Benjamin Halliwell

Benjamin Halliwell is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Biological Sciences at the University of Tasmania's School of Natural Sciences. He holds a PhD from the same institution (2013-2017). His research focuses on phylogenetic analysis, computational ecology, and evolutionary adaptations to environmental stressors. Key areas include aridity tolerance in plants, social evolution in reptiles, and hydraulic traits in Eucalyptus species.

Research Interests:

• Phylogeny and comparative analysis
• Computational phylogenetics
• Evolutionary ecology
• Adaptive strategies in plants and animals

Funded Projects:

• "Comparing resistance to drought and freezing stress across eucalypts" (2023-2023, $6,080)
• "Testing causal relationships between ecology, promiscuity, and social organisation in lizards" (2013-2016, $17,000)

Current Doctoral Supervision:

• Predicting Hydraulic Vulnerability of Australian Flora (2025)
• Climate's Role in Social Behavior (2023)
• Comparative Phylogenomics of Drought Resilience in Eucalyptus (2022)

His work integrates statistical modeling with field experiments, emphasizing interdisciplinary approaches to evolutionary and ecological questions.