The Team — DIFFICULT BIRD RESEARCH GROUP

Prof. Robert Heinsohn

I have had great success at running field projects in evolutionary and conservation biology, often in remote and difficult conditions. Over the last 18 years I have run a research program on Cape York Peninsula to study the remarkable Eclectus Parrot and Palm Cockatoo. The skills we developed on our Cape York program, including surveys by ground and air, aerial radio-tracking, tree-climbing, and catching parrots, together with specialist analytical techniques such as population viability analysis, left us ideally poised to work on difficult Tasmanian and other bird species that have long been left in the ‘too hard basket’. The recent research of my group has revealed major threats to Tasmanian birds, and substantially added to the body of information available for critically endangered nomadic species such as the regent honeyeater. Through our intensive field research and communication with the government and general public our aim is to continue to draw attention to the species most at risk from extinction, and to conduct research targeted at pulling these species back from the ‘brink’ before it is too late.

DR DEJAN STOJANOVIC

I am the lead postdoc of the DBRG, and manage a range of projects primarily in Tasmania and elsewhere around Australia. I am a conservation scientist interested in the factors that affect small and declining populations, and am responsible for managing operations of the DBRG. I undertook my PhD research on the breeding biology of the endangered swift parrot in their Tasmanian breeding range. My research shed light on details about the breeding ecology of a species for which there were no data in spite of its severely threatened status. Since then, I have become increasingly involved in the conservation management of a range of other threatened species. My work includes a research program on the three Polytelis parrot, orange-bellied parrots, rufous scrub birds and ongoing work on swift parrots. I supervise several staff and students on a range of species across Australia. Prospective students can contact me via email.

dr ROSS CRATES

I am a postdoctoral fellow within the DBRG. I studied a BSc in Ecology at the University of East Anglia, UK. I spent a year as an exchange student at the University of Wollongong, where I studied the ecology of fairy wrens. After graduating, I worked as a research assistant at the Edward Grey Institute, University of Oxford, on a large scale study into the social ecology of wild songbirds using novel tracking devices. In 2015 I returned to Australia to commence my PhD into the ecology and conservation of the Regent Honeyeater. I have broad interests in avian ecology and conservation, with a focus on woodland birds in southeastern Australia. I manage national monitoring programs for the Regent Honeyeater (breeding) and Swift Parrot (wintering). My current research topics include: 1) Reducing Noisy Miner numbers in areas of high conservation value; 2) Dynamics of Regent Honeyeater song culture, 3) Nest predators, nest depredation and nest protection, 4) Conservation genomics, 5) Estimating bushfire impacts on the Regent Honeyeater, 6) Threatened species monitoring, 7) Conservation of King Island's small brown birds

dr Fernanda Alves de Amorim

I am a conservation biologist with an interest in population ecology and management of threatened species and their habitat. I am interest in how populations interact with the environment after landscape changes and how management interventions can help the persistence of populations. I got my Bachelor in Biological Sciences in 2007 and since then I have collaborated on field work with several endangered species. In 2014, I completed my Masters in Zoology at the University of São Paulo in Brazil. For my Masters’ research I estimated population density and investigated habitat selection by the endangered red-billed curassow (Crax blumenbachii) in one of the remaining lowland Atlantic Forest stronghold for this species. I have been working with ANU research team since September 2015 on a training program to develop a research project on the endangered forty-spotted pardalote (Pardalotus quadragintus). During my training I have also helped with field work on Swift parrots. Recently, I was awarded a PhD scholarship at the Research School of Biology to conduct my research on Forty-spotted pardalotes. My research on forty spotted pardalotes focusses on their landscape scale patterns of occupancy and abundance, plus fine scale aspects of their breeding success and parasite ecology.

Dr Giselle Owens

I’m a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the Fenner School of Environment and Society at the Australian National University. My research interests are broad across bird ecology and conservation with a focus on hollow-nesting species. A lot of my research has been on the critically endangered swift parrot, which I began as an honours student, continued as a research officer, and was the focus of my doctorate. My PhD thesis was on the extrinsic factors contributing to population decline in the swift parrot’s breeding range and addressed numerous recovery plan actions along the way. My current research focuses on using bioacoustics to monitor critically endangered orange-bellied parrots, and includes work on its Neophema relative, the vulnerable blue-winged parrot. I joined the DBRG in 2018 and enjoy working across our teams projects and species. Most of all, I am motivated to apply conservation science to fill knowledge gaps and inform effective recovery pathways for threatened species.

Tom Hunt

I'm a conservation ecologist with a broad interest in the natural world, but I’m particularly interested in the research and management of threatened birds. Originally from South Australia, I studied at The University of Adelaide and for over a decade have been involved in conservation and restoration projects across South Australia, Victoria, and New South Wales. This work has included researching threatened mallee birds and reintroducing locally extinct mammals with the Wild Deserts project.

Now based in Tasmania, I am involved with several projects in the DBRG including forty-spotted pardalotes and swift parrots, focusing on habitat assessments, threatening processes, and effective on-ground management actions. I’m driven by my passion for the Australian landscape and its wildlife, and I am proud to be part of a like-minded team working to improve conservation outcomes.

Dr GEORGE OLAH

I am a conservation biologist interested in evolutionary genetics and tropical ecology. I gained my MSc degree in Applied Zoology from the University of Veterinary Sciences in Budapest, Hungary. I obtained extensive field experience on psittacines in many Latin-American countries in the Neotropics. During my PhD at the Australian National University I became an expert in modern molecular genetics. Before and during my PhD research I worked years in the Peruvian Amazon with local communities and the eco-tourism industry. I recently produced a documentary movie about this work (www.macawmovie.com). My interest in genetic analyses and my endeavour to preserve biological diversity via well established conservation management found their common niche in conservation genetics and genomics.

Dr Laura Rayner

I am a conservation ecologist studying population dynamics of species in modified landscapes. I am particularly interested in long-term monitoring for the development and evaluation of conservation interventions aimed at safeguarding threatened species and restoring temperate woodland. Within the DBRG, I contribute to the design and implementation of the National Regent Honeyeater Monitoring Program, and coordinate the Superb Parrot Conservation Research Project. I hold a Senior Ecologist position with the ACT Government where I focus my time gathering and interpreting applied scientific evidence to support conservation operators; including land managers, strategic planners, policy makers, recovery teams and local community groups.

Stacey Taylor

I am a PhD candidate at the ANU, focusing on addressing critical knowledge gaps in the ecology of Gang-gang Cockatoos. I am also a Senior Conservation Planner with the ACT Government, where my focus is on developing high-level strategic documents and applying ecological principles to local conservation efforts. In previous roles I lived and worked in remote locations across Australia, facilitating collaborations between Indigenous communities, ecological researchers, and contemporary land managers

By locating and describing critical breeding habitat, and investigating predation and competition pressure on reproductive success, I hope to inform conservation efforts for the Gang-gang Cockatoo at both a local and range-wide scale. My research also aims to describe the population genetics of Gang-gang Cockatoos across their range, including trialling non-invasive methods to collect genetic

dr Catherine Young

I am a behavioural ecologist, interested in breeding systems and the secret lives of birds. I completed a PhD at ANU with Dr Sarah Pryke, Prof Patricia Backwell and Prof Robert Heinsohn, investigating the social system of crimson finches in the east Kimberley region of Western Australia. My research has taken me to all corners of Australia, the UK and South Africa. I joined the DBRG in Tasmania in 2017 as an all-round research tech, helping mostly with fieldwork and data collection in Tasmania but also working with the Canberra based crew. Outside of the DBRG I collaborate with research groups based in Tasmania, NZ and Sydney.

McLean Cobden

I am a PhD candidate studying superb parrots, addressing critical knowledge gaps in the species’ ecology that prevent robust assessment of conservation status and possible management action. Incorporating GPS tracking data and measures of reproductive output, I hope to identify critical breeding, foraging, and wintering sites, and maximise conservation gains from broad-scale habitat and connectivity restoration efforts. I have a broad research interest in ecology, with a focus on using robust ecological science to inform the management of threatened species. Having completed a BSc (Hons) in environment science, and later a MSc with the DBRG, I have experience in a diverse range of systems and species. I’ve come to enjoy working on birds (in particular parrots) and continue to be motivated by the often complex and challenging questions associated with these species.

ALUMNI

Olivia Torresan

Moses Pillay

Dr Daniel Gautschi

Dr Laura Bussolini

Dr Daniel Appleby

Dr Adam Cisterne

Nicole Gill

Carla Bruinsma

Liam Murphy

Dr Matthew H. Webb

Henry Cook

Janneke Voogdt

Dr Debbie Saunders

Ewan Dalladay

Dr Miles Keighley

Ben Oliver

Dr Christina Zdenek

DONATE NOW