I’m ‘Living’ - ‘Living’ is the anglicized version of my Chinese name - Li Yun (李韵), Yun (韵) means rhyme and rhythm. ‘Living’ derives from one of Kahlil Gibran’s poems and reflects my deep connection with the natural world.

I am a PostDoc research fellow at the Australian National Insect Collection (ANIC), CSIRO. In the heart of my research are three components: fieldwork, museum collection, and evolutionary genetics. My research employs genomic and phenomic data to understand the evolutionary and environmental drivers of biodiversity. My primary study system are beetles, one of the most diverse yet understudied animal groups. Currently, I’m working on phylogenomics and macroevolution of Australian darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae), auger beetles (Bostrichidae) and furniture beetles (Ptinidae: Anobiinae).

My previous research in China mainly focused on historical biogeography and species delimitation of net-winged beetles (Lycidae), a group of aposematically coloured beetles that are often range-restricted and involved in Mullerian mimicry. After completing my Master’s degree in 2014 at Sun Yat-sen University, I worked as a research assistant and digital curator of insect collection in the uni museum. During the time, I also participated in projects to develop novel molecular markers to resolve the higher-level phylogenies of beetles. I’m not picky about studying organisms and was also involved in studies of birds, reptiles and amphibians, thanks to my collaborative friends/mentors in the museum.

I’m passionate about natural history and art. My broad interests have traversed across a non-linear, rugged landscape of diverse fields, with a particular focus at different life stages (sounds like a caterpillar): Painting (since childhood; as my parents’ expectation of me becoming a painter) -> Math (middle-high school; my teachers’ prediction of me becoming a mathematician) -> Biology (since uni; my rebellious choice). Even along the treacherous journey of biology, the story was full of unexpected twists. I started birdwatching in 2007, when I spent most of my weekends on an offshore island near the uni campus. I’m not a twitcher, but I do keep a list of lifers, just to remind me of what I haven’t seen (2007-2018, 550-ish Chinese lifers; 2019-2025, 522 Australian lifers). I started herping in 2010, when friends in the museum took me to a tough yet fun field trip in the limestone forests of SW China. It was regarded as my first serious field trip and I was one inch away from becoming a herpetologist, before being side-tracked into collecting and sorting moths. Eventually, thanks to Hong and Adam, I settled in beetles. Craig once said “Living has many parts”, sounds like I’m an arthropod lol. In my early years, I have travelled extensively in China, partly to collect beetle samples for genetic studies. As a naturalist, I chase all kinds of animals in the field, from insects to birds and lizards. Nowadays, I’m beginning to explore the extraordinary landscape and wildlife in Australia. These field trips took me to a variety of remote localities, from rhododendron-decorated mountain ridges on the Tibetan plateau to cloud-shrouded rainforests in the Australian Wet Tropics, and the expansive, spinifex-dotted deserts in the Australian outback. Many of these memories were captured by my camera (see the photography section).

My dream is to combine math, painting and biology with rainforests and deserts. Outside the academic, I like poetry, photography, and painting. I love things that have a bit of history and stuff with elements of poetic essence. I’m left handed except for writing and pipetting. I read heaps of classical Chinese literatures, and would like to learn more about the equivalent part of the western world. Feel free to contact me via email.