Zoology & Ecology
Saul Chemonges
- Adjunct Associate Professor
- saul.chemonges@jcu.edu.au
Daniel Montesinos Torres
- Senior Research Fellow
- daniel.montesinos@jcu.edu.au
Claire Gely
- Lecturer, Zoology and Ecology
- claire.gely@jcu.edu.au
Ben Hirsch
- Adjunct Senior Lecturer
- ben.hirsch@jcu.edu.au
Stephen Williams
- Adjunct Professor
- stephen.williams@jcu.edu.au
Myles Menz
- Senior Lecturer, Zoology and Ecology
- myles.menz@jcu.edu.au
Martijn van de Pol
- Associate Professor, Mathematical Modelling
- martijn.vandepol@jcu.edu.au
Slade Allen-Ankins
- Research Fellow
- slade.allenankins@jcu.edu.au
Noel Preece
- Adjunct Associate Professor
- noel.preece@jcu.edu.au
Conrad Hoskin
- Professor
- conrad.hoskin@jcu.edu.au
Applying environmental DNA (eDNA) methods for Yellow crazy ant detection, a sensitive and less labour-intensive approach to invasive ant detection. (Old ID 27191)
Invasive invertebrates in Australia are estimated to impact agricultural production losses by $4.7 billion annually and cost up to $8 billion annually considering all impacts and expenses. More specifically, invasive ants are a significant threat to agricultural production, biodiversity, tourism, personal property, and local business and industry. Current methods for invasive ant detection (i.e. baited traps or cards, pitfall traps, and detection dogs) rely on trapping, smelling, or sighting active individuals and are therefore labour-intensive, costly, and highly reliant on weather conditions. The proposed project will apply environmental DNA methods for yellow crazy ant (YCA) detection. YCA has been listed as a high priority species under the National Invasive Ant Biosecurity Plan 2018-2028, and will be used as a case study. The proposed methodology could be applied to the existing infestations and taken up by farmers, as well as being applied to other terrestrial pests.
The impact of yellow crazy ants on key invertebrates, skinks and frogs of the Wet Tropics (Old ID 23187)
This project aims to increase the understanding of the effects of the invasive yellow crazy ant. This will be achieved by conducting surveys of skinks, frogs and invertebrate across a number of sites. Certain sites will have crazy ant infestations, while others will be in similar, uninvaded habitats. Data from the invaded and uninvaded sites will be compared to examine the direct and indirect effects on biodiversity and community structure that yellow crazy ants have. This will allow us to better understand the risk they pose to the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area.
Utilising drone-based thermal remote sensing technology to accurately estimate Spectacled Flying-Fox abundance and model population trajectories.
This project aims to address knowledge gaps in our understanding of the abundance and population trajectory of the spectacled flying fox, a keystone species in tropical rainforest ecosystems that is currently listed as Endangered. The research will focus on applying novel remote sensing technologies such as drone-based thermal imagery to estimate the current population size of spectacled flying foxes, and develop a standardised monitoring protocol specifically for use by Indigenous rangers. Additionally, the project will seek to test and adapt theoretical models for predicting species population trajectories using spectacled flying foxes as a case study. This work aligns with national conservation priorities and is crucial to understand whether conservation management actions are having the intended impact of mitigating spectacled flying fox population declines. Moreover, the project supports broader efforts to conserve tropical fauna globally by developing widely applicable field- and desktop-based methods for assessing population declines.
Does the emotional state of male Melomys cervinipes affect their spatial learning and navigational abilities? (Old ID 22610)
The loss of environmental complexity in tropical rainforests due to anthropogenic deforestation is a major threat to mammals. How an animal copes with these changes may be dependant on integrated physiological, behavioural and cognitive responses to environmental stimuli. The aim of this study is to investigate whether environmental complexity influences these responses of Melomys cervinipes. I predict that animals from complex habitats will demonstrate lowered anxiety and stress and will show enhanced learning and performance in a cognitive behavioural task. This study is the first to investigate the links between environmental complexity, physiology, behaviour and cognition in an Australian mammal.
Stress and problem solving in Melomys cernipes (Old ID 26571)
We know surprisingly little about how stress and anxiety affects animals' problem solving abilities, and what this means for their survival. Without understanding this, we cannot accurately predict whether species will have the capacity to cope with increasing problems associated with environmental change. I will investigate how stress and anxiety affect problem solving. These data are important to help us understand whether animals can use their problem solving abilities to cope with environmental changes.
Tropical forest flammability and post-fire recovery (Old ID 27657)
This project aims to quantify the shoot-level flammability of tropical forest species across a range of growth forms via experimental burns and assess which plant functional traits influence high or low flammability. The expected outcomes of this research include an understanding of the relation between plant traits and species and growth form flammability, which will help inform fire management and revegetation efforts in the wake of increased tropical and subtropical forest bushfires. The overall significance of this research is to build on previous rainforest flammability data and provide experimental data that may eventually be used in larger scale flammability modelling.
Integrating climate adaptation into rainforest restoration plantings (Old ID 26711)
This project aims to investigate the impact of within species adaptation to climate on reforestation success in the Australian Wet Tropics. For a suite of six species of tropical tree frequently employed in rainforest restoration plantings in northeast Queensland, we will test the hypothesis that collecting seed from populations in similar ecoclimatic settings to the planting site will result in superior seedling growth and survival. The results of the study will allow us to provide practical advice to reforestation practitioners about the importance of matching the provenance of seed source to planting sites, and opportunities for selecting provenances pre-adapted to predicted future climatic conditions at planting sites.
Investigating combined stressors in bees: insecticides and thermal stress (Old ID 27283)
Insecticide use poses a risk to non-target insects including bees. The effects of these compounds is all the more worrying given that honey bees prefer nectar containing traces of the naturally derived insecticide class – the neonicotinoids. This project will expand upon previous bodies of work to investigate the preference of stingless bee species Tetragonula hockingsi when provided with the choice between an insecticide laced food source and a sucrose solution. This project will also explore the combined effects of insecticide exposure and increasing temperature on bees.
Ant-plant-herbivore interactions across global tropical ecosystems (Old ID 30049)
My project aims to investigate the plant-insect interactions in a highly invasive tropical weed to assess the interactions that unfold during the spread of alien invasive species. Sicklepod (Fabaceae; Senna obtusifolia) is native to the neotropics but has become invasive in many tropical ecosystems including Australia’s tropics. My project aims to investigate to what extent the ant-plant interaction increases plant fitness for the invasive sicklepod, and whether sicklepod benefits from enemy release in Australia. I anticipate that the results from this study will form one chapter of my PhD thesis, a manuscript for publication and presentations at an international conference.
Investigating differences in the behavioural syndromes of Melomys cerninipes from different habitat types (Old ID 22195)
Behavioural syndromes or personalities are a series of correlated behaviours that are consistently displayed within an environment by an individual. I aim to study whether the fawn-footed melomys, Melomys cervinipes, in the Wet Tropics has distinct behavioural syndromes and whether these behavioural syndromes are associated with habitat disturbance. I hypothesise that individual M. cervinipes will show distinct behavioural syndromes depending on their habitat. This study will provide a greater understanding of the relationship between behavioural syndromes and habitat disturbance in a poorly studied Australian rodent. This knowledge will provide an insight into how individual and population fitness could be affected in degraded environments and how animals may cope with environmental change.
Complex growth rate evolution in a latitudinally widespread species
- 2004
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Researchers:Lin Schwarzkopf
Shade acclimation of rainforest leaves to colonization by lichens
- 2002
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Researchers:Betsy Jackes
Master of them all: performance specialization does not result in trade-offs in tropical lizards
- 2007
- Evolutionary Ecology
- Researchers:Lin Schwarzkopf
Does total reproductive effort evolve independently of offspring size?
- 2001
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Researchers:Lin Schwarzkopf
Nomadic movement in tropical toads
- 2002
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Researchers:Lin Schwarzkopf
Start Date:
01 Jan 2024
End Date:
01 Jan 2025
Start Date:
01 Jan 2011
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01 Jan 2025
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01 Jan 2025
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01 Jan 2023
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01 Jan 2025
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01 Jan 2025
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01 Jan 2025
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01 Jan 2022
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01 Jan 2020
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01 Jan 2025
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01 Jan 2024
Start Date:
01 Jan 2024