research Mapping the ‘super-highways’ the First Australians used to cross the ancient land 4 May 2021 Author provided/The Conversation, Author provided There are many hypotheses about where the Indigenous ancestors first settled in Australia tens of thousands of years ago, but evidence is scarce. Few archaeological…
research Population of First Australians grew to millions, much more than previous estimates 30 Apr 2021 Shutterstock/Jason Benz Bennee We know it is more than 60,000 years since the first people entered the continent of Sahul — the giant landmass that connected New Guinea, Australia and…
research The biggest and slowest don’t always bite it first 16 Apr 2021 For many years I've been interested in modelling the extinction dynamics of megafauna. Apart from co-authoring a few demographically simplified (or largely demographically free) models about how megafauna species could…
careers… Job: Research Associate in Mammalian Morphology-Environment Interactions 15 Feb 202115 Feb 2021 The Research Associate will investigate how the skull of extant mammal populations varies according to their environment, with a focus on the interaction between mega-herbivores and vegetation change. The project…
opinion… Plan B: COVID-19 challenges for field-based PhD students 8 Dec 20208 Dec 2020 Blistering heat, pouring rain, finding volunteers, submitting field-trip forms, forgetting equipment, data sheets blowing away in the wind — a field-based research project is hard at the best of times.…
concepts… History of species distribution models 21 Jul 2020 This little historical overview by recently completed undergraduate student, Sofie Costin (soon to join our lab!), nicely summarises the history, strengths, and limitations of species distribution modelling in ecology, conservation and restoration.…
careers… I’m nearing the end of my PhD/postdoc … What the hell am I supposed to do now? 13 Jul 2020 What do you want to be when you grow up? The term ‘job security’ seems a fanciful idea to budding biologists — you may as well be studying unicorns (and…
research Amphibian conservation in a managed world 1 Apr 2020 The amphibian class is diverse, and ranges from worm-like caecilians to tiny frogs that live their entire lives within bromeliads high in the rainforest canopy. Regardless of form or habit,…
research Climate change and humans together pushed Australia’s biggest beasts to extinction 25 Nov 201926 Nov 2019 Over the last 60,000 years, many of the world’s largest species disappeared forever. Some of the largest that we generally call ‘megafauna’ were first lost in Sahul — the super-continent…
research Logbook of Australia’s ancient megafauna 20 Nov 201920 Nov 2019 Australia is home to some of the most unique species worldwide, including egg-laying mammals, tree-climbing, desert-bouncing and and burrow-digging marsupials, and huge flightless birds. While these animals are fascinating, the…
careers… A new environment for personal transformation: what Australia has meant to me 12 Sep 2019 When developing an academic career, sticking in one’s homeland has its pros and cons. -- On your home turf there will usually be at least a few family members with…
research Rising human populations drive environmental degradation in Africa 27 Jun 201925 Jun 2019 Almost a decade ago, I (co-) wrote a paper examining the socio-economic correlates of gross, national-scale indices of environmental performance among the world's nations. It turned out to be rather…
research First Australians arrived in large groups using complex technologies 18 Jun 2019 One of the most ancient peopling events of the great diaspora of anatomically modern humans out of Africa more than 50,000 years ago — human arrival in the great continent…
research Koala extinctions past, present, and future 12 Jun 201912 Jun 2019 Koalas are one of the most recognised symbols of Australian wildlife. But the tree-living marsupial koala is not doing well throughout much of its range in eastern Australia. Ranging as…
careers… Being empathetic for better interdisciplinarity 4 Jun 2019 Scientists appear to have mixed feelings when it comes to interdisciplinarity in science — the reaction spans from genuine enthusiasm right through to pure disdain. I myself have crossed many…
careers… 11 things academic research and surfing have in common 2 May 2019 The last time I went surfing the waves were very slow and between sets I had a lot of time to contemplate life. This was when it occurred to me…
careers… Skydive your PhD 23 Apr 201923 Apr 2019 Many students start a PhD by just continuing in the same subject and same institution from their Masters or Honours project. But this is not necessarily the best way…
