Leigh’s primary role is investigating broad and local genetic adaptation to novel environments experienced by introduced dung beetles.
Leigh received his PhD from Nottingham University in 1986, then held a series of postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Liverpool until 1995, when he moved to UWA. Leigh received an ARC Federation Fellowship in 2004 and was elected to the Australian Academy in 2009. His research focuses on the evolutionary ecology and genetics of dung beetles and other insects. Leigh has published over 400 scientific papers and book chapters, and he co-edited Ecology and Evolution of Dung Beetles, and his discoveries include how small and large dung beetle males have different mating behaviour, and how maternal genetics affect their offspring.
Link to organisational profile: https://research-repository.uwa.edu.au/en/persons/leigh-simmons