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
The interaction of yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepsis gracilipes) with mammals of the Wet Tropics (Old ID 24871)
Yellow crazy ants arrived in Cairns in 2001 and have spread to other locations in the Wet Tropics. These ants have the potential to be environmentally destructive and while studies have been conducted on the effects of ants on reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates, to date no significant study has been made on the effects of these ants on mammals. Through trapping surveys and behavioural testing I aim to provide insight into these effects and gain understanding of the broader ecological impacts of yellow crazy ants in the Wet Tropics.
Can parental care behaviour and breeding microhabitat protect Critically Endangered nursery frogs from rising temperatures on Wet Tropics mountaintops? (Old ID 28975)
Nursery frogs are terrestrial breeders with ‘direct development’ and the male stays with the eggs until hatching. While climate change is their biggest threat and their breeding biology of is very poorly known. I will study parental care across Nursery frog species, under varied environmental conditions in the field (low elevation, upland areas, heatwaves, drought) to uncover the details of nest choice and parental care. I will use non-invasive cameras, artificial shelters, and data loggers in natural nesting sites to determine how variation in parental behaviour impacts larval survival and differs between species and microhabitats under different climatic conditions.
Baseline invasive ant fauna and impact survey in the Torres Strait (Old ID 27827)
The project aims to collect a representative baseline sample of ant fauna on all inhabited Torres Strait islands and five communities in the northern peninsula area of Cape York. The focus is on invasive and non-native ant fauna.
Genetic ‘health’ assessments and a decision-making framework for some of Australia’s most endangered frogs and reptiles (Old ID 27665)
According to expert assessment, more than half of Australia’s endangered and critically endangered frogs and reptiles are endemic to Queensland and at risk from imminent extinction. A major threat to threatened species like this is a loss of genetic diversity which leads to inbreeding depression, inability to adapt, and heightened extinction risk. This project aims to provide essential genetic assessment of five severely threatened study systems: Oedura lineata, Nangura spinosa, Litoria lorica, Phyllurus geckoes, and Cophixalus frogs. These species represent a range of threats and genetic scenarios. Through discussions with managers, results will be synthesised into a broader conservation framework.
Genetic ‘health’ assessments and a decision-making framework for some of Australia’s most endangered frogs and reptiles (Old ID 27665)
According to expert assessment, more than half of Australia’s endangered and critically endangered frogs and reptiles are endemic to Queensland and at risk from imminent extinction. A major threat to threatened species like this is a loss of genetic diversity which leads to inbreeding depression, inability to adapt, and heightened extinction risk. This project aims to provide essential genetic assessment of five severely threatened study systems: Oedura lineata, Nangura spinosa, Litoria lorica, Phyllurus geckoes, and Cophixalus frogs. These species represent a range of threats and genetic scenarios. Through discussions with managers, results will be synthesised into a broader conservation framework.
Northern Australia Plant Biosecurity Facility
This proposal aims to establish the only Australian plant quarantine facility north of the 27th parallel (Brisbane), and therefore the only one in the Australian tropics. The facility will enable effective research on tropical invasive plants, which currently can only be developed via proxy facilities far from the relevant habitats. This poses severe limitations to biosecurity research in the Australian Tropics. JCU is a leading institution in tropical environmental research, and as a broad and diverse base of biosecurity researchers that will be expand their capacity to develop world class research on plant biosecurity under safe and adequate conditions. Research ranges from the impact of reintroduction of new genotypes on weed fitness, genetic variability and sensitivity, impact of climate change on weed expansion, the role of plant-animal interactions on plant control, and others.
Northern Australia Plant Biosecurity Facility
This proposal aims to establish the only Australian plant quarantine facility north of the 27th parallel (Brisbane), and therefore the only one in the Australian tropics. The facility will enable effective research on tropical invasive plants, which currently can only be developed via proxy facilities far from the relevant habitats. This poses severe limitations to biosecurity research in the Australian Tropics. JCU is a leading institution in tropical environmental research, and as a broad and diverse base of biosecurity researchers that will be expand their capacity to develop world class research on plant biosecurity under safe and adequate conditions. Research ranges from the impact of reintroduction of new genotypes on weed fitness, genetic variability and sensitivity, impact of climate change on weed expansion, the role of plant-animal interactions on plant control, and others.
Northern Australia Plant Biosecurity Facility
This proposal aims to establish the only Australian plant quarantine facility north of the 27th parallel (Brisbane), and therefore the only one in the Australian tropics. The facility will enable effective research on tropical invasive plants, which currently can only be developed via proxy facilities far from the relevant habitats. This poses severe limitations to biosecurity research in the Australian Tropics. JCU is a leading institution in tropical environmental research, and as a broad and diverse base of biosecurity researchers that will be expand their capacity to develop world class research on plant biosecurity under safe and adequate conditions. Research ranges from the impact of reintroduction of new genotypes on weed fitness, genetic variability and sensitivity, impact of climate change on weed expansion, the role of plant-animal interactions on plant control, and others.
ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre in Plant Biosecurity
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.
Modelling unseen flow pathways of water and contaminants in the Wet Tropics: the role of alluvial palaeochannels (Old ID 27748)
Approximately 50% of nitrogen loss from agricultural landscapes in the Wet Tropics occurs via subsurface flow pathways. We know little about the partitioning of subsurface flows, especially through palaeochannels where field evidence shows them to be zones of preferential pathways of water movement and likely nutrients. This project, led by JCU, seeks to develop an adequate understanding of the role palaeochannels play in subsurface flow movement. We then make recommendations to the modelling community on how to model these landscapes better in order to guide intervention measures (e.g. bioreactors, constructed wetlands) to reduce nutrient release into environmentally sensitive coastal areas (GBR).
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01 Jan 2014
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01 Jan 2003
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01 Jan 2018
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01 Jan 2013
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01 Jan 2018
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01 Jan 2009
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01 Jan 2013
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01 Jan 2008
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01 Jan 2000
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01 Jan 2003
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01 Jan 2004
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01 Jan 2009
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01 Jan 2024
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01 Jan 2025
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01 Jan 2003
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01 Jan 2004