Lab Lead
Professor Adrian Manning

Building our science.

Leaving a legacy.

Adrian has worked in landscape ecology and conservation biology for over 20 years, specialising in ecosystem restoration and reintroductions.

Ecology team

Hannah Gerke

PhD Candidate

Specialises in spatial and behavioural ecology, and is studying the welfare of translocated eastern brown snakes.

Jenny Newport

Senior Research Officer

Coordinates licencing and fieldwork, and leads biodiversity monitoring for the MFGO Woodland Experiment.

McLean Cobden

PhD Candidate

Specialises in superb parrot spatial ecology, reproductive biology, and conservation.

Kathryn Macpherson

Masters Student

Studied the habitat selection of reintroduced eastern quolls using innovative spatial models.

Cassandra Holt

Research Officer

Leads on-ground research in the Ginninderry Conservation Corridor, and supports fieldwork and logistics for the Lab.

Kiarrah Smith

PhD Candidate

Specialises in small mammal ecology through the ‘refugee species’ lens, and studies Pookila reintroduction biology.

Christina Gee

Masters Student

Studies the behavioural and morphological traits driving dispersal behaviour in reintroduced eastern quolls.

Dr Belinda Wilson

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Specialises in behavioural, spatial, population, and community ecology, and studied eastern quoll reintroduction biology.

Shoshana Rapley

PhD Candidate

Specialises in bird ecology and spatial ecology, and studies bush stone-curlew captive breeding and reintroduction biology.

Paula Wasiak

PhD Candidate

Studying the behaviour, tactics, habitat use, and management of reintroduced bush-stone curlews on Phillip Island.

Ellie Lambden

Honours Student

Studying the potential for conditioned taste aversion as a management tool in bush stone-curlew conservation.

Tim Andrewartha

PhD candidate

Specialises in non-lethal fox management tactics based on evolutionary and adaptive principles for animal management.

Ashlyn Austin

PhD Candidate

Specialises in developing innovative strategies to protect livestock and native animals from invasive predators (e.g., red foxes).

Steve Holliday

Field Assistant

Supports biodiversity monitoring and data management for the MFGO Woodland Experiment.

Conservation genetics team

Dr Linda Neaves

Conservation Geneticist

Specialises in using genomic tools to address conservation and management problems, and leads the Conservation Genetics Lab.

Samantha Shippley

PhD Candidate

Specialises in using eDNA techniques to develop effective management for large herbivores in grassy woodlands, and studied eastern quoll diet.

Maisie Walker Stelling

Lab Manager

Supports the Conservation Genetics Lab and fieldwork for the Ginninderry Conservation Corridor project.

Kylie Morrow

Masters Student

Studied the conservation genomics of the pink-tailed worm-lizard as part in the Ginninderry Conservation Corridor.

Brittany Brockett

PhD candidate

Specialises in applying conservation genetics to threatened and translocated species management.

Kai Dewar

Honours Student

Studied the conservation genetics and and genetic management of small mammal species.

Collaborators

Professor Iain Gordon

Central Queensland University

Specialises in sustainable land-use and managing livestock for conservation. Iain has contributed to many Lab projects, including the MFGO Woodland Experiment and Ginninderry Conservation Corridor.

Associate Professor Gavin Smith

ANU School of Sociology

Leads the Canberra Snake Tracking Project and collaborates with the Lab on the socio-ecology of eastern brown snakes in the Ginninderry Conservation Corridor.

Dr Sue McIntyre

ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society, CSIRO

Specialises in plant community ecology and grassy-woodland management. She has been instrumental in the MFGO Woodland Experiment since its inception.

Associate Professor Anton Blencowe

University of South Australia

Leads the Applied Chemistry and Translational Biomaterials Group at the University of South Australia and contributes chemistry expertise for the Ginninderry Conservation Corridor project.

Dr Maldwyn John Evans

ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society

Specialises in biostatistics and entomology, and has contributed to population modelling for a number of Lab projects, including the MFGO Woodland Experiment.

Alumni

Previous staff

Doctoral alumni

  • Sharif (2011) The ecological impacts of palm oil industry on avian and mammal biodiversity. PhD thesis, Australian National University.

  • Howland (2016) Managing kangaroo grazing for the conservation of grassland and grassy woodland fauna. PhD thesis, Australian National University.

  • Ross (2020) Bringing Back the Bettong: Reintroducing ecosystem engineers for restoration in Box-Gum grassy woodland. PhD thesis, Australian National University.

  • Stojanovic (2014) Life history and breeding biology of the endangered swift parrot. PhD thesis, Australian National University.

  • Ikin (2014) Avian functional responses to landscape recovery. PhD thesis, Australian National University.

  • Rayner (2015) Conserving woodland birds: the need for population data in evidence-based planning. PhD thesis, Australian National University.

  • Barton (2010) Beetle diversity in box-gum grassy woodlands: the importance of habitat heterogeneity at multiple scales. PhD thesis, Australian National University.

  • Cunningham (2016) Design and analysis of quasi-experiments in landscape ecology: responses of fauna to landscape vegetation transformation in South-Eastern NSW. PhD thesis, Australian National University.

  • Goldin (2020) Quantifying the impact of coarse woody debris on soil and vegetation in a cleared temperate woodland. PhD thesis, Australian National University.

  • Shokirov (2021) Using multi-platform LiDAR to assess vegetation structure for woodland forest fauna. PhD thesis, Australian National University.

  • Bennett (2010) Return of the Fauna: Brown Treecreeper Reintroduction in Eucalypt Woodland. PhD thesis, The Australian National University.

  • Batson (2015) A tactics-based approach for improving outcomes of eastern bettong reintroductions. PhD thesis, The Australian National University.

Honours and masters alumni

  • Suen (2015) Assessing the success of the reintroduction of eastern bettongs (Bettongia gaimardi) in establishing a genetically diverse population in the ACT. Honours thesis, The Australian National University.

  • Mauger (2017) What’s That Smell? How Marsupials in Mulligans Flat Respond to Different Predator Odours. Honours thesis, The Australian National University.

  • Walrath (2022) Environmental drivers of suitable denning and foraging habitat for eastern quolls (Dasyurus viverrinus) reintroduced into a fenced sanctuary. Masters thesis, The Australian National University.

  • Abicair (2016) Historic habitat selection and post-reintroduction population biology of the New Holland Mouse. Honours thesis, The Australian National University.

  • Killey (2010) Modelling fallen branch volumes in a temperate eucalypt woodland: implications for large senescent trees and benchmark loads of coarse woody debris. Honours thesis, The Australian National University.

  • Robb (2019) Engineering the regeneration niche for the restoration of temperate grassy woodlands. Honours thesis, The Australian National University.

  • Zhao (2018) Does Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary have suitable habitats for yellow-footed antechinus and agile antechinus? Masters thesis, The Australian National University.

  • Research Officer developing the Mulligans Flat-Goorooyarroo Woodland Experiment and its annual monitoring program.

  • Research Officer investigating the biodiversity value of revegetation.

  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow investigating reintroduction of eastern bettong and eastern quoll at Mulligans Flat Woodland Sanctuary.

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