People

Grant Linley

My PhD will determine how the recent 2019-2020 bushfires in north-eastern Victoria impacted ecosystems and measure how they respond and recover through time. This will deliverer vital information on the status of native wildlife in fire-affected areas which can feed into national and state prioritisations aimed at alleviating fire impacts and hastening recovery.

To undertake this, I will assess how native mammals and birds were affected by recent bushfires by examining the role of refuges in enhancing survival and promoting post-fire recovery, as well as exploring whether feral predators are drawn to burnt areas.

Luke Emerson

My PhD research examines the foraging ecology of pumas across their geographic range. Using GPS collar data, kill site images and genetic information, from multiple study sites across North and South America, we will advance understanding of the factors that influence puma prey selection, kill rates and habitat use. We will also shed light on sociality and resource sharing among pumas relative to their spatial ecology, and the importance of non-native prey species. This research will provide insight into the ecology and impact of an apex predator, and will have implications for conservation and management initiatives in other systems where large carnivores occur.

My supervisory dream team consists of Prof. Euan Ritchie and Dr Desley Whisson (Deakin University), A/Prof Heiko Wittmer (Victoria University of Wellington) and Dr Mark Elbroch (Panthera).

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Anne Eichholtzer

My PhD research isinvestigating the multiple values of citizen science. Our project, TechnEcology, is testing a novel and non-invasive way to monitor reptiles and amphibians. The method combines a new video camera technology with artificial intelligence.

The study is conducted with the help of members of the community – called citizen scientists – who are directly helping with data collection and analysis.

On top of the benefits of citizen science for ecological research, we are evaluating the potential outcomes for the participants themselves: do they value biodiversity more? Has their well-being been impacted? Evaluating participants’ outcomes – especially around economics and health – can create new narratives to engage society in conservation matters; and reach beyond audiences who already  have a special interest for biodiversity and nature in general.

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Eilysh Thompson

My PhD examines the role of dingoes as a trophic regulator within alpine and sub-alpine ecosystems, particularly in relation to large feral herbivores (deer/horses) and omnivores (pigs).

Specifically I aim to determine how dingoes affect feral herbivore distribution, abundance and behaviour and whether this in turn benefits threatened alpine and sub-alpine plant and animal species. I will assess this interaction using a variety of observational and experimental approaches including scat surveys, camera traps, acoustic recording devices and acoustic playback devices.

This knowledge will aid in guiding management decisions within Australian alpine parks particularly on the importance of conserving dingo populations.

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Ange Pestell

Using a mix of traditional survey and camera trap methods, my PhD will investigate faunal assemblages across a range of fire age-classes in two major vegetation types in the Victorian Mallee and Wimmera regions.

The data from my research will contribute to the development of machine learning processes that automate species identification from camera trap data for small vertebrates, and is part of a bigger project withpartners at La Trobe University, the Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre, and the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), which aims to increase the effectiveness and cost-efficiency of wildlife surveys in remote landscapes.

My research will also be used by DEECA to improve fire management outcomes for biodiversity in the Victorian Mallee and Wimmera regions.

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Rachel Mason

My PhD will focus on the management of dingoes in semi-arid north western Victoria, and aim to quantify how changes to dingo presence in baited areas can alter cat, fox, large herbivore, small mammal, and reptile presence, abundance and/or behaviour, and plant cover.

To achieve this, I will use a variety of experimental methods, including conducting widespread camera trapping surveys, scat surveys and vegetation complexity analyses in protected areas in Victoria’s mallee region, as well as collating relevant data from other related projects.

The data and outcomes from my project will contribute to our understanding of dingo management practises and their ecosystem-wide effects in both semi-arid environments as well as in broader Victoria, and allow decision makers to better integrate management actions (e.g. herbivore, fox and dingo control) for more cost- and ecologically-effective outcomes and resilient ecosystems.

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Louise Buckley

I am based in regional Victoria on Wadawurrung Country. I would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land, the elder’s past, present and emerging.

I am a natural resource planning and conservation specialist. I work with the private and public sector developing management tools for the conservation of species and habitat. My PhD is a social science, applied ecology project. It will be centered on planning for the strategic management of culturally significant values in a changing climate. Using place-based community-centered case studies, the work will focus on caring for Country, land management and biodiversity conservation programs and projects in Victoria.

My supervisory team consists of Tim Neale (Alfred Deakin Institute), Euan Ritchie (Centre for Integrated Ecology) and Will Smith (Alfred Deakin Institute).

Dylan Westaway

I am based at Charles Sturt University and my PhD research broadly focuses on reptile conservation in the fire-prone Victorian mallee.

We will investigate the influence of agriculture and habitat fragmentation on reptile species assemblages and will trial wild-to-wild translocations as a method of restoring locally extinct populations to reduce the extinction risk of dispersal-limited species.

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Georgina de Beaujeu

Co-benefits are created when one action, strategy, or intervention results in one or more benefits for urban nature and people concurrently, creating a win-win for both groups. The concept of co-benefit creation may be one way we can improve biodiversity in urban areas to the benefit of urban nature and people.

My exploratory research seeks to better define the concept of co-benefit creation, assess if and how it can be practically applied and the factors that may help or hinder this approach from becoming standard practice. My findings will assist council and the built environment sector to take practical steps towards adopting this way of working.

Aviya Naccarella

My PhD focuses on understanding the ecological interaction between mammals, plants, and fungi.

Using a combination of scat and soil analysis, vegetation surveys and glasshouse experiments my research aims to understand what role digging, fungus-feeding mammals can play in restoration through their contribution to ecosystem function.

The findings of my research will contribute to our understanding of mammal-fungi-plant interactions and provide valuable information for researchers and practitioners to inform restoration projects aimed at reinstating ecosystem function.

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Billy Geary (PhD 2023)

Managing ecosystems and conserving biodiversity by understanding the interactions between threats and ecological processes. Twitter

Jade Bell (honours 2023)

Predator–prey interactions and using using lace monitor (Varanus varius) scent to address overbrowsing of eucalypts.

Harry Moore (PhD 2022)

Ecology of northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus) in the Pilbara, Western Australia. Twitter

Shannon Braun (masters 2022)

Fox and goanna interactions. Twitter

Te Ao Marama Eketone (honours 2022)

Population ecology and behaviour of eastern barred bandicoots and long-nosed potoroos on French Island after a feral cat eradication program. Twitter

Georgia Kielbaska (honours 2022)

Factors affecting the potential translocation of Mitchell’s hopping mouse (Notomys mitchellii) in the Wimmera-Mallee region.

Kristy Williams (honours 2022)

Habitat preferences of the long-nosed potoroo (Potorous tridactylus) on French Island.

Claire Tingate (honours 2022)

Assessing the value of linear roadside vegetation for the threatened greater glider (Petauroides volans) and other arboreal mammals in the Strathbogie Ranges.

Nathan Waddell (honours 2022)

Occupancy rates of arboreal species in chainsaw hollows in Gippsland.

Robin Sinclair (honours 2020)

Red fox diet in Gariwerd (Grampians) National Park. Twitter

Emily Reynolds (honours 2020)

Backyard bandicoots: What factors determine habitat suitability?

Tahlia Townsend (honours 2020)

Population ecology of the eastern barred bandicoot.

Sarah Maclagan (PhD 2020)

Ecology of the endangered Southern Brown Bandicoot in peri-urban Melbourne. Twitter

Lily Van Eeden (PhD 2020)

Wildlife management of dingoes, Canis dingo. Twitter

Rachel Lee (honours 2020)

Invertebrate translocations globally. Twitter

Mary Thorpe (honours 2020)

Predator and herbivore occupancy and habitat use in response to fox baiting in the Little Desert, Victoria.

Meg Farmer (honours 2019)

Distribution, abundance and behaviour of long-nosed potoroos (Potorous tridactylus) on French Island.

Ella Loeffler (honours 2019)

The foraging ecology of eastern barred bandicoots in newly established island populations. Twitter

Vivianna Miritis (honours 2019)

Understanding island cat ecology for pest management and threatened species recovery. Twitter

Tom Newsome (postdoc 2017)

Predator management in Australia: Lessons from interactions between wolves and cougars in north-east Washington USA. Twitter Website

Rebecca Cherubin (honours 2018)

Evaluating the ecological impacts of feral horses in the Alps.

Matt Sleeth (honours 2017)

Home range ecology and microhabitat use of the invasive wolf snake (Lycodon capucinus) of Christmas Island.

Lauren Halstead (honours 2017)

The ecological role of eastern barred bandicoots in a newly established island population.

Bronwyn Hradsky (PhD 2016)

Interactions between invasive predators, native mammals and fire in a forest ecosystem. Twitter Website

Blake Allan (PhD 2016)

Specialist versus generalist species: a comparative ecological study of common and mountain brushtail possums. Twitter

Michael Wysong (PhD 2016)

Predator ecology in the arid rangelands of Western Australia: spatial interactions and resource competition etween an apex predator, the dingo Canis dingo, and an introduced mesopredator, the feral cat Felis catus. Twitter

Leanne Greenwood (honours 2016)

Monitoring effort to effectively assess occupancy changes in terrestrial mammal species in Wilsons Promontory National Park.

Evie Jones (honours 2016)

Factors influencing feral cat density and distribution in a mallee ecosystem.

Gavin Trewella (honours 2016)

Do dingoes (Canis dingo) facilitate behaviourally-mediated trophic cascades in mallee ecosystems?

Tim Doherty (postdoc 2016)

Fire, predator and prey relationships in semi-arid Victoria. Twitter Website

Evelyn Chia (PhD 2016)

Wildfire, landscape heterogeneity and fauna in fire-prone forests.

Michelle Bassett (PhD 2016)

Wildfire, mammals and their habitats in a fire-prone forest ecosystem. Twitter

Hayley Geyle (honours 2015)

Survey design for detecting declines in the threatened brush-tailed rabbit-rat Conilurus penicillatus on the Tiwi Islands of the Northern Territory. Twitter

Harry Moore (honours 2015)

Spatial and temporal interactions between predators and small mammals in semi-arid Australia. Twitter

Leila Brook (PhD 2015)

Predator guild interactions in northern Australia: behaviour and ecology of an apex predator, the dingo Canis lupus dingo, and an introduced mesopredator, the feral cat Felis catus.

Cassandra Holt (honours 2015)

The distribution of mammals in relation to habitat at Wilsons Promontory. Twitter

Thomas Healey (honours 2014)

Fire and the distribution of a herbivore in semi-arid Australia. Twitter

Jess Lawton (honours 2014)

What drives the distribution of a small mammal (Notomys mitchellii) in a fire prone landscape? Twitter

Ray Alexander (honours 2014)

Habitat selection of the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) in the Otway Ranges. Twitter

Billy Geary (honours 2014)

Predators and prey in flames: Mammalian trophic relationships in fire-prone, semi-arid Victoria. Twitter

Hayley Davis (honours 2014)

Does fire influence termites? Examining the pyrodiversity begets biodiversity hypothesis. Twitter

Amber Fordyce (honours 2013)

The impact of planned fire on microhabitat use in the bush rat.

Rebecca Nightingale (honours 2013)

Understanding social behaviour of Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) in captivity: implications for conservation and management.

Shannon Braun (honours 2013)

The influence of fire and microhabitat on predation pressure in semi-arid Australia: an experimental case-study using lizards.

Catherine Payne (honours 2012)

Understanding the drivers of red fox (Vulpes vulpes) distribution and activity in semi-arid Australia. Twitter

Lucy Gow (honours 2012)

Habitat associations and daily activity patterns of Wilsons Promontory’s mammals.

Kathlean Kean (honours 2011)

Human dimensions of dingo and wild dog management in Victoria.

Tanya Rosewarne (honours 2011)

Understating animal behaviours in captive insurance populations: the Tasmanian devil as a case study.