Zoology & Ecology

Saul Chemonges

Saul Chemonges

Daniel Montesinos Torres

Daniel Montesinos Torres

Claire Gely

Claire Gely

Ben Hirsch

Ben Hirsch

Stephen Williams

Stephen Williams

Myles Menz

Myles Menz

Martijn van de Pol

Martijn van de Pol

Slade Allen-Ankins

Slade Allen-Ankins

Noel Preece

Noel Preece

Conrad Hoskin

Conrad Hoskin

NESP 4.12: Mitigating the impacts of extreme weather events on spectacled flying-foxes
Susan Laurance
01 Apr 2024 - 31 Mar 2027
Spectacled flying-foxes (SFFs) were listed as Endangered in 2019, following an extreme heatwave in 2018 that resulted in the death of approximately one-third of the population. The mass mortality of Australian flying-foxes at roosts during heatwaves has been well documented, with future extreme heat events considered the greatest threat to their survival. This project aims to improve our understanding of the local thermal environments of SFF roosts across their range, which is a critical aspect of their sensitivity to the increasing risks imposed by climate change. By doing so, this project will improve species management through the provision of tools to mitigate the devastating impacts of future extreme heatwaves and advise managers on effective interventions. This project addresses national priorities by providing adaptive solutions to support the recovery of a threatened species and in developing capacity to help reverse the decline in Australia’s natural environment.
Autoclave for the Northern Australia Plant Biosecurity Facility
Daniel Montesinos Torres
01 Jul 2024 - 31 Dec 2024
The ARC-LIEF funded Northern Australia Plant Biosecurity Facility is to be built during 2024, procurement process is ongoing. The effective approval as a federally recognised quarantine facility requires the purchase of an autoclave to be located within the quarantine glasshouse, as per BC2 quarantine regulations. The proposal's funding was reduced on approval and funding for this essential piece of equipment is lacking.
ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre in Plant Biosecurity
Lori Lach
01 Aug 2024 - 30 Aug 2029
The Biosecurity Training Centre aims to deliver a solution for Australia’s increasing biosecurity risk through generational change in its workforce coupled with breakthrough technologies. It will launch an innovative training program for future leaders who will build relationships with end users and engage meaningfully with communities for effective implementation strategies. The Centre will provide data-driven systems, behavioural change for adoption and authentic industry engagement. This suite of graduates and technologies will transform the biosecurity sector and protect Australia’s critical agricultural industries.
Eco-evolutionary dynamics and the maintenance of organismal diversity
Megan Higgie
03 Jun 2024 - 31 Dec 2025
This project is a collaboration Megan Higgie at JCU and Jan Hrcek of the Czech Academy of Sciences. It is funded by a European Research Council Consolidator Grant (2024-2028) to Jan Hrcek, with Megan Higgie as a named collaborator: the project looks at rapid evolution in species interactions between Drosophila and parasitoid wasp species investigating the mechanisms involved in the maintenance of diversity in communities and variation in populations of tropical rainforests.
Australian tropical rainforests in the face of climate change
Lucas Cernusak
01 Jul 2024 - 31 Dec 2026
This project aims to investigate the roles of increasing atmospheric water stress and rising carbon dioxide in driving changes in tree performance and species composition in Australian tropical rainforests. Forest census plots indicate increasing tree mortality, but the mechanisms through which this is occurring are unknown. Experiments will be conducted to unravel the underlying physiological processes. Community-level behaviour will be investigated with eddy covariance and remotely sensed data. The project expects to generate new knowledge about responses of Australian tropical rainforests to climate change. The expected outcome is an enhanced capacity to understand and manage a unique and highly valued component of the Australian forest estate.
Conservation genomics and population status of the endangered Mahogany Gliders (Petaurus gracilis) (Old ID 27672)
Conrad Hoskin
30 Jun 2022 - 30 Jun 2023
Habitat loss and fragmentation have been threatening population connectivity and genetic diversity of Mahogany Gliders, a rare and endangered gliding possum endemic to the Australian Wet Tropics. Substantial habitat loss and fragmentation have brought concerns to the status of remnant populations. I will use distribution models to refine the distribution and guide camera trapping to find unknown populations. Connectivity between populations will be assessed using genomics, which also allows estimations of population structure and effective population size. Knowledge of distribution and genetics will be used to choose populations for long-term monitoring, and to guide conservation actions for Mahogany Gliders recovery.
Distribution, ecology and conservation of the Magnificent Broodfrog in the mountains of north Queensland (Old ID 27776)
Conrad Hoskin
31 Jan 2023 - 31 Jan 2024
This project aims to resolve the knowledge gaps surrounding the ecology and key threatening processes to the Magnificent Broodfrog, Pseudophryne covacevichae (MBF). We will do this by determining appropriate survey methods, investigating aspects of breeding behaviour and the associated climatic conditions; resolving the fine-scale distribution, determining connectivity among the known populations, and determining genetic diversity within populations. This project will also include an assessment of the genetic relatedness between MBFs and three isolated populations of the Great Brown Broodfrog, P. major in the Bowen and White Mountains regions. The genetic results will contribute to management actions for populations of the MBF and will shed light on the taxonomic status of these northern populations of P. major and, in turn, whether the MBF is a well-supported species.
The role of drought-stress and insect attack on rainforest plant health (Old ID 26337)
Lori Lach
01 Jan 2020 - 31 May 2025
This project aims to examine the vulnerability of tropical plants to drought and insect attack in a large-scale field experiment. We will pioneer a new research approach that focuses on the causes and stages of decline in plant health prior to death, in order to identify the characteristics of plant species that make them more susceptible to drought and insect attack. Expected outcomes of this project include an improved capacity to predict the function and composition of future forests. This project will provide significant benefits to communities concerned with the direct and indirect effects of droughts in protected areas, forestry reserves and agriculture.
Conservation of the Spotted‐tailed Quoll across the Wet Tropics mountaintops (Old ID 23254)
Conrad Hoskin
03 Mar 2017 - 31 Dec 2017
The northern subspecies of Spotted‐tailed Quoll (Dasyurus maculatus gracilis) is genetically divergent, highly isolated, and restricted to high elevation rainforest of the Wet Tropics. It is listed as Endangered at both the Federal (EPBC) and State (NCA) level. Dasyurus m. gracilis has declined substantially due to a number of possible threats and only appears to survive in five small, disjunct areas across the central and northern Wet Tropics mountains. For effective management, it is vital that we understand the decline and genetic structuring of Spotted‐tailed Quoll populations across the Wet Tropics. This project aims to: 1) Use distribution modelling to identify areas of quoll loss/persistence and assess possible reasons for the decline, in order to identify threats and key areas for conservation management, and 2) Use genomics to determine genetic structuring between subpopulations, in order to understand isolation and connectivity between populations and direct conservation actions
The future of urban roosts of the Spectacled Flying-fox in North Queensland (Old ID 27817)
Susan Laurance
11 Oct 2022 - 11 Oct 2023
In partnership with Cairns Council and Bat & Tree Society, I have collected data on bat temperatures and microclimate at 20 urban roosts, including the two remnant forests. I have undertaken field surveys of vegetation structure, but these methods may not accurately estimate the top down perspective of canopy organisms. Hence, the next step is to estimate the three dimensional space of bat roosts. Using terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), I will quantify the volume of vegetation at different heights and correlate with microclimate conditions in order to rank the thermal insulation of roost sites to protect bats during heatwaves.
Title: ARC Future Fellow ($680,000), Global Change: Rainforest responses to experimental drought
Reseracher: Susan Laurance (Professor, Personal Chair)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2014
Title: American Society of Naturalists
Reseracher: Megan Higgie (Associate Professor)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2003
Title: European Research Council Advanced Grant 2018, ($2.5 million Euros). Role: collaborator, Lead Investigator: Dr Lourens Poorter
Reseracher: Susan Laurance (Professor, Personal Chair)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2018
Title: Habilitation (Venia Docendi), University of Bern
Reseracher: Myles Menz (Senior Lecturer, Zoology and Ecology)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2013
End Date: 01 Jan 2018
Title: PhD, The University of Western Australia
Reseracher: Myles Menz (Senior Lecturer, Zoology and Ecology)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2009
End Date: 01 Jan 2013
Title: MSc in Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern
Reseracher: Myles Menz (Senior Lecturer, Zoology and Ecology)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2006
End Date: 01 Jan 2008
Title: Bachelor of Science , The University of Western Australia
Reseracher: Myles Menz (Senior Lecturer, Zoology and Ecology)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2000
End Date: 01 Jan 2003
Title: Doctor of Philosophy, University of the Witwatersrand
Reseracher: Tasmin Rymer (Associate Professor)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2004
End Date: 01 Jan 2009
Title: Minibeast Wildlife, I partnered with Minibeast Wildlife to support an Honour's student's project focusing on subsociality in tarantulas. That work is in the process of being published.
Reseracher: Tasmin Rymer (Associate Professor)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2024
End Date: 01 Jan 2025
Title: Master of Science, University of Pretoria
Reseracher: Tasmin Rymer (Associate Professor)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2003
End Date: 01 Jan 2004