Lots of great students have done some fantastic research in endangered grasslands, woodlands and other ecosystems. Many of their research papers can be downloaded from the ‘publications’ tab above.
If you are interested in joining the team to do a research project (at Honours, Masters or PhD level) on a related topic, please send me an email, at ilunt@csu.edu.au.
Current PhD students
Ian Cole
How can we restore diverse understoreys dominated by native grasses and wildflowers in degraded remnant woodlands? Ian Cole’s PhD focuses on this important conservation issue. In a large experiment in southern NSW, Ian is examining how disturbances such as crash grazing and burning, and changes to soil nutrient levels influence the establishment and growth of native grasses in degraded woodlands. Ian’s work supports a large project that is co-supervised by Dr Suzanne Prober (pictured) of CSIRO and I. This project is funded and supported by many organizations, including the NSW Environmental Trust, Murray CMA, DECCW NSW, the Future Farm Industries, CRC and Sugar Australia. You can read more blogs about this project on the ‘Projects/Restore’ page.
Email Ian: Ian.Cole@environment.nsw.gov.au
Kylie Eklom
Why do grassland birds prefer some habitat types more than others? Kylie is addressing this question for the endangered Plains Wanderer, a rare bird of grasslands in the Riverina region in western NSW. Kylie’s study is focusing on food supplies, especially invertebrates and seeds. She is documenting how invertebrates and seeds are distributed across different grasslands, and how they are affected by activities such as livestock grazing. Kylie’s project is supported by the NSW National Parks & Wildlife Service. Kylie’s project is supervised by Associate Professor Gary Luck and I.
Email Kylie: keklom@csu.edu.au
Karolina Petrovic
Mistletoes and possums have little in common in evolutionary terms, but possess similar functional roles in forests and woodlands – both ‘feed’ on dominant forest trees. But do they select similar or different trees? Do the defensive chemicals that trees produce to deter possums also deter mistletoes? Karolina is investigating these questions and many more in her project on mistletoes, possums and tree leaf chemistry. Karolina’s project is supervised by Associate Professor David Watson and I.
Email Karolina: kpetrovic@csu.edu.au
Don’t miss Karolina’s cool YouTube video!
Mel Schroder
Alpine areas support many of Australia’s endemic ecosystems, which are highly vulnerable to climate change. Parts of the alps are also threatened by exotic weed invasion. The diversity of weed species in the alps has increased rapidly since the 1960’s. Developing strategies to work out which weeds pose the most serious threats to natural areas and which ecosystems are most vulnerable to invasion is a challenge. Mel is tackling this challenge by exploring the causes of weed invasion. Currently she is focusing on how soil nutrients vary across altitudinal gradients, and how plant traits associated with nutrient acquisition vary among weeds and native plants. High nutrient levels are known to promote exotic plant invasions in many ecosystems. Is this also true for the Australian alps? Mel is a part-time Masters research student, and works with the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. I am co-supervising Mel’s project with Dr Keith McDougall of NSW NPWS.
Email Mel: Mel.Schroder@environment.nsw.gov.au
Lisa Smallbone
Which birds get the most benefit from regenerating native vegetation in agricultural areas? Lisa is working in the Rushworth region in central Victoria, where she is documenting how shrubs and trees are regenerating as agricultural areas change to hobby farms, and how bird communities change as regenerating vegetation gets older. You can read more blogs on the topic of passive regeneration in agricultural areas on the ‘Projects/Regrow’ page. I co-supervise Lisa’s PhD project with Drs Alison Matthews and John Morgan.
Email Lisa: lsmallbone@csu.edu.au
Stuart Woodcock
Can we predict which areas in south-eastern Australia are most likely to experience undergo passive revegetation by native trees and shrubs based on social and environmental factors? In particular, to what extent does the ‘tree change’ phenomenon – in which urban people move out to rural lifestyle properties – influence patterns of revegetation across the landscape? Stuart will use GIS modeling to address many of these issues in his PhD project, which has just started. I co-supervise Stuart’s PhD with Dr Peter Spooner.
Email Stuart: sjwoodcock@bigpond.com
Thanks to Margrit Beemster who took most of the photos on this page, and the photo of me on the ‘About Me’ page.
Completed PhD & Masters students
Bruce, Nicole (2011). A bird’s eye view: development of a remote sensing approach to monitoring semi-arid grasslands for biodiversity conservation. Ph.D. Co-supervised with Meredith Mitchell and Dr Mohammad Abuzar (Dept. Primary Industries Victoria).
- read a project summary about Nicky’s work
- read a popular article about Nicky’s project
Janet Cohn
Cohn, Janet (2011). How are the dynamics of woodland dominants influenced by climate and disturbances in south eastern Australia? Ph.D. Co-supervised with Prof. Ross Bradstock and Dr Karen Ross.
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Alison Skinner
Skinner, Alison (2011). The effects of grassland state on natural regeneration of eucalypts. Ph.D. Co-supervised with Drs Sue McIntyre and Sandra Lavorel.
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Robyn Whipp
Whipp, Robyn (2009). Historical vegetation change in relation to timber management in the Pilliga State Forests of northern NSW, Australia. Ph.D. Co-supervised with Dr Peter Spooner and Dr Ross Bradstock (Uni Wollongong).
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Hughes, Sue (2008). Remnants from the past: Exploring the impacts of post-Colonial settlement on landscape patterns in the NSW wheat-sheep belt. Ph.D. Co-supervised with Assoc. Prof. Dirk Spennemann.
Spooner, Peter (2005). The effects of anthropogenic disturbance regimes on roadside vegetation in a fragmented agricultural landscape. Ph.D. Co-supervised with Dr David Freudenberger (CSIRO) and Dr Sue Briggs (NPWS).
Cole, Ian (2003). Developing techniques for landscape scale re-establishment of the perennial native grass, Themeda triandra Forssk. in degraded box woodlands in the South West Slopes region of NSW. M.Appl.Sci.
Honours students
Lots of papers have been written based on great projects undertaken by Honours students. Please look up the publications page (see tab above) to search and download papers by Honours students.
Anderson, Pheona (in progress). Impacts of trees and shrubs on soil processes in regenerating shrublands and woodlands.
Grant, Toby (2008). Changes in woody vegetation in central Victoria from 1972 to 2005.
Seberry, Lisa (2007). Changes in woody vegetation cover in Victorian ecosystems: an analysis of the National Carbon Accounting System land cover data.
O’Bryan, Katherine (2007). Effects of management on vegetation structure, bryophyte and lichen composition in a high quality derived native grassland community in central New South Wales.
Smallbone, L. (2005). Restoration ecology of native forbs in degraded white box grassy woodlands.
Edmonds, T. (2004). The effects of the frequency of persistent summer snowdrifts on the composition and structure of alpine vegetation.
Turner, J. (2004). Post-settlement changes in forest structure in Pilliga West State Forest, New South Wales.
Watson, C. (2004). Habitat modelling and effects of fire on Callitris endlicheri in the Chiltern – Mt Pilot National Park, Victoria.
Kenny, S. (2003). Effects of grazing exclusion on understorey vegetation in river red gum forests and ephemeral wetlands in Millewa State Forest, NSW.
Michael, D. (2001). Vertebrate fauna in a semi-arid grassland at Terrick Terrick National Park, Victoria: distributions, habitat preferences and use of experimental refuges.
Herring, M. (2001). The Brolga (Grus rubicunda) in the New South Wales and Victorian Riverina: distribution, breeding habitat and potential role as an umbrella species.
Spooner, P. (2000). The effects of fencing remnant native woodlands in the NSW south-west slopes region.
Conway, M. (2000). The effects of grazing exclusion on a long-grazed species-rich Riverina grassland.
Bourd, S. (2000). The effects of soils and stock grazing on grassland composition in Terrick Terrick National Park, Victoria.
Parker, D. (1999). Structural patterns and changes in Callitris – Eucalyptus woodlands at Terrick Terrick State Park, Victoria.
Costello, D.A. (1998). Ecological impacts of Coast Wattle (Acacia sophorae) on coastal grasslands in south-eastern NSW.
