My Research
Animal Behaviour
Animal behaviour is fascinating. I enjoy developing ways to test behavioural theory in the field, with large reptiles. I especially love understanding the evolutionary drivers of behavioural strategies and what happens when a population faces a novel enviornmental challenge (i.e. an invasive species).
I am passionate about the field of 'conservation behaviour' i.e. capitalising on behvaioral nuances of animals to help conserve biodiversity.
In addition to identifying personality types in wild reptiles, I have trained wild large predators to avoid eating toxic invasive prey, using conditioned taste aversion (food poisoning). Learn more about that on going project here.
Applied Ecology
How can we forge ahead in wildlife biology and design conservation strategies without a basic understanding of how
animals live in the wild?
My research is grounded in ecology - species ecology, spatial ecology, community ecology, landscape ecology.
I dive deep into ecosystems in which I work and apply those insights to develop effective management strategies.
Conservation Science
I work to protect wild animals in wild places. I ask counterintuitive questions: Can pest species be ecologically useful? Does indigenous traditional hunting increase prey resilience under environmental change? Instead of controlling harmful invasive species, can we ‘train’ the native animals they impact?
To tackle conservation issues, I collaborate with indigenous land management networks and bring industry stakeholders together in new and exciting ways. For example, I developed and lead ‘The Cane Toad Coalition’ (2017), a strategic partnership between prominent conservation organisations, Indigenous NGOs and cultural groups, State governments and regional stakeholders. We have the ambitious task of delivering the largest and most innovative strategy for cane toad mitigation
to date.