Welcome to our DEEP new staff and students of 2019!
Updated: Aug 5, 2019
The DEEP Group would like to welcome seven new staff and students who have joined our research team. Firstly, we are joined by two postdoctoral research fellows Dr Luke Yates from the University of Tasmania, and Dr Rebecca Wheatley from the University of Queensland. Luke has a background in mathematical physics and will be analysing data and developing models related to forest ecosystems and ecological dynamics. Rebecca has a background in animal behaviour and performance, and biomechanics and will work on modelling the interactions between large herbivores and vegetation and their interplay with fire.
We also welcome the DEEP Software Developer, Kasirat Kasfi who joined our team last December. Kasirat is a UTAS IT graduate, and is working on developing machine learning/deep learning tools that can be applied to the data collected by the DEEP research group, especially large wildlife images and audio file data.
We also have 4 new honours students starting their projects this month:
Alexandra Paton will focus on exploring non-invasive survey techniques for large vertebrates and the differences in information these methods may yield. Supervised by Prof Barry Brook and Dr Jessie Buettel.
Peter Vaughan will investigate the environmental parameters impacting habitat suitability for Procellariiforme seabirds off the south-eastern Australian coast, with a view to understanding how anthropogenic climate change may be affecting habitat utilisation by these species. Supervised by Prof Barry Brook, A/prof Mary-Anne Lea, Dr Rohan Clarke (Monash).
Gabriella Allegretto aims to better understand how to maximise the restorative value of urban green spaces. This involves observing how people interact with the environment, understanding their perceptions, and measuring biodiversity. Supervised by Dr Emily Flies, Dr Jessie Buettel and Dr Dave Kendal.
Molly Barlow will analyse the islands in the Bass Strait in search of suitable locations to potentially translocate and establish populations of Eastern Quolls (Dasyurus viverrinus). Supervised by Dr Matthew McDowell and Rob Brewster (Rewilding Australia).
Elise Ringwaldt, a DEEP Research Assistant, started her PhD with us this month. Her project will focus on investigating the influence of land-use change on disease susceptibility and community composition in Tasmanian fauna. To explore these objectives, Elise will be using the data collected by camera traps across the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area. Supervised by Prof Barry Brook, Dr Jessie Buettel, and Dr Scott Carver.
Two DEEP researchers departed our group, Postdoctoral research fellow Dr Sanghyun Hong started an exciting new position in Singapore; while Research Assistant and former DEEP Honours student (First class) Hanh Nguyen (Claudia) finished up her work in January. We would like to wish them both luck with their future research!
