People
Jump to a list of past students and their thesis titles.
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A/Prof Alan YorkAlan is a terrestrial ecologist who has focussed much of his research on fire and invertebrates. He is the head of the fire ecology research program at Melbourne University.
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Annalie DorphAnnalie is looking into how fire affects biodiversity throughout the Otway Ranges. Currently her focus involves building on an existing dataset to examine the influence of time since fire on ground-dwelling mammal diversity.
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Diana KuchinkeDiana’s research investigates the effects of fire severity and frequency on the forest birds of western Victoria. Our birds are under threat from not only an ongoing increase in the areas of urban development but also from changing fire regimes. South-eastern Australia’s climate is drying, rainfall patterns are no longer the norm and prescribed burns along with bushfires are occurring more frequently. Her analyses focus on biodiversity measures of richness and turnover post-fire, as well as on the responses to fire by individual species.
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Ellen RochelmeyerEllen's study is based in the Otway Ranges and explores the relationships between vegetation structure, flammability and animal occurrence. She is particularly interested in how new forest flammability modelling can be used to relate flammability/fire risk with the occurrence of ground-dwelling mammals.
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Holly is coordinating the Fire & Fragmentation Project, and is interested in all things relating to animal responses to landscape structure and change. She's particularly interested in how past disturbances and connectivity are reflected in genetic diversity. Read more at Holly's website and follow her on twitter @hollysitters.
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Dr Julian Di StefanoJulian is interested in the relationships between landscape change (often precipitated by disturbances such as timber harvesting or fire), ecosystem structure and function, and the distribution, abundance and behaviour of animals. Read more at Julian's website.
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Julio Nájera-Umaña
Julio works as a Technical Officer providing professional support to scientists and postgraduate students with the landscape carbon, biodiversity and associated fire behaviour research projects.
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Kate ParkinsKate is studying edge effects in flammable landscapes. Her focus is on how fire edges influence movement patterns and resource selection of ground dwelling mammals.
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Kelvin DoyleKelvin is interested in maximising efficiency and benefit during ecological restoration, creating awareness on the importance of understanding our forests and educating and providing opportunity for children to experience the ‘bush’.
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Kirsten LangmaidKirsten is studying the relationship between disturbance (bush fires), resource abundance and home range size for the Mountain Brushtail Possum, in the Central Highlands of Victoria. She is interested in the responses of fauna at a landscape scale to disturbance, particularly climate change. She is currently the president of the forestry ecosystem student society.
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Lauren DelaneyLauren is studying the effects of fire and fragmentation on ground-dwelling mammal activity in the heathy woodlands of SW Victoria using a multi-scaled approach.
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Manuela FischerManuela has designed GPS wildlife tracking devices to provide information on movement ecology of swamp wallabies in a human-modified and fragmented landscape on Phillip Island. She is particularly interested in resource selection and connectivity. She also studies foraging effects of wallabies and compares their impact to the impact of other abundant herbivores.
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Dr Matthew SwanMatt is interested in the effects of fire regimes on ecological processes such as animal movement, resource acquisition and species interactions. His current research is investigating relationships between fire, vegetation structure and fauna in tall wet forests of Victoria. Read more about the Fire in Wet Forests Project.
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Sandra PenmanSandra is investigating how fire affects microbat communities, particularly through changes in forest structure and the availability of food resources.
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Sarah McColl-GausdenSarah is studying how time since fire affects the flammability of different ecosystems in the Otway Ranges. She is particularly interested in how changes to vegetation structure and species composition affect flammability.
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Sarah MulhallSarah is studying the effects of fire and fragmentation on reptiles in the healthy woodlands of SW Victoria and SE South Australia, with a focus on the way in which these two factors impact on landscape connectivity.
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Trent is a bushfire risk modeller. His research seeks to identify improved fire management strategies which balance the need to protect people and property with environmental values. Follow Trent on twitter @trentpenman and find his publication list on Google Scholar.
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Zahlia PayneZahlia is studying the effects of fire and fragmentation on different communities of woodland forests in south west Victoria, with a focus on the ground-dwelling mammals that inhabit these areas.
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Past students
Contact us for more information on these research projects or to find out about current student project opportunities.
Natasha Van Der Heyden (Masters 2016). Factors influencing small mammal distribution in the eastern Otway Ranges.
Hilman Triandi Sukma (Masters 2016). Mammal functional diversity increases with habitat structural complexity.
Julian Brown (PhD 2016). Fire effects on pollinators and pollination.
Matthew Chick (PhD 2016). Fire, environment, and the shrubby understorey of heathy-woodland.
Bronwyn Hradsky (PhD 2016). Interactions between invasive predators, native mammals and fire in a forest ecosystem.
Amy Scott (Masters 2015). Edge-effects in fire prone landscapes: Influence of species traits and resource distribution on ground-dwelling mammal responses to fire edges.
Claus Brehm (Masters 2015). Ground-dwelling ant species composition after different prescribed fire treatments.
O'Neill Kyaw Sein Win Tun (Masters 2015). Estimating forest carbon stocks in tropical mixed deciduous forest: Case study in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
Carolina Galindez Silva (PhD 2014). Fire, resources and behavioural responses of ground-dwelling mammals.
Holly Sitters (PhD 2014). The influence of fire on forest birds at multiple scales.
Matthew Swan (PhD 2014). Interactions between fire, environmental heterogeneity and ground-dwelling mammals.
Ray Alexander (Honours 2014). Is habitat selection by the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) influenced by fire history?
Tegan Brown (Honours 2013). The effect of fire on vegetation structure and invertebrate pollinator communities.
Amber Fordyce (Honours 2013). The impact of prescribed fire on microhabitat selection of the bush rat, Rattus fuscipes.
Andrew Heaver (PhD 2013). The effects of fire on bark habitats and associated beetle assemblages.
Gloria Maikano (Masters 2013). Relative effects of heat and smoke on germination of seeds from heathy woodland and foothills forest soils.
Craig Mildwaters (Honours 2013). Predicting the effects of prescribed burning on native ground-dwelling mammals.
John Loschiavo (Honours 2012). Comparing field-based and remote-sensed methods for mapping a prescribed burn.
Erin Steel (Honours 2011). The effects of fire and landscape heterogeneity on small mammals of the Otway Ranges, Victoria.
Thomas Duff (PhD 2010). Modelling vegetation responses to environmental influences in a natural forest system.
Anne Miehs (PhD 2010). The role of coarse woody debris in conserving vertebrate biodiversity in fire prone areas.
Francene O’Connor (Masters 2010). Characterisation of ant assemblages within the surface litter layer of a fire-prone landscape.
Luke Smith (Honours 2010). Predicting habitat complexity using vegetation community, time since last fire and fire frequency.
Heather Stewart (Honours 2010). The effects of minimum fire interval on the abundance of six heathy woodland shrub species with different post-fire regeneration strategies.
Cara Breen (Honours 2008). Habitat characteristics specific to the threatened Brush-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa tapoatafa) in central Victoria.
Jacqui Slingo (Honours 2008). Bird assemblages in a heathy woodland: Investigating the effect of time since fire on resource availability.
Julian Di Stefano (PhD 2007). Home range size and resource selection by the swamp wallaby, Wallabia bicolor, in a landscape modified by timber harvesting.
Robert Morris (Honours 2007). Fire as an agent in small mammal habitat change: With reference to the Heath Mouse (Pseudomys shortridgei).
Madeline Osborn (PhD 2007). Long term effects of frequent burning on fungal communities and the role of fungi in fire-prone forests.
Laura Owen (Honours 2007). Habitat use by the Silky Mouse, Pseudomys apodemoides, and the influence of time since last fire.
Hilman Triandi Sukma (Masters 2016). Mammal functional diversity increases with habitat structural complexity.
Julian Brown (PhD 2016). Fire effects on pollinators and pollination.
Matthew Chick (PhD 2016). Fire, environment, and the shrubby understorey of heathy-woodland.
Bronwyn Hradsky (PhD 2016). Interactions between invasive predators, native mammals and fire in a forest ecosystem.
Amy Scott (Masters 2015). Edge-effects in fire prone landscapes: Influence of species traits and resource distribution on ground-dwelling mammal responses to fire edges.
Claus Brehm (Masters 2015). Ground-dwelling ant species composition after different prescribed fire treatments.
O'Neill Kyaw Sein Win Tun (Masters 2015). Estimating forest carbon stocks in tropical mixed deciduous forest: Case study in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.
Carolina Galindez Silva (PhD 2014). Fire, resources and behavioural responses of ground-dwelling mammals.
Holly Sitters (PhD 2014). The influence of fire on forest birds at multiple scales.
Matthew Swan (PhD 2014). Interactions between fire, environmental heterogeneity and ground-dwelling mammals.
Ray Alexander (Honours 2014). Is habitat selection by the Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) influenced by fire history?
Tegan Brown (Honours 2013). The effect of fire on vegetation structure and invertebrate pollinator communities.
Amber Fordyce (Honours 2013). The impact of prescribed fire on microhabitat selection of the bush rat, Rattus fuscipes.
Andrew Heaver (PhD 2013). The effects of fire on bark habitats and associated beetle assemblages.
Gloria Maikano (Masters 2013). Relative effects of heat and smoke on germination of seeds from heathy woodland and foothills forest soils.
Craig Mildwaters (Honours 2013). Predicting the effects of prescribed burning on native ground-dwelling mammals.
John Loschiavo (Honours 2012). Comparing field-based and remote-sensed methods for mapping a prescribed burn.
Erin Steel (Honours 2011). The effects of fire and landscape heterogeneity on small mammals of the Otway Ranges, Victoria.
Thomas Duff (PhD 2010). Modelling vegetation responses to environmental influences in a natural forest system.
Anne Miehs (PhD 2010). The role of coarse woody debris in conserving vertebrate biodiversity in fire prone areas.
Francene O’Connor (Masters 2010). Characterisation of ant assemblages within the surface litter layer of a fire-prone landscape.
Luke Smith (Honours 2010). Predicting habitat complexity using vegetation community, time since last fire and fire frequency.
Heather Stewart (Honours 2010). The effects of minimum fire interval on the abundance of six heathy woodland shrub species with different post-fire regeneration strategies.
Cara Breen (Honours 2008). Habitat characteristics specific to the threatened Brush-tailed Phascogale (Phascogale tapoatafa tapoatafa) in central Victoria.
Jacqui Slingo (Honours 2008). Bird assemblages in a heathy woodland: Investigating the effect of time since fire on resource availability.
Julian Di Stefano (PhD 2007). Home range size and resource selection by the swamp wallaby, Wallabia bicolor, in a landscape modified by timber harvesting.
Robert Morris (Honours 2007). Fire as an agent in small mammal habitat change: With reference to the Heath Mouse (Pseudomys shortridgei).
Madeline Osborn (PhD 2007). Long term effects of frequent burning on fungal communities and the role of fungi in fire-prone forests.
Laura Owen (Honours 2007). Habitat use by the Silky Mouse, Pseudomys apodemoides, and the influence of time since last fire.
