We have an exciting PhD opportunity for domestic applicants to join the vibrant Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science at the University of Queensland. Research costs are funded but require the applicant to apply for a scholarship in the round closing 8th September 2024, for study commencing in 2025. Details and eligibility requirements are available here. If you are interested and meet the eligibility requirements, please contact the Dr April Reside a.reside@uq.edu.au by 26th August, 2024.
Project: Conservation of threatened reptiles across agricultural landscapes
Land management plays a critical role in the suitability of habitat for species, and this is especially pronounced for the vast areas of Australian under agricultural production. Yet details of practices that support the threatened species specialised to each region are largely unknown, particularly across the vast landscapes of Queensland. Queensland is home to half of the Australian reptiles most at risk of extinction, such as Condamine earless dragon (Tympanocryptis condaminensis) and Roma earless dragon (T. wilsoni), two of several threatened reptiles of the southern Brigalow Belt region. Other key species are Grey snake (Hemiaspis damelii) and Five-clawed Worm-skink (Anomalopus mackayi). Like many species of grassland and floodplain ecosystems, the habitat of these reptile species has been subject to degradation, fragmentation and loss resulting from agricultural intensification, road upgrades and maintenance, and weed and pasture species that change soil structure and functioning. Land management that creates and maintains habitat for these species is crucial to their persistence.
This project will investigate the impact of the major threatening processes by surveying the threatened reptile species, measuring habitat features at multiple scales to capture the species’ associations with different land use and management, and assess the threat posed by introduced predators (cats and red foxes). Where possible, the social and ecological factors that influence landholders’ decisions to adopt reptile-friendly management practices will be identified. Importantly, this work will identify the key actions required for the recovery of these threatened reptiles.
Please be in touch if you are interested!
More information on current threatened reptile research and the lab.
Comentarios