Margaret Byrne is Director of the Science and Conservation Division where she is active in the interface between science and policy in biodiversity conservation and management. Margaret has a strong interest in effective leadership and management and sees the integration of good people management and strategic business development as critical to the achievement of corporate goals.
Margaret is recognised as a leading biological scientist in Australia and has over 170 publications. She obtained a PhD from The University of Western Australia and was a Post Doctoral Fellow at CSIRO in Canberra before returning to Perth to develop and manage a conservation genetics program in the then Department of Conservation and Land Management. Her research has focused on plant genetic research to inform conservation strategies for rare and threatened plants as well as biodiversity conservation at landscape scales in relation to remnant viability, revegetation and adaptation to climate change. Her phylogeographic studies have provided a greater understanding of the evolutionary history of the biota, and its influence on current distributions, patterns of genetic diversity and location of refugia. Her current research interests are directed towards application of genomics in plant conservation and climate change adaptation strategies.
Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours, The University of Western Australia, 1986
Thesis : Molecular Biological Techniques for the Study of Plant Genetic Systems.
Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Western Australia, 1991.
Thesis : Genetic diversity in Isotoma petraea and Macrozamia riedlei.
2013 - present Director Science and Conservation, Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth
2010 - 2013 Director Science, Department of Environment and Conservation then Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth
2007 – 2010 Senior Principal Research Scientist, Department of Environment and Conservation, Perth.
2000 – 2007 Principal Research Scientist, Department of Environment and Conservation, Perth.
1996 – 2000 Senior Research Scientist, Department of Conservation and Land Management, Perth.
1995 – 1996 Research Scientist, CSIRO Division of Forestry, Canberra.
1994 – 1995 Postdoctoral Research Fellow, CSIRO Division of Forestry, Canberra.
1991 – 1994 ARC Australian Postdoctoral Research Fellow, CSIRO Division of Forestry, Canberra.
Scientific Leadership
Member, Steering Committee, Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute, 2013- present
Board Member, Western Australian Marine Science Institution, 2013 - present
Board Member, Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network, 2011 to present
Member, Management Committee, Atlas of Living Australia, 2013- present
Member, Committee on Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, Australian National Academy of Sciences, 2013 - present
Board Member, Western Australian Centre of Excellence for Climate Change, Woodland and Forest Health, 2011 to present
Member, Advisory Committee for the Science Industry Endowment Fund project, Genetic Basis for Adaptation to Climate Change, 2012 to present
Associate Editor, Australian Journal of Botany, 2009 to present
Associate Editor, Tree Genetics and Genomes, 2009 to 2012
Member, Management Committee, Environmental Futures Research Network, 2007 – 2011.
Member, Scientific Program Committee, 2011 International Botanical Congress, 2008-2011.
Member, WA Gene Technology Inter-Departmental Committee, 2006 to 2012.
Evaluation Panel, Research Infrastructure Program, WA Department of Commerce, 2011 to 2012.
Evaluation Panel, WA Scientist of the Year and Early Career Scientist of the Year, 2011.
Treasurer, Genetics Society of Australia
2009 - present Associate Editor, Australian Journal of Botany
2009 - 2012 Associate Editor, Tree Genetics and Genomes
Supervision of Honours, MSc and PhD students from The University of Western Australia, Murdoch University, Curtin University, Edith Cowan University and Flinders University.
Byrne M., Parrish T. and Moran G.F. (1998) Nuclear RFLP diversity in Eucalyptus nitens. Heredity 81: 225–233.
Steane D., Byrne M., Vaillancourt R.E. and Potts B.M. (1998) Chloroplast DNA polymorphism signals complex interspecific interactions in Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae). Aust. Syst. Bot. 11: 25–40.
Steane D., Byrne M., Vaillancourt R.E. and Potts B.M. (1998) Complex interspecific interactions in Eucalyptus: evidence from the chloroplast. Aust. Biol. 11: 39–46.
Byrne M., Murrell J.C., Owen J.V., Kriedemann P., Williams E.R., and Moran G. (1997) Identification and mode of action of quantitative trait loci affecting seedling height and leaf area in Eucalyptus nitens. Theor. Appl. Genet. 94: 674–681.
Byrne M., Murrell J.C., Owen J.V., Williams E.R., and Moran G. (1997) Identification of quantitative trait loci influencing frost tolerance in Eucalyptus nitens. Theor. Appl. Genet. 95: 975–979.
Byrne M., Waycott M., Hobbs A.A. and James S.H. (1997) Variation in ribosomal DNA within and between populations of Isotoma petraea and Macrozamia riedlei. Heredity 79 578–583.
Byrne M. (1996) Application of DNA markers to the genetics of the Australian flora. In: Gondwanan Heritage: Past, Present and Future of the Western Australian Biota, (Eds) S.D. Hopper, Surrey Beatty & Sons, Sydney, pp259–270.
Byrne M., Marquez-Garcia I., Uren T. and Moran G.F. (1996) Conservation and genetic diversity of microsatellites in the genus Eucalyptus. Aust. J. Bot. 44: 331–341.
Byrne M. and Moran G.F. (1995) Chloroplast DNA diversity in Eucalyptus nitens. In Population genetics and genetic conservation of forest trees. (Eds) P. Baradat, W.T. Adams and G. Muller-Stark, SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, pp267–275
Byrne M., Murrell J.C., Allen B. and Moran G.F. (1995) An integrated genetic linkage map for Eucalyptis nitens. Theor. Appl. Genet. 91: 869–875.
Moran G.F., Byrne M., Williams E.R., Murrell J.C., Allen B., Owen J.V. and Kriedemann P. (1995) Genetic mapping of seedling traits in Eucalyptus nitens. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Eucalypt Plantations: Improving Fibre Yield and Quality, Hobart.
Old K., Floyd R., Harcourt R. and Byrne M. (1995) Potential of pests and diseases to limit the productivity of industrial forest plantations. Proceedings of the International Workshop on Biotechnology and Development of Species for Industrial Timber Estates, Bogor, Indonesia.
Butcher P.A., Byrne M. and Moran G.F. (1994) Variation within and among the chloroplast genome of Melaleuca alternifolia and Melaleuca linariifolia (Myrtaceae). Plant Syst. Evol. 194: 69–81.
Byrne M. and Moran G.F. (1994) Population divergence in the chloroplast genome of Eucalyptus nitens. Heredity 73:18–28.
Byrne M., Moran G.F., Murrell J.C. and Tibbits W.N. (1994) Detection and inheritance of RFLPs in Eucalyptus nitens. Theor. Appl. Genet. 89: 397–402.
Moran G.F. and Byrne M. (1994) Genetic mapping and breeding of temperate eucalypts in Australia. Proceedings of the International Wood Biotechnology Symposium, Japan.
Byrne M., Moran G.F. and Tibbits W.N. (1993) Restriction map and maternal inheritance of chloroplast DNA in Eucalyptus nitens. Journal of Heredity 83:218–220.
Byrne M. and James S.H. (1991) Genetic diversity in the cycad, Macrozamia riedlei. Heredity 67:35–39.
