SPEAKER: Ms Fernanda Alves (PhD candidate), Division of Ecology & Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra.

DATE & TIME: Friday, 11th September 2020 @ 12:00 noon

LOCATION: Seminar to be streamed via Zoom. Click HERE to connect.

ABSTRACT.

The forty-spotted pardalote is a cryptic, sedentary specialist species endemic to Tasmania. Forty-spotted pardalotes were historically distributed across Tasmania where their favourite food tree, white gum (Eucalyptus viminalis), occurs, however due to habitat loss and degradation, introduced predators, competitors and drought they are now mainly restricted to two offshore islands of Tasmania (i.e. Bruny and Maria).

In addition to forty-spotted pardalotes known threats, in 2012 a parasitic fly (Passeromyia longicornis) was identified as a potential new threat, causing severe nestling mortality, however its prevalence across the landscape is unknown. Reintroduction has been proposed to forty-spotted pardalotes with the aim to create insurance populations on the main Island of Tasmania. However given the high-risk nature of reintroductions, understanding habitat requirements and finding ways to manage current threats is essential to inform reintroduction trials.

My PhD aims to understand basic biological and ecological features of forty-spotted pardalotes to inform the feasibility of a reintroduction plan for the species. For one of my chapters I aimed to test a cost-effective way to improve breeding success in forty-spotted pardalotes in areas of high-prevalence of the fly P. longicornis.

I am also working on the mapping of white gums (Eucalyptus viminalis) across Tasmania, a key habitat feature for forty-spotted pardalote and investigating genetic diversity across the landscape to inform possible sources of birds for translocation trials.

BIO.

I am a conservation biologist with an interest in population ecology and management of threatened species and their habitat. I am interest in how populations interact with the environment after landscape changes and how management interventions can help the persistence of populations.

I got my Bachelor in Biological Sciences in 2007 and since then I have assisted in several projects on endangered species in Brazil and Australia. In 2014, I completed my Masters in Zoology at the University of São Paulo in Brazil. For my Masters’ research, I looked at basic population parameters (i.e. density and habitat requirements) of the endangered red-billed curassow (Crax blumenbachii) to inform its recovery plan.

I have been working with the Difficult Bird Research Group at ANU since 2015 as a research assistant in several projects. In 2017, I started my PhD at the Research School of Biology on the conservation and management of the endangered forty-spotted pardalote (Pardalotus quadragintus).

For more information click HERE.

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SPEAKER: Dr Micheli Duarte de Paula Costa, Research Fellow, Blue Carbon Lab, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University

DATE & TIME: Friday, 4th September 2020 @ 12:45 noon

LOCATION: Seminar to be streamed via Zoom. Click HERE to connect.

ABSTRACT.

Blue carbon ecosystems (seagrass, saltmarshes and mangroves) are amongst the most efficient natural carbon sinks, however, these ecosystems are declining globally. Because of their ability to capture CO2, there is an increasing recognition of their role in climate change mitigation, and consequently, a growing demand to incorporate them into greenhouse gas mitigation strategies.

We used the Great Barrier Reef catchments as a case study for mapping regional scale variation on blue carbon stocks and modelling opportunities from large-scale wetland restoration in the region. This information is key for informing potential future investments in blue carbon, thereby guiding future actions for climate change mitigation while also improving the co-benefits (e.g. nursery, coastal protection, pollution filter) provided by these ecosystems.

BIO.

Micheli Costa is a Research Fellow in Peter Macreadie’s Blue Carbon Lab at the Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University. She obtained her PhD in biological oceanography at the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (Brazil), and her research focuses on marine quantitative ecology and conservation.

She has worked on marine spatial planning, climate change, species distribution modelling and decision science in the past 5 years and is currently conducting research on the effect of wetland restoration on blue carbon stocks and sequestration rates.

For more information click HERE.

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SPEAKER: Dr Hui Xiao, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Conservation Science Group, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University

DATE & TIME: Friday, 21st August 2020 @ 12:00 noon

LOCATION: Seminar to be streamed via Zoom. Click HERE to connect.

ABSTRACT.

Ecological systems are made up of complex and often unknown interactions and feedbacks. Uncovering these interactions and feedbacks among species, ecosystem functions, and ecosystem services is challenging, costly, and time-consuming. Today, decision makers face the challenge of disentangling those complex interactions in order to maintain both biodiversity and the provision of ecosystem services.

I will present my recent research on:

1) combining optimisation and network theory to investigate the difference in species prioritisation and management outcomes when targeting biodiversity or ecosystem services. Using both simulation and empirical case study, results suggest that the trophic level of the species providing the services is important for reaching win-win situations for both biodiversity and ecosystem services.

2) I will also present a dynamic value of information approach, combined network theory, decision science, and optimizations, to investigate whether and on which condition resolving the ecosystem structure uncertainty (i.e., the feedback links from ecosystem function to species) could improve management outcomes.

As a follow up study of topic (1), this study suggests that learning the feedbacks from ecosystem function to species does not improve management outcomes for maximising biodiversity, yet improves management outcomes for ecosystem services by up to 25% for risk-neutral managers and 231% for risk-prone managers. To finish the seminar, I will briefly introduce my current work on ecosystem assessment and natural capital accounting.

BIO.

Hui Xiao is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Emily Nicholson’s Conservation Science group at the Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University. She obtained her PhD in ecological modelling at the University of Queensland, and work at the interface of statistics, econometrics, and conservation science.

She is interested in applying the state-of-the art techniques, such as network theory, stochastic dynamics programming, and value of information, to better suggest conservation decision-making, with specific focus on biodiversity-ecosystem services trade-offs and management under uncertainty.

Her current projects involve ecosystem risk assessments, natural capital accounting, and how risks to ecosystem could be related to risks of human well-being.

For more information click HERE.

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SPEAKER: Dr John McEvoy, Research Associate, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Conservation Ecology Center, National Zoological Park, VA, USA

DATE & TIME: Friday, 14th August 2020 @ 12:00 noon

LOCATION: Seminar to be streamed via Zoom. Click HERE to connect.

ABSTRACT.

Asian elephants are in real danger of disappearing from the world, with 10 times fewer left in the wild than their African counterparts. Paradoxically, Asian elephants are deeply embedded into human culture and civilization across their range yet we know little about some of their basic ecology, movements and behavior in the wild.

Myanmar represents possibly the last best hope for the Asian elephant with its expansive areas of intact forest but elephant habitat is being encroached upon by humans and a horrific skin poaching crisis has emerged in recent years.

By analyzing their movement behaviour to support conservation actions and with the continued support and determination of local and international partners we can hopefully guide these endangered giants off the path to extinction.

BIO.

John McEvoy is a research associate at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute’s Conservation Ecology Center. John’s work revolves around conservation and animal movement behavior, specifically the interplay between environmental, physiological and cognitive factors that shape observed patterns of movement in wide-ranging and nomadic species. John’s work at SCBI addresses pressing conservation concerns for threatened species around the world with two main projects covering Asian elephants and the illegal wildlife trade in Myanmar and Przewalski’s horse and grey wolves in Mongolia.

John hails from the Republic of Ireland and came to the Centre for Integrative Ecology in 2010 to work with Prof. Andy Bennett, Dr. David Roshier and Dr. Raoul Ribot, completing his PhD in 2015. John’s PhD research investigated the spatial ecology of nomadic waterfowl in the arid regions of inland Australia and identified key environmental factors that influence the initiation of long distance nomadic flight. Postdoctoral work in Australia includes combining tools such satellite tracking, rapid-response satellite imagery and UAV-mounted cameras to provide accurate counts of waterfowl on targeted wetlands within landscapes where the distribution of habitat is often unpredictable.

John has worked in the Mammal Unit at University of Bristol (UK), at the Behavioural and Physiological Ecology group at University of New England (Australia) and as a consultant wildlife ecologist with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. He is a passionate advocate for evidence-based approaches to developing conservation policy and has collaborated with many research groups and NGOs around the world on taxa as diverse as parrots, foxes, waterfowl, fish, passerines, and elephants.

For more info click HERE.

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SPEAKER: Dr Scarlett Howard, Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Fellow, Symonds Lab, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment, Deakin University

DATE & TIME: Friday, 7th August 2020 @ 12:00 noon

LOCATION: Seminar to be streamed via Zoom. Click HERE to connect.

ABSTRACT.

Many non-human animals demonstrate some level of numerical ability which includes an understanding of complex numerical concepts such as arithmetic, sequential ordering of numbers, or an understanding the concept of zero. Although very little research has been done on numerical ability in invertebrates, honeybees and several other insects have been shown to possess some numerical capabilities.

I have recently assessed the capacity of honeybees to exhibit complex numeric skills such as number categorisation, extrapolation, and simple arithmetic. Honeybees can place an empty set in the correct position along a line of sequential numbers, learn to categorise numbers as greater or lesser in context, acquire abstract colour-based rules to solve elementary incremental and decremental problems, and demonstrate an ability to match symbols with specific quantities.

Furthermore, I will present recent data on how bees use number skills in natural foraging situations. In some cases, honeybees have mastered numerical concepts at a level that parallels abilities demonstrated by primates, mammals, birds, and other vertebrates.

BIO.

Scarlett Howard explores conceptual learning, neurobiology, and visual perception in honeybees as well as insect diversity, pollinator preferences, and plant-pollinator interactions.

She has worked on honeybee learning, cognition, behaviour, and vision for about 7 years and is currently an Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Deakin University conducting research on the effect of anthropogenic environmental change on native and introduced pollinators with a focus on bees.

For more info click HERE.

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SPEAKER: Dr Cecilia Biancacci, PostDoctoral Researcher (Warrnambool Campus) Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University

DATE & TIME: Friday, 31st July 2020 @ 12:00 noon

LOCATION: Seminar to be streamed via Zoom. Click HERE to connect.

ABSTRACT.

Seaweed aquaculture is a growing sector worldwide, increasing dramatically in the past 50 years. Wild harvesting of seaweed biomass is not sustainable in the long-term and it is affected by the seasonality of the biomass. Hence, cultivation represents the preferred option for future exploitation of commercially interesting seaweeds.

Farmed seaweed production accounts approximately for 97% of the global seaweed supply, with just over 30 million tonnes wwt in 2016, reaching a value of US$11.7 billion. It is widely recognized that seaweeds are valuable resources, with various commercial applications in food, feed, fertilizer, cosmetics, textile, nutraceutical, and pharmaceutical products, as well as biofilters in Integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture systems (IMTA).

Here is presented a Ph.D. thesis that focused on the cultivation, biochemical composition and potential commercial applications of a less-known red seaweed, O. pinnatifida, and it is given an overview of the “Seaweed Solutions for Sustainable Aquaculture” CRC-P project, that aims to facilitate the cultivation of Australian kelps together with Atlantic salmon and blue mussels in eastern Tasmania, providing the understanding needed to guide both industry and decision-makers in the development of sustainable Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) in Tasmania and south-eastern Australia.

BIO.

Post Doc Research Fellow at Warrnambool campus within the project “CRC-P Seaweed Solutions for Sustainable Aquaculture”, currently investigating the potential of seaweed cultivation in Tasmania in an integrated Multitrophic Aquaculture (IMTA) system.

My role in the project is to optimize the cultivation methodologies of the Australian seaweeds investigated and to perform biochemical analyses of the biomass, to identify potential markets for the final products.

My main research interest centers around aquaculture of different organisms and species, with a focus on seaweed and their potential commercial applications. I have a Bachelor in Biological Sciences (University of Tor Vergata, Italy), a Master in Marine Bio-ecology (University of Cagliari, Italy), and a Ph.D. in Marine Biology (SAMS, UK), with more than 7 years of experience in the aquaculture field, including microalgae, invertebrates, and macroalgae.

For more info click HERE.

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SPEAKER: Ms Renee Hartley (PhD candidate), Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University

DATE & TIME: Friday, 24th July 2020 @ 12:00 noon

LOCATION: Seminar to be streamed via Zoom. Click HERE to connect.

ABSTRACT.

Ecosystems in the Australian alpine region are facing increasing pressures, including human disturbance, fire and climate change. Invasive herbivores can have severe and sustained impacts on these sensitive ecosystems.

The Endangered alpine she-oak skink (Cyclodomorphus praealtus) occurs in the alpine region of New South Wales and Victoria, with populations in the two jurisdictions considered genetically distinct. The species’ conservation status and habitat requirements are poorly understood in New South Wales, despite much of its range occurring in Kosciuszko National Park. Its primary habitat is subalpine grasslands, which are key grazing habitat for invasive herbivores.

This research addresses important knowledge gaps for managing the unique Australian subalpine grasslands and the alpine she-oak skink by quantifying the impacts of native and invasive herbivores and determining the habitat and detectability of the alpine she-oak skink.

BIO.

Renée commenced her PhD with ANU’s Fenner School of Environment and Society in 2018 after having worked for more than 10 years in the field of conservation.

With a focus on working with land managers, Renée hopes that her research will inform more effective management of high country ecosystems.

For more info click HERE.

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SPEAKER: Dr Martin Breed, Lecturer – Biology, College of Science & Engineering, Flinders University, South Australia

DATE & TIME: Friday, 17th July 2020 @ 12:00 noon

LOCATION: Seminar to be streamed via Zoom. Click HERE to connect.

ABSTRACT.

As the world’s population grows and cities expand, more people are shifting away from open, biodiverse spaces into urbanised environments. 50% of the world’s 7 billion people live in cities, with an increase to 70% anticipated by 2030. Rates of species extinction are now far higher than in the past 10 million years, driven in large part by increases in urban populations.

This biodiversity crisis is linked to rapid increases in non-communicable diseases (e.g. chronic inflammatory conditions). Rapid urbanisation is at odds with human evolutionary history, which is deeply rooted in nature. Loss of macrodiversity following urbanisation is linked to reductions in environmental microbial diversity. Exposure to biodiverse environmental microbiota is important for healthy human immune system development and maintenance.

Indeed, reduced exposure is thought to partly explain the western pandemic of non-communicable diseases. Despite these values, urban green spaces continue to decline. Can urban ecosystems be restored to serve a dual purpose of conserving native biodiversity and promoting public health at the same time?

BIO.

I completed my PhD in Restoration Genetics at the Adelaide University in 2013. Since completing my PhD, I have been a postdoc at Uppsala University (Sweden), a DECRA Fellow and Research Fellow at Adelaide University, until my appointed as Lecturer in Biology at Flinders University in 2019.

My team and I are passionate about doing applied research at the interface of restoration ecology, genomics and public health.

Some career highlights include signing an MOU with the UN Secretariat for the Convention on Biological Diversity to work jointly on the links between biodiversity and human health via the microbiome, serving as a patron of the genetics working groups for the Group On Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network (GEO BON) and the IUCN Species Survival Commission, and surviving Semester 1 2020 teaching.

For more info click HERE.

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SPEAKER: Dr Michelle Wille, ARC Discovery Early Career Research Award Fellow, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney

DATE & TIME: Friday, 10th July 2020 @ 12:00 noon

LOCATION: Seminar to be streamed via Zoom. Click HERE to connect.

ABSTRACT.

Wild birds interconnect all parts of the globe through annual cycles of migration with little respect for country or continental borders. Although wild birds are reservoir hosts for a high diversity of gamma- and deltacoronaviruses, we have little understanding of the ecology or evolution of any of these viruses.

Using genome sequences and ecological data, I aim to disentangle the evolution of coronaviruses in wild birds. Specifically, exploring host range at the levels of viral genus and species, and revealing the multi-host nature of many viral species, albeit with biases to certain types of avian host.

Finally, I will discuss cross-species virus transmission across both the wild bird – poultry interface as well as from birds to mammals. Clarifying the ecology and diversity in the wild bird reservoir has important ramifications for our ability to respond to the likely future emergence of coronaviruses in socioeconomically important animal species or human populations.

BIO.

Michelle Wille is an ARC DECRA Fellow at the University of Sydney. She is interested in the ecology and evolution of avian viruses.

She has spent 10 years working on influenza viruses in wild birds and now couples that with trying to understand virus community dynamics in the same wild bird hosts.

For more info click HERE.

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SPEAKER: Dr Alexandra McQueen, Associate Research Fellow, Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University

DATE & TIME: Friday, 26th June 2020 @ 12:00 noon

LOCATION: Seminar to be streamed via Zoom. Click HERE to connect.

ABSTRACT.

Many animals use elaborate ornaments, such as conspicuous colours, to intimidate rivals and attract mates. Understanding ornament costs is essential for understanding animal communication and the evolution of traits under sexual selection. However, measuring costs is challenging because ornaments often co-vary with other factors, such as the propensity to take risks and available resources.

During my PhD, I investigated the costs of a conspicuous sexual ornament in superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus). In this species, males undergo an annual colour change from a brown, non-breeding plumage to a bright, ultraviolet-blue and black plumage.

I show that males perceive themselves as facing a higher risk of predation when in blue plumage, while the production of the male’s conspicuous ornament entails only minor physiological costs. I find that male fairy-wrens do not spend more time preening while blue, and instead maintain vivid colours by replacing feathers throughout the breeding season.

These results suggest that predation risk is a key cost of displaying conspicuous colours. The need for blue males to maintain increased predator-avoidance behaviour, combined with age constraints and small, physiological costs, could explain why female fairy-wrens prefer extra-pair males that are blue for the longest time each year.

BIO.

Dr Alexandra McQueen is an Associate Research Fellow at Deakin University. Alex completed her PhD on the costs of colour signals and the evolution of colour change in birds at Monash University in 2019.

As a behavioural and evolutionary ecologist, Alex is interested in the evolution of the colours and shapes of birds.

Currently, Alex is investigating how birds use their beaks for thermoregulation, and the evolution of beak size in response to climate change, as part of a research team with A/Prof. Matthew Symonds and Prof. Marcel Klaassen.

For more info click HERE.

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