Rate My Professor Jon Waters

Professor Jon Waters holds the position of Professor in the Department of Zoology, Division of Sciences, at the University of Otago. He completed his PhD at the University of Tasmania's School of Zoology in 1996. His academic career includes a postdoctoral fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University from 1997 to 1998, followed by a postdoctoral role at the University of Otago's Department of Zoology from 1998 to 2003. He progressed through Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, and Associate Professor positions at Otago from 2004 to 2011, becoming Professor in July 2011. Waters served as Associate Dean (Research) for the Division of Sciences from 2015 to 2019 and is Co-director of the Otago Palaeogenetics Laboratory. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi and has acted as a Marsden Fund Panellist for the Ecology, Evolution, and Behaviour panel.

Waters specializes in evolutionary biogeography, ancient DNA analysis, kelp rafting and Southern Ocean biogeography, freshwater phylogeography, rates of molecular evolution, and evolutionary genomics. His research encompasses extinction and recolonization studies, ecological gradients in insect evolution, and coastal palaeoseismic events recorded in kelp DNA. Key publications include 'Human-driven evolution of color in a stonefly mimic' (Science, 2024), 'Geological processes shaping freshwater biodiversity: a synthesis of global evidence' (Biological Reviews, 2026), 'Receding ice drove parallel expansions in Southern Ocean penguins' (PNAS, 2019), 'Antarctica’s ecological isolation will be broken by storm-driven dispersal and warming' (Nature Climate Change, 2018), 'Founder takes all: density-dependent processes structure biodiversity' (Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2013; 505 citations), and 'Long-distance dispersal: a framework for hypothesis testing' (Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 2011; 661 citations). His Marsden-funded projects explore flightless alpine insects, ancient DNA of prehistoric penguins and sea-lions, oceanic rafting, and river capture effects on fish evolution. Waters has featured in media interviews on RNZ, BBC, and Reuters discussing topics such as aquatic mammal prehistory, prehistoric New Zealand audits, and climate change impacts.