Research Interests

• Conservation Biology

• Wildlife Genetics

• Molecular Systematics

• Invasive Species

Non-invasive study of the demography of invasive animals

How effective is fox control?  I am interested in estimating fox abundance and survivorship when subject to lethal control.  Foxes are difficult to study by conventional means like trapping, but measuring the abundance of foxes is critical to assessing the cost-benefit of control operations.  We have developed systems to accurately monitor them from readily collected trace DNA samples including scats (faeces) and hairs.  We are collaborating on projects in a range of environments ranging from the mesic Gippsland, Victoria, to the arid mid-west of Western Australia.

Landscape genetics of invasive species

I am using high resolution DNA markers (microsatellite DNA) to map movement patterns across the entire range of the fox in Australia. I am particularly interested in how movement varies among different landscapes and how we can use this information to improve methods of control. This project has been conducted in collaboration with around 1000 members of the public as The Fox DNA Project (www.foxdna.animals.uwa.edu.au).

The evolution of tolerance to 1080 poison

1080 (sodim fluoroacetate) is widely used as a pesticide to control feral animals in Australia and overseas, but it is particularly effective in south-western Australia because native species have a natural tolerance to it  (a fascinating story of co-evolution with 1080-bearing vegetation).  This means that poison baits can be liberally dispersed in the environment with virtually no risk of poisoning non-target (native) species. 

Suprisingly, there is currently limited understanding of the molecular basis for tolerance to 1080 poison.  A major motivation for undertaking this research is a recent finding that pest species repeatedly exposed to 1080 may rapidly evolve tolerance to it. 

We are using a native rat species (Rattus fuscipes) as our model system for this study.  The close evolutionary relationship between this species and the laboratory rat (R. norvegicus) means thatwe have an immense number of powerful molecular diagnostic tools available.  Of particular use are gene expression microarrays, which we have already used to identify a number of candidate molecular pathways involved in tolerance to 1080. 

By identifying the molecular basis of 1080 tolerance we aim to develop a tool to monitor the evolution of 1080 tolerance in pest populations.  This will enable baiting campaigns to be modified so that the risk of 1080 tolerance evolving in pest populations is minimised.