People
Jump to a list of past students and their thesis titles.
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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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Alex SantiagoAlex's project is investigating the influence of landscape-scale pattern on the genetic diversity of the South-eastern Slider skink. He's hopeful that the use of genetic markers to infer population health across landscapes will assist in earlier and more effective management of populations and maintain species' persistence.
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Amanda Lo CascioAmanda will be looking at factors affecting microbat connectivity in fire-prone fragmented landscapes. She will investigate microbat habitat associations and genetic population structure in the heathy woodlands of eastern South Australia and western Victoria.
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Amber ButtonAmber is investigating how the combined effects of fire and landscape structure influence the functional diversity of microbat communities.
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Amy SmithAmy is interested in the distribution and connectivity of mammals in response to fire in the fragmented heathy woodland of SE South Australia and western Victoria.
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Annalie DorphAnnalie’s research looks into how spatial patterns created by fire, topography, climate and vegetation affect vertebrate communities in the Otway Ranges and heathy woodlands of south-western Victoria. She is interested in statistical ecology and finding ways to integrate novel measures of landscape spatial pattern with field-collected data.
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Emma is studying how fire affects the community composition of flying insects.
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Erin is investigating the effects of fire and fragmentation on body condition of small mammals. She's using Elliott traps and camera traps to survey mammals in the heathy woodland of western Victoria.
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Gemma HigginsGemma is investigating the effect of fire on bird communities within the heathland sands communities of Western Victoria. Her study will focus on how differences in fire intensity and interval influence bird community ecology.
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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.
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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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Lily is using landscape-scale sampling units to investigate the responses of ground-dwelling mammals to spatial pattern in fire history.
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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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Milan HeeskensMilan is visiting from HAS University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. During a 20-week internship he is researching whether fire has direct impacts on animals or if it impacts animals indirectly.
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Pip TaylorPip will be investigating the effects of fire and moonlight on predator-prey interactions.
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Rachel investigated how time since fire, resource availability and predator activity influenced the endangered heath mouse. This study was conducted within treeless heath patches situated around south-western Victoria.
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Sandra has a keen interest in landscape processes and community ecology. Her PhD work examines how microbat communities are affected by fire, particularly through changes in vegetation structure and habitat resources such as invertebrate prey. You can find her on twitter @shpenman.
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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 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. Follow Sarah on Instagram @ecologisting.
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Saumya is looking into how the diets of small mammals change over time as a response to fire in the heathland communities in south-western Victoria.
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Simeon will be investigating a threatened species (Southern brown bandicoot) as well as mammal diversity in relation to disturbance by habitat fragmentation and fire, in the Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia.
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Taylor ReidTaylor is interested in the effects of fire and fragmentation on genetic variation across reptile species.
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Past students
Contact us for more information on these research projects or to find out about current student project opportunities.
Rachel Nalliah (Masters 2019). Untangling the web: fire, resource availability and the endangered heath mouse.
Taylor Reid (Masters 2019). The responses of reptiles to time since fire and vegetation structure.
Kelvin Doyle (Masters 2018). Does camera trap type affect detection probability and statistical models of species occurrence?
Lauren Delaney (Honours 2017). The effects of fire and fragmentation on ground-dwelling mammals: a multi-scale analysis.
Sarah McColl-Gausden (Masters 2017). Quantifying fire responses and flammability across ecosystems.
Zahlia Payne (Honours 2017). Older vegetation important for mammal functional diversity in a fire-prone landscape.
Andrew Stephens (Masters 2017). Response of fire persistence traits to productivity and fire gradients.
Kirsten Langmaid (Masters 2017). Fire severity and vegetation diversity interact to influence range size in the Mountain Bobuck Trichosurus Cunninghami.
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.
Yohannes Wibisonno (Masters 2015) The effect of fire on ground-dwelling mammal occurrence in mountain ash forest.
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.
Taylor Reid (Masters 2019). The responses of reptiles to time since fire and vegetation structure.
Kelvin Doyle (Masters 2018). Does camera trap type affect detection probability and statistical models of species occurrence?
Lauren Delaney (Honours 2017). The effects of fire and fragmentation on ground-dwelling mammals: a multi-scale analysis.
Sarah McColl-Gausden (Masters 2017). Quantifying fire responses and flammability across ecosystems.
Zahlia Payne (Honours 2017). Older vegetation important for mammal functional diversity in a fire-prone landscape.
Andrew Stephens (Masters 2017). Response of fire persistence traits to productivity and fire gradients.
Kirsten Langmaid (Masters 2017). Fire severity and vegetation diversity interact to influence range size in the Mountain Bobuck Trichosurus Cunninghami.
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.
Yohannes Wibisonno (Masters 2015) The effect of fire on ground-dwelling mammal occurrence in mountain ash forest.
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.
