Evatt Chirgwin
Research Scientist
Bachelor of Science with Honours (Ecology and Evolutionary Biology), PhD Evolutionary Biology and Climate Change
Evatt is captivated by how animal and plant populations adaptively evolve to overcome the challenges posed by their environment. At Cesar, he investigates how pest species evolve resistance to pesticides and other management practices so these species can be controlled by the agricultural industry in the most effective and sustainable way.
Growing up on the Mornington Peninsula, Evatt was always curious about the diversity of life that surrounded him—from the tiny intertidal rock pools to the expansive eucalypt forests. This curiosity eventually led him to undertake a PhD at Monash University where he used quantitative genetics to explore the potential of marine invertebrate populations to adaptively evolve under future levels of ocean warming. He is also actively interested in making scientific research more broadly accessible, which has led him to work with organisations such as Remember the Wild to educate the broader community about biodiversity in their local area.
Outside of work, Evatt loves spending his time hiking and searching for new dive spots along the Victorian coast.
Ashritha Dorai, Paul Umina, Evatt Chirgwin, Qiong Yang, Xinyue Gu, Joshua Thia, Ary Hoffmann (2024) Novel transinfections of Rickettsiella do not affect insecticide tolerance in Myzus persicae, Rhopalosiphum padi or Diuraphis noxia. Journal of Economic Entomology 4 (2024): 1377-1384.
Lisa Kirkland, Marielle Babineau, Samantha Ward, Anthony van Rooyen, Evatt Chirgwin, Luis Mata, Paul Umina (2024) Assessing the risk of resistance to flonicamid and afidopyropen in green peach aphid (Hemiptera: Myzus persicae) via in-vivo selection. Crop Protection 184: 106783.
Lisa Kirkland, Evatt Chirgwin, Samantha Ward, Benjamin Congdon, Anthony van Rooyen, Paul Umina (2023) P450‐mediated resistance in Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) reduces the efficacy of neonicotinoid seed treatments in Brassica napus. Pest Management Science 79: 1851-1859.
Paul Umina, Leo McGrane, Joshua Thia, Evatt Chirgwin, Ary Hoffmann (2023) From laboratory to field: Laboratory-measured pesticide resistance reflects outcomes of field-based control in the redlegged earth mite, Halotydeus destructor. Experimental and Applied Acarology 89: 379-392.
Evatt Chirgwin, Stuart Kemp, James Maino, Marielle Babineau, Isobel Roberts, Alana Govender, Paul Umina (2022) Beneficial invertebrates of dairy pastures in south-eastern Australia. Crop and Pasture Science 73: 716-731.
Aston Arthur, Lisa Kirkland, Evatt Chirgwin, Anthony van Rooyen, Paul Umina (2022) Baseline susceptibility of Australian Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) to novel insecticides flonicamid and afidopyropen. Crop Protection 158: 105992.
Evatt Chirgwin, Qiong Yang, Paul Umina, Alex Gill, Safi Soleimannejad, Xinyue Gu, Perran Ross, Ary Hoffmann (2022) Fungicides have transgenerational effects on Rhopalosiphum padi but not their endosymbionts. Pest Management Science 78: 4709-4718.
Paul Umina, Chris Bass, Anthony van Rooyen, Evatt Chirgwin, Aston Arthur, Adam Pym, Jo Mackisack, Andrew Mathews, Lisa Kirkland (2022) Spirotetramat resistance in Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and its association with the presence of the A2666V mutation. Pest Management Science 78: 4822-4831.
Paul Umina, Jenny Reidy-Crofts, Owain Edwards, Evatt Chirgwin, Samantha Ward, James Maino, Marielle Babineau (2022) Susceptibility of the Cowpea Aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) to widely used insecticides in Australia. Journal of Economic Entomology 115: 143-150.
Evatt Chirgwin, Tim Connallon, Keyne Monro (2021) The thermal environment at fertilisation mediates adaptive potential in the sea. Evolution Letters 5: 154-163.
Martijn Hammers, Sjouke Kingma, Lotte Van Boheemen, Alexandra Sparks, Terry Burke, Hannah Dugdale, David Richardson, Jan Komdeur, Evatt Chirgwin, Tim Connallon, Keyne Monro (2021) Association with a novel protective microbe facilitates host adaptation to a stressful environment. Evolution Letters 5: 118–129.
Paul Umina, Stuart Kemp, Marielle Babineau, James Maino, Isobel Roberts, Alana Govender, Garrick McDonald, Alison Popay, David Hume, Scott Hardwick, Nicola Richards, Olivia Reynolds, Evatt Chirgwin (2021) Pests of Australian dairy pastures: Distribution, seasonality and potential impacts on pasture production. Austral Entomology 60: 763-781.
Evatt Chirgwin, Keyne Monro (2020) Correlational selection on size and development time is inconsistent across early life stages. Evolutionary Ecology 34: 681-691.
Evatt Chirgwin, Dustin Marshall, Keyne Monro (2020) Physical and physiological impacts of ocean warming alter phenotypic selection on sperm morphology. Functional Ecology 34: 646-657.
Evatt Chirgwin, Dustin Marshall, Carla Sgrò, Keyne Monro (2018) How does parental environment influence the potential for adaptation to global change?. Proceedings B 285: 20181374.
Evatt Chirgwin, Dustin Marshall, Carla Sgrò, Keyne Monro (2017) The other 96%: Can neglected sources of fitness variation offer new insights into adaptation to global change?. Evolutionary Applications 10: 267-275.
Evatt Chirgwin, Keyne Monro, Carla Sgrò, Dustin Marshall (2015) Revealing hidden evolutionary capacity to cope with global change. Global Change Biology 21: 3356-3366.