New Year, New Papers, New News
The DEEP Group would like to wish everyone a happy new year and start to 2021!
Grants: DEEP Group leader Professor Barry Brook was awarded a 2021 Discovery Project grant alongside Associate Professor John Alroy (Macquarie University) and Assistant Professor Sara Lyons. The project entitled "Global patterns of mammalian biodiversity loss over the last 50,000 years" will "use palaeontological and zooarchaeological data to show how losses varied in space, how population sizes changed, and how species attributes such as rarity and body size related to loss."
Research Fellow Dr Matthew McDowell was also awarded a Discovery Project with Professor Jane Balme and Professor Susan O'Connor. This project was entitled "The Coming of the dingo and its interaction with Indigenous Australians".
Awards: In November 2020, PhD candidate Matthew Fielding was included in a commendation for his participation in the Young Tassie Scientists team. In December PhD student Annie Nguyen was awarded a Science in the Pub Tasmania Women in STEMM award.
Papers: PhD candidate Shane Morris published some of his work potential translocation of the Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby "Morris, S. D., C. N. Johnson, and B. W. Brook. 2020. Roughing it: terrain is crucial in identifying novel translocation sites for the vulnerable brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale pencillata). Royal Society Open Science".
PhD candidate Tristan Derham published "Ryeland, J., Derham, T.T. & Spencer, R.J. Past and future potential range changes in one of the last large vertebrates of the Australian continent, the emu Dromaius novaehollandiae. Sci Rep11, 851 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-79551-0".
DEEP
Completions: Shane Morris submitted his PhD thesis for review in the end of 2020. During his project, Shane participated was an Early-Career committee member of the 2019 Species on the Move conference, and the 2018 Finalist of 3MT for the University of Tasmania. We wish Shane all the best for his future activities!
Research Assistant Elise Ringwaldt completed her last day of work as a DEEP RA after several years, we thank Elise for all her hard work throughout that time!
New(er) members: Several PhD students have started their projects since mid 2020, after completing their honors with the group in previous years. They will present their introductory seminars in the coming months. Alexandra Paton's PhD will be focused on improving camera trap methodology for monitoring feral cats within Tasmania. YeeVon Teo's PhD will "focus on large mammals monitoring in Tasmania using unmanned aerial vehicles (a.k.a drones)".
Transfers: Since the relaxation of travel restrictions within Australia, several DEEP members have changed locations. Postdoc Rebecca Wheatley has moved with her partner to Canberra, and PhD student Annie Nguyen has moved from Brisbane to Hobart.
Image sources: Wikipedia commons (Rock wallaby and Emu), Pixabay (New year 2021).