, and management. Unmack.
Desert Fishes Council, Death Valley, CA, November 1994.
Desert fishes Down Under. Unmack.
Australian Society for Fish Biology, Victor Harbour, South Australia, Australia, August 1992.
Artesian springs, a neglected aquatic habitat. Unmack.