Ecology

Research in the field of ecology from the Faculty of Science, University of Melbourne.

Researchers

Cristina Aponte     Research into the effects of management and climate change on forest carbon at different spatial and temporal scales.

Patrick Baker     Research on forest dynamics, silviculture, and reconstructing past climates.

Helena Bender     The intersection of social and biophysical systems and sustainability of the global ecosystem.

Lauren Bennett     Research in the effects of disturbances, like fire and climate change, on the ecosystem processes that underpin carbon and nutrient cycles.

Darren Bos     Research in the methods of community engagement through the Waterway Ecosystems Research Group (WERG), including knowledge exchange initiatives.

Roger Cousens     Ecology of plants, especially invasive species, with a current focus on coastal invaders. Using experimentation, survey, sampling, laboratory analysis and modelling to determine abundance, distribution change, population genetics and biogeography.

Robert Day     Dynamics of fisheries populations, especially abalone, abalone aquaculture, fisheries biology of chondrichthyans (sharks and their relatives), effects of ocean acidification on marine organisms.

Tim Dempster     Basic ecological research in marine environments, to ensure fishing, aquaculture and other anthropogenic practices are developed and conducted sustainably.

Barbara Downes     Aquatic ecology research in basic population and community ecology in both freshwater and marine environments.

Russell Drysdale     Palaeoclimatology specialising in reconstructing Earth’s climate history from geochemical signatures preserved in cave deposits.

Jane Elith     Species distribution models and statistical models to describe relationships between species and their environments.

Fiona Fidler     Meta-research, reproducibility and open science in ecology and other fields, how scientists and other experts reason, communicate and make decisions, and various aspects of interdisciplinary conservation science.

Michael-Shawn Fletcher     Studies in the long-term interactions between humans, climate, disturbance and vegetation at local, regional and global scales.

Joe Greet     The relationships between water regime and plant life-histories in riparian and wetland environments.

Gurutzeta Guillera-Arroita     Development and application of quantitative tools to answer questions in ecology and conservation with research on wildlife monitoring, modelling of special distributions and optimal study design.

Moss Imberger     Studies in the ways to improve the structure and function of urban streams through the application of catchment-scale water sensitive urban design.

Greg Jenkins     Aquatic and fisheries ecology, including fish eggs and larvae, recruitment, feeding, growth, movement, and supporting habitats such as seagrass.

Therésa Jones     Behaviour ecology with a focus on understanding the consequences of variability in mating systems, the role of chemical cues and the impact of artificial night lighting on individual fitness and community structures.

Michael Kearney     Research on how climate and weather affect the behaviour, life history, distribution and abundance of animals.

Michael Keough     Ecology and behaviour of marine organisms and communities living in the temperate waters of southeastern Australia, particularly the larval biology of marine organisms and the effects of disturbances in marine environments.

Jill Lancaster     Aquatic ecology research in basic population and community ecology in freshwater environments.

Michael McCarthy     Developing, evaluating and applying models to assist in environmental management. This includes population dynamics, fire ecology, ecological data, indices and risk assessment.

Iliana Medina Guzman     Behavioural ecology from a broad evolutionary perspective.

John Morrongiello     Working in marine and freshwater systems to investigate how aquatic organisms, primarily fish, respond to environmental changes on contemporary and evolutionary time scales.

Raoul Mulder     The causes and consequences of variability in bird mating systems, the relative importance of sexual and natural selection, the role of visual and acoustic signals, and the ways cooperation and conflict interact in complex social groups.

Kristen Parris     Research in urban ecology, amphibian ecology, conservation biology and animal behaviour, including acoustic communication in urban noise.

Ben Phillips     Evolution, ecology, and the influence of spatial processes; mathematical models; pure (theoretical) research, and application of theory to applied problems in conservation.

Devi Stuart-Fox     Research in evolutionary and behavioural ecology focusing on the mechanisms, function and evolution of animal coloration and animal vision.

Steve Swearer     The ecological processes that occur in early life, influencing the dynamics of fish populations, with a focus on the primary causes of extinction risk in fishes and coastal marine ecosystems.

Peter Vesk     Plant ecology, ecological modelling and statistics. Vegetation management, restoration ecology, landscape ecology, ecological monitoring.

Chris Walsh     Studies of the interaction between land use and ecological structure and function of stream ecosystems, the management actions required for ecologically successful stream protection and restoration.

Chris Weston     Studies in forest net productivity, nutrient and carbon cycles, the effects of fire on forest carbon balance, black carbon formation and impact of climate change on forest fuel accumulation.

Nicholas Williams     Urban ecology research with a focus on biodiversity patterns in cities and towns, and the many ecosystem services urban vegetation can provide to urban areas.

Brendan Wintle     Conservation ecology and conservation decision support, conservation economics, ecological modelling, threatened species survey design and monitoring.

Alan York     Investigations into how fire causes patterns in the landscape, and how plants and animals respond to these patterns.

Research centres

Environmental Microbiology Research Initiative
How environmental microorganisms influence ecosystem and human health, change the chemistry of the planet, respond to impacts of industrial contamination and climate change, and new biotechnologies.

National Centre for Coasts and Climate (NCCC)
Working to identify the best ways of addressing climate change impacts in Australian coastal ecosystems.

Research in this area is conducted in the School of BioSciences, School of Geography, and School of Agriculture, Food and Ecosystem Sciences.