Genomes contain a record of the history of the species shaped by natural selection & random genetic drift. DNA regions in an organism can be examined as
well as its morphology to reveal large scale geological episodes such as continental drift (slow, millions of years) & human-mediated changes such as heavy
industry, rural development, landscape transformation & recent global warming (rapid, tens of years), all accounting for species diversification. Species genetic
variability is always open to change. Gene variants, once lost, cannot be recovered.
Congruence in biogeographic patterns among endemic species & consistent rates of diversification suggest similarities in the geological, historical &
evolutionary processes responsible for synchronic speciation within even unrelated groups of taxa. Multi-gene molecular phylogenies, fossil-calibrated
molecular clocks & diversification analyses are useful tools to explore the impact of geological changes and climatic shifts in the speciation processes & the
current distribution patterns of Australia’s marine endemisms