Assoc Prof. Rohan Clarke

REC group Principal Investigator​​

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Rohan lectures in Ecology and leads the REC group in the School of Biological Sciences at Monash University. His research interests focus on conservation biology and ecology, especially as they relate to best-practice strategies to reduce the impact of threatening processes on biodiversity. Within these areas of interest, research is conducted at a variety of levels from organismal ecology to ecosystem ecology. Ultimately, the REC group's research programs aim to deliver actions that address the biodiversity crisis and respond to climate change as two of the biggest challenges our modern world faces.  

 

Current research programs include:

• Whole-of-island restoration in the eastern Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean

• Mitigating wildlife interactions with Australian wind energy developments

• Conservation research programs for tropical seabirds in Australia and Melanesia

• Management of threatened bird species on Norfolk Island

• Management of threatened woodland birds in south-eastern Australia

• Avian pathogen movement within Australia's important bird migration corridors

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Like most members of the REC group, Rohan combines healthy doses of fieldwork with a diversity of field, lab and desktop techniques to achieve the group’s research objectives.

Dr. Mark Miller

Post Doctoral Researcher

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Mark is a Research Fellow currently investigating potential offshore wind farm impacts on southern hemisphere seabirds. His role focuses on building the knowledge base for seabirds in order to reduce uncertainty in offshore wind farm impact assessment. To achieve this, Mark designs field studies (e.g. albatross biologging) and evidence reviews that return chunks of information to plug knowledge gaps in the impact assessment process.

 

Mark holds a PhD in seabird ecology from James Cook University and brings postdoctoral research and industry experience to the lab. He has broad interests across ornithological research, marine functional ecology, biologging, remote sensing, and spatial modelling (https://github.com/lark-gorilla).

Dr. Michelle Gibson

Post Doctoral Researcher

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Michelle is interested in understanding ecological disturbances and how to conserve and manage resilient ecosystems into the future. Originally from California, she has worked in Mediterranean ecosystems in the southwest U.S.A. and South Africa’s Cape region conducting research on invasive plants, pollination, and human disturbances on bird communities. Her work in Australia has involved desert bird ecology, measuring effectiveness of restoration actions for Australian woodland birds, and understanding the effects of bushfires and planned burning on bird communities across Victoria.

 

Her current research involves managing the restoration of Phillip Island, a subtropical seabird island 6km south of Norfolk Island and roughly 1500km off the coast of southeast Queensland, in collaboration with Parks Australia. Phillip Island is home to a suite of endemic plant and animal species that still exist despite a recent history of introduced goats, pigs, and rabbits, which devastated native vegetation cover before being eradicated. This project aims to understand the most effective approaches to restore Phillip Island’s native ecosystems, primarily through weed control, revegetation and soil stabilisation, and monitor its native biodiversity.

Dr. Donal Smith

Post Doctoral Researcher

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Donal is interested in the conservation and recovery of threatened species and degraded ecosystems. He has joined the Research Ecology Lab to manage the restoration of Browse Island off the Kimberley Coast. Once brimming with breeding seabirds and turtles, Browse Island was devastated by guano mining in the late nineteenth century, and further impacted by the arrival of the Asian house mouse. This project aims to understand and address the factors limiting recovery of the island’s ecosystem, and act as a model to inform similar restoration projects.

Donal seems fond of birds and islands - having spent years working with the echo parakeet in Mauritius and the hihi in New Zealand: projects that demonstrate how powerful direct conservation action can be in helping populations recover. This has motivated his broader research into the conservation of species on the very brink and those that have become extinct in the wild

Dr. David Clarke

Post Doctoral Researcher

 

David is currently a postdoctoral researcher with the McGeoch Research Group, and affiliated with the ARC Special Research Initiative Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF), at Monash University. Generally speaking, he is interested in and working on the measurement and monitoring of biodiversity. Specifically, he is currently employing a biodiversity informatics approach to provide an improved spatio-temporal characterization of the status and trends in Antarctic biodiversity.

Dr. Finella Dawlings

Post Doctoral Research Fellow & Collaborator

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Dr. Finella Dawlings joined the REC group as an undergraduate to undertake a research project describing the trajectory of seabirds in the Bonney Upwelling over 38 years. She then conducted her Honours project on the breeding ecology and nesting threats of Norfolk Island Robins. She used camera traps to determine the nest success rates and threats to nesting success of the NI Robin, and used thermal cameras to determine invasive rodent densities in the national park.

 

During her PhD, she investigated the use of remote sensors to improve monitoring and ecological understanding of Australian wildlife for the purpose of conservation. She used drones and thermal scanners to develop monitoring techniques and study threatened wildlife, including the Plains-wanderer, Fat-tailed Dunnart and Christmas Island Frigatebird.

 

Finella is currently doing a post-doc with the Conservation Science Research Group (UoN), in collaboration with the REC group, conducting research into the management of invasive rodents on Norfolk Island, particularly in relation to their effects on the island's fauna and flora species, many of which are threatened. This project will identify the significance of the reinvasion of rodents, determine whether control activities that are pulsed or continual yield better outcomes, investigate the roles of cats as predators of rodents and native wildlife, and assess how these issues translate to the biodiversity on the island more broadly.

Dr. Flossy Sperring

Post Doctoral Research Fellow & Collaborator

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Flossy undertook a PhD in the REC lab, working on the Critically Endangered Norfolk Island Morepork (Ninox novaeseelandiae undulata). She investigated habitat suitability and diet of the moreporks. She also established a long-term monitoring program involving citizen scientists and identified the most suitable source population for genetic rescue onto Norfolk Island. This research also provided new evidence to help resolve the taxonomy of Australian Boobooks, New Zealand Moreporks, and Tasmanian Moreporks. 

Flossy is now a Post-doctoral research fellow with Western Sydney University and Monash University, working on the Christmas Island Hawk-owl (Ninox natalis) and Goshawk (Tachyspiza fasciata natalis). The main objectives of her current research are to determine the status, health, diet, habitat requirements, and genetic diversity of the species, and develop a robust population monitoring design.

Sara Petrovic

Research Assistant

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Sara works as a research assistant in the REC Group, providing administrative support and assisting with the delivery of various projects within the team. She has a strong interest in threatened species conservation, having completed her Honours project at Monash University on the effects of inbreeding depression in the Helmeted Honeyeater. She later went on to assist with Birdlife Australia’s recovery efforts for the Regent Honeyeater, including radio-tracking and monitoring captive-bred birds following their release into the wild. Her background in environmental consulting equipped her with experience undertaking a broader suite of surveys for threatened flora and fauna species, and deepened her understanding of environmental policy and legislation. She is also interested in animal behaviour, community conservation, and science communication.

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Jessica W. Zhou

PhD Candidate & Research Assistant

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Jess joined the REC lab as a research assistant in 2021 and has since been supporting the group’s activities in on-ground work (e.g. organising and leading fieldwork), research delivery (e.g. government/industry reports, scientific papers), and administrative management.

 

After completing a Bachelor’s degree at Colorado College, Jess left the United States for Newstead, Victoria to work on the charming Eastern Yellow Robin. Jess is a keen naturalist, and is especially interested in conservation of threatened species, and behavioural and movement ecology. She has developed skills in remote fieldwork, banding and tracking of birds, and at-sea surveys for seabirds.

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In her spare time, Jess enjoys long walks at the local wastewater treatment plant looking for crakes. 

Peter Allen

PhD Candidate

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For his project Peter is studying the Vanuatu Petrel, designing and implementing the first major study of this poorly-known seabird. This research takes him to northern Vanuatu, where he works closely with local communities to deliver a variety of conservation science outcomes including tracking, threat assessment, and taxonomic research. He also works extensively conducting pelagic fauna surveys off south-eastern Australia, with particular interests in long-term monitoring and the nexus between seabirds and human activities.

Peter holds an Honours degree in science from the University of Tasmania, with a research thesis investigating the effects of climate change on gadfly petrels. His other prior research experience includes seabird work around Australia and in the Norfolk Island group, water quality and fauna monitoring for industry, and employing remote survey technologies for mammals in Tasmania.

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Lana Austin

PhD Candidate 

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Lana loves birds.

After completing her Masters in Biology and Conservation at Macquarie University, she relocated to the Ecuadorian Amazon to get her hands on some tropical birds. One job led to the next (and one country to the next) and she realised “Hey, I could make a career out of this.” Since then, she has managed multiple bird research projects around the world including investigating the impacts of boat traffic on canal birds in Costa Rica, and the long-term monitoring of breeding behaviour in Scarlet Macaws in Peru. Always with a team of volunteers at her side, Lana is passionate about sharing her love of birds and nature with others in a fun and engaging way.

Lana is now a PhD student in the Persistence and Adaptation Lab and the Research Ecology Group. She now studies the Eastern Yellow Robin – a model species to investigate the role mitonuclear interactions and local environmental adaptation may play in the divergence of lineages. It's a project with a beautiful balance, where Lana's deep understanding of bird ecology in the field allows her to interpret observations with a genetic lens. 

In her free time, Lana enjoys indoor rock climbing, walking her cat Hamish, and café hopping in the suburbs

Simon Gorta

PhD Candidate

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Simon is a PhD candidate at UNSW Sydney, supervised by Richard Kingsford and Rohan Clarke. His research examines how seabirds interact with their environments to inform how environmental change affects marine and island ecosystems. This involves studying Norfolk Island’s Sooty Tern population, and exploration of short- and long-term citizen science datasets of seabird observations across Australia’s eastern seaboard. 
Simon completed his BSc. (Hons) in 2019, followed by 2.5 years as a research assistant. In this time, he worked on many research, management, and policy-related projects reflecting his broad interest in conservation management, ecology, and natural history.

Ian Hoppe

PhD Candidate

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Ian is broadly interested in behavioural ecology, especially in the spaces where it overlaps with disease processes and the conservation of vulnerable species. Past field work has taken him from the Great Plains of the US to the Murraylands of Australia as well as the Southern Lowlands and island provinces of New Guinea in search of birds, adventure, and understanding. For his PhD (co-supervised by Professor Anne Peters), Ian is focussing on the demography and conservation ecology of purple-crowned fairy-wrens in the Kimberley.

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https://irhoppe.github.io/

John Lamaris

PhD Candidate

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​John is interested in the conservation of rare and threatened species, and the integration of modern conservation tools and traditional conservation management systems to protect their natural habitats. He has joined the Research Ecology Conservation Group studying the Critically Endangered Beck’s PetreI Pseudobulweria becki. This research takes him back to his home province of New Ireland, Papua New Guinea, where he will be working closely with local communities to deliver a variety of conservation science outcomes, including locating a breeding colony and assessing threats to this rare seabird. John holds an MPhil from the University of Queensland with a research thesis on Life history of the Admiralty cuscus - Spilocuscus kraemeri and customary management on Manus Island, Papua New Guinea.

Nicholas Pattinson

PhD Candidate

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Since childhood, Nicholas has been drawn to all things science and birds. Starting his career as a primary and secondary teacher, Nicholas is keen to both learn and teach about the natural world.

Nicholas' PhD examines the interactions between seabirds and offshore infrastructure in waters off southern Australia. Nicholas has a keen interest in establishing seabird community structure and seabird species distributions around southern Australia. Nicholas' project also seeks to establish the risks posed to seabirds by infrastructure in waters off southern Australia, and the ways such risks can be mitigated.

Before beginning his PhD with Monash, Nicholas completed his BSc (Hons) with Monash University, studying the population trends and community structure of seabirds in the Bonney Upwelling region of south east Australia. Prior to this, Nicholas also investigated the extent of artificial light at night on Phillip Island, Victoria, and its effects on short tailed Shearwaters. Working with Phillip Island Nature Parks and The University of Melbourne, Nicholas can still occasionally be found staring blankly at streetlights.

Karina Sorrell

PhD Candidate

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Karina is interested in improving the conservation of tropical island ecosystems. To do this, she is studying the ecological restoration of Browse Island Nature Reserve off the Kimberley coast of Western Australia, with a focus on restoring seabird breeding colonies.

Karina is an enthusiastic wildlife ecologist with highly developed skills in remote field work, wildlife surveys and handling, and remote sensing. She is a drone pilot with extensive flying experience. She has been involved with the group since 2017, where much of her work has focussed on using drones for improving monitoring for seabirds and fur seals. Other past research has included Tasmanian Devil trapping, threatened frog surveys, coastal mapping, and bird surveys from the Victorian mallee to remote offshore islands.

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In her spare time, Karina is a keen naturalist and enjoys bushwalking, photography, gardening, and camping.

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Twitter @karinasorrell

Google Scholar

ResearchGate

Adam Yaney-Keller

PhD Candidate

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Co-supervised by Dr. Richard Reina and Dr. Rebecca McIntosh.

After completing a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Biological Sciences from California Polytechnic San Luis Obispo, Adam worked on wildlife population monitoring and habitat use projects including; raptors in Belize, sea turtles in Costa Rica, lemurs in Madagascar, and primates and sea turtles in Equatorial Guinea. He completed a Master’s degree at Purdue University, Fort Wayne. His research focused on 1) the use of drones for the rapid assessment of mangrove on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, utilizing machine learning and multispectral imagery to obtain biometrics and discriminate species, and 2) the use of automatic camera traps to assess vertebrate biodiversity in mangrove and tropical dry forests.
Adam’s PhD aims to explore how plastic entanglement impacts marine predator populations by studying the effects of entanglement on the health and behaviour of Australian fur seals. He is testing new methods for the use of drone-borne thermal and colour imaging techniques to better detect and quantify rates of entanglement in Australian fur seal populations. Adam is also examining the effects of entanglement on the health (via physiological markers of stress) and behaviour (via accelerometry, time-depth-recorders, and GPS tracking) of Australian fur seals at Seal Rocks, Phillip Island, Australia.

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Issy Overhill

Honours Student

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Issy has just finished her undergraduate studies, majoring in Zoology, which involved many field work experiences in conservation. During a semester-long exchange in Malaysia, she was able to explore the unique tropical flora and fauna of the area as well as volunteer at the National Zoo, and with the Gibbon Conservation Society. These opportunities helped her develop skills in animal husbandry and seeing how dedicated the staff of both ventures were to their cause, deepened her passion for conservation management. During her undergrad she also had the privilege of travelling to Borneo, where she spent a week studying anuran abundance and diversity changes with disturbance variation in the tropical ecosystem of Mulu National Park. Through this experience she learnt how to capture and identify anuran species and compile the findings into a comprehensive report.

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Issy has recently joined the REC Group for her Honours project. She will be undertaking a project working with Bush Heritage Australia, where she will be observing kangaroo populations using traditional ground monitoring techniques and drone flights.

In her free time, she enjoys going on long hikes, attempting to sketch wildlife she spots along the way.

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Zarah Wessels

Honours Student

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Zarah has recently joined the REC Group as an Honours student studying the conservation of the endemic reptiles of Norfolk Island. She aims to understand the ecology and threats to the threatened Lord Howe Island Skink and Lord Howe Island Gecko, and the ways such risks can be mitigated.

 

She has recently graduated from a Bachelor of Science and Biomedical Science with a strong interest in threatened species conservation and island restoration. Throughout her undergraduate studies, Zarah has been privileged to work on a variety of research projects including Little Penguin reproductive success, anuran surveys, invasive sea star mitigation techniques, and improving sea turtle hatching success. She enjoys the challenge of fieldwork across mainland Australia, on offshore islands, and internationally, complemented by a variety of lab and desktop techniques.

 

Zarah is passionate about science communication and spends her free time volunteering at local schools and universities, sharing her research and photos from her travels, hoping to inspire the next generation of scientists.