Sunday November 27 2016 Monday November 28 2016

Sunday, November 27, 2016
0900-1700 Post Graduate Day (Santa Maria Lecture Theatre (ND1) - The University of Notre Dame Australia)
1500-1900 Registration Open – Southern Cross Foyer | Speakers Preparation Room Open – Abrolhos Room
1800-1900 Welcome Mixer and Conference Registration (Southern Cross Foyer, Rydges Esplanade)
Monday, November 28, 2016
0700-0800 Morning Refresh & Rejuvenation – YOGA SESSION
0900-1000 PLENARY SESSION ONE With thanks to TERN Australia for their generous support of the opening plenary session
0900-0925 Welcome and Opening, Chair: Rachael Standish, Southern Cross Ballroom
0925-1010 Keynote Address: The application of ecology in an age of extinction, Professor John Woinarski, Deputy Director, Threatened Species Recovery Hub, National Environmental
Science Programme, Charles Darwin University, NT
1010-1045 Morning Tea (Monday)
0

1045-1245 SYMPOSIUM:Reintroductio
ns projects in Australia:
conservation value, lessons
learnt, future directions (1)
SYMPOSIUM: Harnessing the
Technology Revolution in
Ecology
Fire Ecology Global Change (1) Landscape Ecology (1) Open forum (1)
ROOM Sirius Room Pleiades Room Orion Room Rottnest Room Garden Room Carnac Room
CHAIR John Kanowski Jose Lahoz-Monfort / Don Driscoll Carl Gosper Nigel Andrew Tanya Llorens Manu Saunders
1045-1100 Dr John Kanowski, Australian
Wildlife Conservancy, Qld
Reintroductions projects in
Australia: conservation value,
lessons learnt, future directions
Dr Euan Ritchie, Senior Lecturer,
Deakin University, Vic
Future casting ecological research: the
rise and potential of technology-based
ecology
Channing Hughes, PhD Candidate,
The University of Sydney, NSW
The short-term impact of bushfire on
Tasmanian devil populations
(withdrawn)
Mark Hall, PhD Candidate, La Trobe
University, Vic Landscape and life
history traits determine native bee
richness in vegetated linear strips
and farmland
Stephanie Yip, PhD Candidate, The
University of Sydney, NSW
Diet choice of rodents under different risks of
predation
1100-1115 Colleen Sims, Department of
Parks and Wildlife, WA
Fauna reconstruction in the
Western Australian rangelands
Dr Jose Lahoz-Monfort, The
University of Melbourne, Vic A
manifesto for collaborative development
of open-source technology for ecology
and conservation
Dr Krista Jones
Network perturbations: woylie
(Bettongia penicillata) response to
habitat expansion and fire
Jennifer Middleton, PhD Candidate,
The University of Western Australia,
WA Urban streams in a flat sandy
landscape: managing multiple
stressors will improve stream integrity
Huiying Wu, PhD Student
University of Queensland, Qld
Spatial and temporal impacts of leaf
chemistry and rainfall on western
koala habitat use
Dr John Morgan, La Trobe University, Vic
Field transplant experiments across range
boundaries: ‘home-site’ advantage occurs in
some, but not all, years
1115-1130 Neil Thomas, Department of
Parks and Wildlife, WA
The reconstruction of the mammal
fauna of Dirk Hartog Island,
Western Australia
Jarrod Hodgson, The University of
Adelaide, SA
Accurate wildlife monitoring using
unmanned aerial vehicles
Dr Belinda Robson, Murdoch
University, WA
Effects of a mega-fire on stream
invertebrate biodiversity
Dr Luke Collins, Hawkesbury
Institute for the Environment / WSU
Will elevated carbon dioxide cause
woody thickening in temperate
eucalypt woodlands?
Judith Harvey, Department of Parks
and Wildlife, WA
Long term, post fire dynamics of plant
communities in the Western
Australian Wheatbelt
Helen White, PhD Candidate, The University
of Western Australia / CSIRO, WA Plasticity
elicits resilience to future climatic changes in
early establishment traits of a riparian tree
1130-1145 Dr James Friend, Department of
Parks and Wildlife, WA
Numbat translocation outcomes at
unfenced sites in Western
Australia
Dr Debbie Saunders
Wildlife Drones – small aerial robots for
radio-tracking wildlife (pre-recorded
presentation)
Dr Christopher Gordon, The
University of Wollongong, NSW
Fire severity, floristic diversity and
fuel hazard: implications for fire
regime and conservation
management
Dr Kale Sniderman, The University
of Melbourne, Vic
A stable palaeoenvironment? New
evidence of the Late Pleistocene
vegetation of southwestern Western
Australia
Cara Sambell, PhD Candidate, La
Trobe University, Vic
Rural landscapes of change: The
effect of land-use on birds of the
Strzelecki hills, Victoria
Peter Yeeles, PhD Candidate, The
University of, WA
A direct test of multi-functional redundancy in
diverse faunal assemblages through the
exclusion of dominant species
1145-1200 Dr Michael Smith, Australian
Wildlife Conservancy Mammal
reintroductions by the Australian
Wildlife Conservancy in southwest
WA: Successes, failures, and
lessons
Professor Don Driscoll, Deakin
University A machine-learning smart
camera for hot and cold-blooded wildlife
Christopher Pocknee, Student, The
University of Melbourne, Vic Novel
technologies for the detection of a
Cryptic Arboreal mammal
Rene Heim, Student, Macquarie
University, NSW I spy with my drone
eye: high capacity detection and
monitoring of Myrtle Rust
Kate Parkins, PhD Candidate, The
University of Melbourne, Vic
Attraction, avoidance or indifference:
How fauna respond to edges in fire
prone landscapes
A/Prof Nigel Andrew, University of
New England, NSW Assessing
invertebrate responses to global
warming: From individual through to
biogeographic responses
Dr Isaac Peterson,Fellow, RMIT, Vic
A spatial modelling framework for a
systematic impact evaluation of
biodiversity offset policies
Russell Miller, PhD Candidate, Murdoch
University, WA
Weakly serotinous nonsprouters are not
highly sensitive to long fire intervals
1

1200-1215 Dr Natasha Robinson, The
Australian National University
Bandicoots return to Booderee:
initial survival, movement and
habitat choice of reintroduced
Isoodon obesulus obesulus
Dr Russ Babcock, Research
Scientist, CSIRO Oceans and
Atmosphere Starbug-X: a Compact
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
applied to surveys of deepwater reefs
at Ningaloo
Dr Tim Doherty, Deakin
University, Vic Ecosystem
responses to fire: incorporating
data on birds, plants, mammals
and reptiles to inform management
DISCUSSION
Dr Natalie Briscoe,Research
Fellow, The University of
Melbourne, Vic
Long-term climate averages and
extremes can provide divergent
forecasts of climate change refugia
Dini Fardila, Student, The
University of Melbourne, Vic
Meta-analysis of biodiversity
responses to habitat fragmentation
Dr Anna Simonsen
CSIRO, ACT
The consequence of symbiosis on legume
dispersal at a global scale
1215-1230 Dr Carolyn Hogg, The
University of Sydney, NSW
Value of molecular genetics to
reintroduction programs –
particularly ones employing a
metapopulation management
approach
Dustin Welbourne, Assoc. Lecturer/
PhD Candidate, The University of
New South Wales, NSW Opening a
new window on reptiles: The costeffectiveness
of camera traps for
monitoring terrestrial reptiles?
Karissa Lear, PhD Candidate,
Using novel sensors to estimate
metabolic rate in free-ranging animals
Ryan Tangney, PhD Candidate,
BGPA & Curtin university, WA
Spatially and temporally extensive
measurement of soil temperatures
during prescription burns using
Distributed Temperature Sensing
Harrison Palmer, Student
Fire severity impacts recruitment
processes and seed bank
dynamics in obligate seeding
populations
Dr Jayna DeVore, The University
of Sydney, NSW
Evolving plasticity: Effects of
disparate predator communities on
antipredator tactics in Australian
and Hawaiian tadpoles
Dr Andrew Hamer, Australian
Research Centre for Urban
Ecology, Vic
Accessible habitat predicts
landscape-scale effects of habitat
loss in an amphibian community
Jack Tatler, PhD Student, The
University of Adelaide, SA
How do arid zone dingoes behave when
nobody is looking?
1230-1245 Dr Katherine Moseby, The
University of New South Wales
Individual variation in prey
susceptibility to cat predation;
Can pre-release screening
improve survival after
reintroduction?
Stephanie O’Donnell,
WILDLABS.NET
Networking on Conservation
Technologies to Enhance Ecological
Outcomes
DISCUSSION DISCUSSION Dr Craig Nitschke, The
University of Melbourne, Vic
Conserving forest dependant
arboreal marsupials into the future:
a simulation approach to land use
planning
Dr John Martin, Royal Botanic Garden
Sydney (OEH), NSW
Flying-foxes in the city: population
variability over six years
1245-1400 Lunch (Monday) 1250-1345 Austral Ecology Editorial Board Meeting – Australia II Boardroom
1400-1500 PLENARY SESSION TWO Chair: Dylan Korczynskyj, Southern Cross Ballroom
1400-1445 Keynote Address: Next Generation Ecologist presentation, Dr Dale Nimmo, Charles Sturt University
1445-1530 Keynote Address: Ecological physiology of Coral Reef fishes in a changing world, Dr Jodie Rummer, Senior Research Fellow (Asst. Prof.), ARC Discovery Fellow (DECRA),
James Cook University, Qld
1530-1600 Afternoon Tea (Monday)
2

1600-1730 SYMPOSIUM:
Reintroductions projects in
Australia: conservation
value, lessons learnt, future
directions (part 2)
SYMPOSIUM: Conservation
ecology across the diverse
woodlands of southern Australia
(part 1)
Big data
SYMPOSIUM: How do
facilitation cascades affect
diversity: pattern, process,
prospects
Conservation Biology (1) Landscape Ecology (2)
ROOM Sirius Room Pleiades Room Orion Room Rottnest Room Garden Room Carnac Room
CHAIR John Kanowski Libby Rumpff Ian Cresswell David Watson Florence Damiens Craig Nitschke
1600-1615 Orsolya Decker, PhD Candidate,
La Trobe University, Vic Predatorproof
fences - keeping Australia's
native mammals and soil nutrients
safe
Dr Joslin Moore, Monash University,
Vic
Woodland management and
restoration: how do we link system
models and management objectives?
Dr Nick Marsh, Managing Director,
Truii Pty Ltd
Applying Big Data and data
democratisation concepts for
ecological research
Associate Professor Melanie
Bishop, Macquarie University, NSW
A habitat cascade disrupts a
latitudinal gradient in facilitation
Alyssa Weinstein, Student, The
Australian National University, ACT
Cryptic pollinator ecotypes in sexually
deceptive orchids: implications for
conservation and evolution
Dr Niels Brouwers, Murdoch University, WA
Climate change and anthropogenic
disturbance is affecting marri (Corymbia
calophylla) health across southwest Western
Australia
1615-1630 A/Prof Patricia A. Fleming,
Murdoch University, WA
Translocating keystone species –
ectomycorrhizal fungi
assemblages in the presence of a
native digging mammal
Dr Daniel Rogers, Department of
Environment, Water and Natural
Resources, SA Beyond Natural:
Identifying Conservation Objectives in
Modified and Dynamic Agricultural
Landscapes in South Australia
Lee Belbin, The Atlas of Living
Australia
‘Data Quality’ and the Atlas of Living
Australia
A/Prof Paul Gribben, The University
of New South Wales, NSW
Integrating trophic interactions and
feedbacks into facilitation cascades
Dr Barbara Wilson, Deakin
University, Vic
Decline of small mammals in south
east Australia: implications for
management and monitoring
Dr Karen Ikin, The Australian National
University, ACT
Spatio-temporal patterns of bird functional
diversity in response to positive landscape
change
1630-1645 Dr Katherine Tuft, General
Manager, Arid Recovery, SA
When reintroductions are too
successful: managing
overabundance within fenced
reserves
Dr Peter Vesk, The University of
Melbourne, Vic Ecological thinning is
the answer, but what was the question?
Dr Chantal Huijbers, Griffith
University, Qld Enabling the
enablers: technical knowledge
sharing to support future research
and innovation for ecosciences
Professor Katja Tielbörger,
University of Tübingen Facilitation
from an intraspecific perspective –
stress tolerance determines
facilitative effect and response in
plants
DISCUSSION
Hugh Burley, Student, The University of
New South Wales, NSW Site-level
productivity in the Wet tropics is unrelated to
floristic environmental niche area
1645-1700 Dr Leah Kemp, Australian Wildlife
Conservancy, SA
Survival skills: Anti-predator
behaviour in a long-isolated
macropod following their
reintroduction into a predatoroccupied
landscape
Dr Jenny Wilson, Goulburn Broken
Catchment Management Authority, Vic
Putting science into action: Landscape
ecology and resilience theory inform
planning and delivery of environmental
works
Dr Becky Schmidt, CSIRO land and
Water
Inspiring revolutionary insights in
ecology by making today's
environmental data accessible to all:
user requirements
Mads Thomsen, University of
Canberbury, New Zealand
Comparing cascading habitatformation
from rocky shores and
sedimentary estuaries
Graham Fulton, Adjunct Lecturer /
PhD Candidate
Murdoch University / University of
Queensland
Endangered marsupials as eggpredators
of endangered birds
Michael Wysong, PhD Candidate, The
University of Western Australia, WA
Seasonal space use and fine-scale habitat
selection of sympatric predators in a semiarid
landscape
1700-1715 DISCUSSION Stephanie Pulsford, The Australian
National University, ACT
Lesson learnt from conceptual
landscape models: reptile and frog
populations in a woodland ecosystem
Lewis Trotter, PhD Student, Curtin
University, WA Managing floristics: A
free and open source spatial
information system for plot-based
field data collection
Professor David Watson, Charles
Sturt University, NSW Fleshing out
facilitation–reframing interaction
networks beyond top-down versus
bottom-up
Dr Iadine Chades, CSIRO Qld
Prioritising the value of monitoring: a
case study using Moira Grass in
Barmah-Millewa forest.
Dr Susanna Venn
Alpine shrubs as ecosystem engineers
DISCUSSION
3

1715-1730 Rebecca Jordan, PhD Candidate, The
University of Melbourne, Vic Conserving
adaptive diversity: Genomics of climate
adaptation in Eucalyptus microcarpa and
implications for restoration
Adam Peck, BirdLife Australia The Great
Cocky Count: harnessing people power University, NSW
without losing scientific rigour
Discussion
Professor David Watson, Charles Sturt
Dr Abbey Camaclang, Monash
University, Vic
Linking threat management to the
conservation and recovery of alpine and
sub-alpine peatlands in Victoria
1730-1745 Dr Carl Gosper, Research Scientist, Dr Ian Cresswell, CSIRO, ACT
Department of Parks and Wildlife & CSIRO What’s the state of Australia’s
Land and Water, WA The multi-century environmental reporting and accounting,
age-class distribution of Western Australian and where to next?
temperate woodlands after standreplacement
fires
Dr Peter Curtis, La Trobe University, Vic
Proliferation of Phytophthora cinnamomi
in Xanthorrhoea glauca subs.
angustifolia and its protection from the
pathogen
1800-1900 Announcement of Photo Competition winners – Pleiades Room / ESA AGM ‐ Pleiades Room
1900-2000 Networking Event: Speed Networking - career diversity post-PhD - Sirius Room
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
0900-1030 PLENARY SESSION THREE Chair: Jodi Price, Southern Cross Ballroom
0900-0945 Keynote Address: Australian Ecology Research Award (AERA) Presentation, Dr Jane Elith, Principal Researcher, The University of Melbourne, Vic
0945-1030 Keynote Address: Working with Indigenous Biocultural Knowledge in Natural Resource Management, Gerry Turpin, Ethnobotanist, Department of Science, Information
Technology and Innovation, Qld
1030-1100 Morning Tea (Tuesday)
1100-1300 SYMPOSIUM: A diversity of
approaches: key advances in traitbased
theory and methods (part 1)
SYMPOSIUM: Conservation ecology
across the diverse woodlands of
southern Australia (part 2)
SYMPOSIUM: Urban Nature:
Identifying processes, patterns,
and future prospects (part 1)
SYMPOSIUM: Indigenous
Biocultural Knowledge
Forest Ecology (1)
ROOM Sirius Room Pleiades Room Orion Room Rottnest Room Carnac Room
CHAIR Rachael Gallagher Peter Vesk Joe Fontaine Gerry Turpin Barry Brook
1100-1115 Dr Daniel Falster, Macquarie University, NSW
Key trade-offs maintaining successional
diversity
Dr David J Eldridge, Office of Environment
and Heritage / University of New South Wales,
NSW Herbivore activity as a driver of
woodlands structure and function
Professor Richard Hobbs, IAS Distinguished
Fellow, University of Western Australia, WA
Nature in cities: do we want it, can we keep it,
and who cares anyway?
Daniel Sloane, Macquarie University, NSW
An Eco-cultural Investigation of Melaleuca
Dieback in Laynhapuy Indigenous Protected
Area, North-East Arnhem Land, Australia
Dr Sue Baker, The University of Tasmania,
Tas A cross-continental study of plant and
beetle responses to forest patch retention
during timber harvest
4

1100-1300 SYMPOSIUM: A diversity of
approaches: key advances in traitbased
theory and methods (part 1)
SYMPOSIUM: Conservation ecology
across the diverse woodlands of
southern Australia (part 2)
SYMPOSIUM: Urban Nature:
Identifying processes, patterns, and
future prospects (part 1)
SYMPOSIUM: Indigenous Biocultural
Knowledge
Forest Ecology (1)
1115-1130 Dr Karel Mokany, CSIRO, ACT Harnessing
functional traits to integrate modelling of
biodiversity composition and ecosystem
function
Dr Damian Michael, The Australian National
University, ACT Land sharing vs Land sparing:
which is better for flora and fauna?
Joanna Durrant, PhD Candidate, The
University of Melbourne, Vic The dark side of
urban light: Artificial light at night increases
cricket development time
Dr Vanessa Westcott, Bush Heritage
Australia, WA, Zareth Long and Ivan
Wongawol, Kakarratul (Marsupial Mole)
Monitoring on Birriliburu Country
Helen Vickers, PhD Candidate, The University
of Melbourne, Vic Disentangling the effects of
fire, space and environment on the composition
of temperate forest layers
1130-1145 Dr Pete Green , La Trobe University, Vic
Ontogenetic variation in plant traits; why
seedlings show a greater propensity to
nonrandom mortality
Shana Nerenberg, PhD Candidate, The
Australian National University, ACT
Do tree plantings contribute to ground-layer
plant diversity in Box-Gum Grassy Woodland?
Joanna Haddock, PhD Candidate, The
University of Sydney, NSW Artificial light
penetration at the bushland-matrix interface
and its effects on microbats and insects
Stefania Ondei, PhD Candidate, University of
Tasmania, Tas, and Desmond Williams
‘Right Way Fire’ and Wulo: managing
rainforests with fire on Wunambal Gaambera
Country (Western Australia)
Dr Elizabeth Wandrag, Postdoctoral Fellow
Institute for Applied Ecology, ACT
Loss of vertebrate seed dispersers reduces
plant diversity in a tropical forest
1145-1200 Prof Belinda Medlyn, Hawkesbury Institute for
the Environment, WSU, NSW Predicting
climate change responses of Australian
vegetation – which plant traits matter?
Dr Samantha Travers, The University of New
South Wales, NSW Effects of grazing on plant
community composition depend on herbivore
and plant type
Dr Ric How, University of Western Australia
Decadal changes in an urban reptile
assemblage: implications for biodiversity
monitoring in changing climates
Dr Anja Skroblin, Research Fellow, The
University of Melbourne, Vic
Optimizing monitoring of the bilby through
cross-cultural connections
Dr Bruce Burns, Senior Lecturer, University of
Auckland, NZ Does ‘additive basal area’ in
conifer forest reflect transgressive overyielding
or heartwood accumulation?
1200-1215 Kelsey Tucker, Student, Monash University,
Vic Fire severity and plant vital attributes
interact to determine herb-rich forest
understorey composition
Hannah Fraser
Protecting woodland birds: which species
where?
Manuel Lequerica, Student, The University of
Sydney, NSW Vegetation determines diversity
of insect floral visitors in cities
Daniel Oades, Kimberley Indigenous Saltwater
Science Project, WA
Right-Way Research on Kimberley Saltwater
Country
Jessie Buettel, Postgraduate Student, The
University of Tasmania, Tas
Dynamics of eco-evolutionary patterns in
Australian ecosystems
1215-1230 Professor Mark Westoby, Macquarie
University, NSW
Competition and the boundaries of species
ranges
Dr Ayesha Tulloch, The Australian National
University, ACT Tracking recovery and decline
of woodland ecosystems by monitoring change
in networks of co-occurring species
Dr Kym Ottewell, Department of Parks and
Wildlife, WA
Historical and contemporary population
structure of quenda (Isoodon obesulus) in a
rapidly developing urban landscape
Albert Wiggan, Nyul Nyul Ranger, WA
Projects, partnerships and time: how the Nyul
Nyul Rangers work with others to manage
country
Dr Brett Murphy, Charles Darwin
University,.NT
Are tropical savannas less biodiverse than
tropical forests?
1230-1245 Andrew O'Reilly-Nugent, PhD Candidate,
Institute for Applied Ecology, University of
Canberra, ACT Can functional trait trade-offs
explain the distribution of native and invasive
species in grassy-woodlands?
Dr Libby Rumpff, The University of
Melbourne, Vic Where are we going?
Developing a targeted monitoring program
using state-and-transition models
Dr Kirsten Parris, The University of
Melbourne, Vic
Impacts of urbanisation on amphibian
communities
Les Schultz, Ngadju Conservation,
Coolgardie, WA
Ngadju kala: Aboriginal fire knowledge and
aspirations in the Great Western Woodlands
Timothy Staples, PhD Student
University of Queensland/CSIRO, Qld
Diversity is not a strong driver of productivity in
Australian forest plantings
1245-1300 Dr Rachael Gallagher, Macquarie University,
NSW
Austraits: an open resource for plant trait
ecology in Australia
Professor David Keith, The University of New
South Wales
Bringing back the bush: a high-risk strategy in
21st century conservation policy
Dawn Dickinson, PhD Candidate, The
University of Western Australia Connecting to
Nature in the City: Cultural Ecosystem Services
from Urban Green Space in Perth
Dr Joe Fontaine, Murdoch University, WA Do
novel ecosystems provide habitat value for
wildlife? Revisiting the structure vs composition
debate
Harold Ludwick, Hope Vale Congress Ranger
Biodiversity Program, Guugu Yimidhirr
Ecosystems Vs “Indigenous Ecosystems”
Louise Croeser, PhD Student, Murdoch
University, WA
The role of water stress and Phytopthora in
predisposing Corymbia calophylla (marri) to
canker disease
5

1300-1400 Lunch (Tuesday)
1310-1345 Media planning workshop – Sirius Room
1400-1530 SYMPOSIUM: A diversity of
approaches: key advances in
trait-based theory and methods
(2)
Ecological Modelling (1)
SYMPOSIUM: Urban Nature:
Identifying processes, patterns,
and future prospects (2)
Conservation Biology and
Policy
Connectivity and Networks Forest Ecology (2)
ROOM Sirius Room Pleiades Room Orion Room Rottnest Room Garden Room Carnac Room
CHAIR Daniel Falster Gurutzeta Guillera-Arroita Amy Hahs Anna Hopkins Maggie Watson Bridget Johnson
1400-1415 Dr William Cornwell, The University
of New South Wales, NSW
What we (don't) know about global
plant diversity
Russell Dinnage, The Australian
National University, ACT The
consequences of habitat loss and
sampling bias for modelling the
distributions of Australian Proteaceae
Dr Geoff Barrett, Department of
Parks and Wildlife, WA
Carnaby’s Cockatoo – an iconic,
threatened species that persists in
Perth suburbs
Associate Professor Carla Sgro,
Monash University, Vic
Aligning science and policy to achieve
evolutionarily enlightened conservation
management
Geoffrey Kay, Phd Student, The
Australian National University, ACT
Glow-in-the-dark geckos reveal
movement patterns useful for
enhancing connectivity of fragmented
agricultural landscapes
Thomas Fairman, Phd Student, The
University of Melbourne, Vic
Resilience of high elevation
resprouting eucalypt forests under
transformational climate change
1415-1430 James Tsakalosm, PhD Student, The
University of Western Australia
On the quantification of functional
redundancy: A case study of the
Western Australian kwongan
vegetation
James McCarthy, PhD student
The University of Queensland and
CSIRO, Qld
Shifting patterns of woody plant
diversity and abundance under future
climates
Dr Cristina Ramalho, The University
of Western Australia
An ecologically meaningful approach
to define a typology of urban green
spaces
Dr Gwen Iacona, The University of
Queensland, Qld
Understanding the costs and benefits
of flexibility in conservation
Katherina Ng, PhD Scholar, The
Australian National University, ACT
The attraction of crops: unexpected
habitat preferences of native grounddwelling
beetles in an agricultural
landscape
Mohitul Hossain, Phd Candidate,
School of Plant Biology, University of
Western Australia, WA
Timing of drought stress influences
canker disease development and
eucalypt host physiology
1430-1445 Dr John Dwyer, The University of
Queensland, Qld
Functional trade-offs revealed by
community trait covariances along a
regional aridity gradient
Dr Francisco Encinas Viso,CSIRO
Rescuing plant populations: a
simulation analysis of demographic
and genetic rescue in a selfincompatible
plant
Dr Michael Scroggie, Arthur Rylah
Institute for Environmental Research
Optimal habitat creation for urban frog
metapopulations: simple models for
complex decisions
Dr Tracey Regan, The Arthur Rylah
Institute for Environmental Research,
Vic Conservation strategies for the
Southern Brown Bandicoot using
funding from offsets
Dr James Fitzsimons
Director of Conservation
The Nature Conservancy
Big, Bold and Blue: lessons from
Australia's marine protected areas
Jing Hu, Phd Student, The University
of Queensland Resilience of species
composition of a selectively logged
Australian tropical forest 46 years after
silviculture
1445-1500 Dr Guillaume Latombe, Monash
University, Vic Considering
interactions between variable- and
fixed-trait-based processes to explain
the structure of plant communities
Rebecca Wheatley, PhD Candidate,
The University of Queensland, Qld
Predicting predator evasion success
based on speed, agility, and escape
path
Yolanda van Heezik, University of
Otago, NZ
Reasons for valuing private gardens in
cities
Dr Alienor Chauvenet, The University
of Queensland, Qld
Easy and efficient solution to
ecoregion priority for meeting the CBD
Aichi Target 11
Dr Manu E Saunders, Charles Sturt
University, NSW
The role of wind-pollinated plants in
plant-pollinator networks
Stephen Seaton, Student, Murdoch
University, Vic Borers respond to
repeated drought induced dieback
events in the Jarrah Forest
DISCUSSION
1500-1515 Dr Jian Yen, The University of
Melbourne, Vic
Linking growth, survival, and fecundity
to traits: size matters
Dr Daniel Gwinn, Quantitative
Ecologst, Biometric Research
Making sense of catch indices using
camera traps: lessons learned from
south-eastern US reef fish
Ashleigh Wolfe, PhD Candidate,
Curtin University, WA
Avoiders, adapters, and exploiters: A
review factors affecting reptile success
in urban areas
Dr Rebecca Weeks¸ARC Centre of
Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
Expansion of marine reserve networks
via social diffusion benefits ecological
connectivity
Dr Alan Kwok
From where the cicada calls:
examining the ecology of the cicada
fauna in western Sydney
Dr Paul Drake, The University of
Western Australia Apparent overinvestment
in leaf venation relaxes leaf
morphological constraints on
photosynthesis in arid habitats
6

1400-1530 SYMPOSIUM: A diversity of
approaches: key advances in
trait-based theory and methods
(2)
Ecological Modelling (1)
SYMPOSIUM: Urban Nature:
Identifying processes, patterns,
and future prospects (2)
Conservation Biology and
Policy
Connectivity and Networks Forest Ecology (2)
1515-1530 Dr Michelle Ingram, South
Metropolitan TAFE, WA Functioning
traits of the most abundant species
have the greatest influence on
ecosystem function
Marc Brouard, PhD Candidate, The
University of Oxford, UK Using Integral
Projection Models (IPMs) to
Investigate Ecological and
Evolutionary Change
Chris McGrannachan, PhD
Candidate, Monash University, Vic
The impact of multispecies invasion on
plant biomass and community trait
structure
Dr Robert Davis, Edith Cowan
University, WA
A burning question: how do reptiles
recover frobeckym fire in urban
bushland?
A/Prof Dieter Hochuli, The University
of Sydney, NSW
Is the future of cities green? Historical
perspectives on urban greening in the
Sydney Basin
Dr Jennifer Pierson, ACT Parks &
Conservation Service
Do Threatened Species Recovery
Plans consider genetic and
demographics aspects of population
viability?
Victoria Reynolds, PhD Student, The
University of Queensland Qld
The distribution of pollinators across
mosaic agricultural landscapes
Yang Liu, PhD Student, The
University of Adelaide.SA
Food web structure has multiple
implications for managing spring-fed
wetland ecosystems
DISCUSSION
Dr Perpetua Turner, Forest Practices
Authority, Tas
Science informing practice: Tree fern
management in production forests in
Tasmania
1530-1600 Afternoon Tea (Tuesday)
1600-1800 SYMPOSIUM: Ecological
and evolutionary
consequences of pollination
by vertebrates
SYMPOSIUM: Conservation
Behaviour: Putting
behavioural ecology theory
into conservation practice
SYMPOSIUM: Urban
Nature: Identifying
processes, patterns, and
future prospects (part 3)
SYMPOSIUM: Improving
science to support decisionmaking
about multiple uses
of land and water in
northern Australia
Disturbance Ecology Open Forum (2)
ROOM Sirius Room Pleiades Room Orion Room Rottnest Room Garden Room Carnac Room
CHAIR David Roberts Stephanie Courtney Jones Robert Davis Jorge Alvorez-Romero Tim Doherty John Morgan
1600-1615 Dr Siegy Krauss, Kings Park and
Botanic Garden, WA
Novel consequences of bird pollination
for plant matin
A/Prof Bob Wong, Monash
University, Vic
Behavioural responses to a changing
world
Mike Honeyman, Jacobs Pty Ltd, Vic
Investigating the behavioural price
paid by urban robins that persist in
narrow corridors
Prof Michael Douglas, NESP,
University of Western Australia, WA
Integrated research to improve
science for decision making in
northern Australia
Paul Foreman, PhD Candidate, La
Trobe University, Vic Evidence of
Aboriginal burning in mesic lowland
grasslands – spatial analyses in the
Victorian Riverina
Karlina Indraswari, Phd Student,
Queensland University of Technology
Using acoustic indices and false colour
spectrograms to monitor frog calling
behaviour
1615-1630 Dr David Roberts, The University of
Western Australia, WA
The influence of nectarivorous birds
and insects on reproductive success in
holly-leaved banksia
Dr Robin Hale, The University of
Melbourne, Vic
Characterising behavioural responses
to multiple stressors
Lisa Harvey, Student, The University
of Sydney, NSW
Navigating the urban matrix: habitat
preferences and prey selection by the
Powerful Owl
A/Prof. Bradley Pusey, The
University of Western Australia, WA
Current knowledge of ecology and
environmental water requirements for
teleost fishes of northern Australia.
Georgina Yeatman, The University of
Western Australia, WA
Temporal patterns in the abundance of
a critically endangered marsupial
relates to landscape disturbance
Professor Lynnath Beckley,
Murdoch University, WA
Pelagic ecology of the anomalouzs
Leeuwin Current system
7

1630-1645 Bronwyn Ayre, PhD Candidate,
The University of Western Australia
The influence of vertebrate pollinators
on the Red and Green Kangaroo Paw,
Anigozanthos manglesii.
Dr Rebecca West, The University of
New South Wales, NSW
Getting to know thy enemy: prolonged
cat exposure improves anti-predator
responses in a threatened mammal
Ina Geedicke, PhD Candidate
Macquarie University, NSW The fate
of urban saltmarsh communities?
Impact of stormwater run-off on
mangrove and saltmarsh communities
A/Prof Sue Jackson, Australian
Rivers Institute, Griffith University, Qld
Current knowledge of Indigenous
water requirements, Fitzroy River,
Western Australia
Steven Howell, Department of
Environment and Heritage Protection
Temporal trends in subtropical
rainforest structure and floristics
following disturbance
Andrew Denham, Office of
Environment & Heritage, NSW
Bask in the sun or wait in the shade?
Interactions among plants with
contrasting life-styles
1645-1700 Prof Stephen Hopper, The University
of Western Australia, WA To perch or
stand? Scape height preferences by
honeyeaters feeding on kangaroo paw
nectar (Anigozanthos)
Dr Valentina Mella, The University of
Sydney, NSW
Safe-guarding koalas against climatechange
with the aid of conservation
behaviour
Erika Roper, PhD Student, The
University of Western Australia, WA
Diet and foraging of the forest redtailed
black-cockatoo (Calyptorhynchus
banksii naso) in the urban environment
Dr Michelle Esparon, James Cook
University, Qld
Towards a more holistic understanding
of the multiple benefits of Indigenous
Land Management Programs
Dr Claire Foster, The Australian
National University, ACT
Reinstating the fire mosaic following a
large wildfire event
Joshua Daskin, PhD Candidate
Princeton University, USA Habitat
selection by three congeneric savanna
antelope relative to fire- and termitariagenerated
vegetation heterogeneity
1700-1715 Amy-Marie Gilpin, PhD Candidate,
University of Wollongong, NSW Do
introduced honeybees affect seed set
and quality in a plant adapted for bird
pollination?
Dr Jennifer Anson, Australian Wildlife
Conservancy, NSW
Behavioural responses of resident
small mammals to novel predation risk
DISCUSSION
Dr Rosemary (Ro) Hill, CSIRO Land
and Water Knowledge brokering with
Indigenous land managers to support
informed decisions
Gabriela Burle Arcoverde, Phd
Student, CDU/CSIRO, NT
Grazing impacts on Savanna ant
communities in the Australian tropics
Marie Vestergaard Henriksen
PhD Candidate, Monash University,
Vic, Spatial variation in the tri-trophic
interactions of gall wasp biocontrol
agents
1715-1730 Professor Emeritus Byron Lamont,
Retired (Emeritus) Professor, Curtin
University, WA
Bird pollinators, granivorous cockatoos
and recurrent fire control evolution of
woody-fruited hakeas
Stephanie Courtney Jones
PhD Candidate, The University of
Wollongong, NSW
Application of conservation behaviour
to conservation: A case study on
effects of captivity on behaviour
Dr Jorge Alvarez-Romero
James Cook University, Qld
Decision-support tools for participatory
multi-objective planning: current
processes and requirements to assess
alternative development scenarios
Stuart Dawson, PhD Candidate,
Murdoch University, WA Fire and
clearing influence vertebrate occupancy
in the Kimberley
Katherine Giljohann, The University of
Melbourne, Vic A demographically
effective measure of population size for
disturbance-prone environments
Dagmar Meyer Steiger, PhD Student,
James Cook University Land use change
and artificial container- breeding
mosquitoes in tropical Australia
Henry Lydecker, PhD Candidate, The
University of Sydney, NSW Size doesn’t
matter to ticks: small rats host as many
ticks as larger long-nosed bandicoots.
Rebecca Boyland, WWF-Australia,
Community interest in quenda, a native
bandicoot, identifies distribution,
population trends and improved urban
management
James Warren, JWA Pty Ltd Plantkey -
A device to identify plants based on leaf
characteristics
1730-1745 Dr Lyn Cook, The University of
Queensland
Birds and bees and flowers and peas
Dr Tracey Moore, Murdoch
University, WA Drawing wild dogs to
baits: issues with non-target uptake
and bait palatability
Dr Jorge Alvarez-Romero
Postdoctoral Researcher
James Cook University, Qld
Discussion
Dr Leonie Valentine, The University of
Western Australia, WA Scratching
beneath the surface: bandicoot
bioturbation contributes to ecosystem
processes
Zara-Louise Cowan, Phd Student,
James Cook University, Qld
Predation on crown-of-thorns starfish
larvae by damselfishes
1745-1800 Nicole Bezemer, PhD Candidate, The
University of Western Australia
Is pollen dispersal by nectar-feeding
birds responsible for high multiple
paternity in Eucalyptus caesia?
Daniela Scaccabarozzi, Kings Park and
Botanic Garden. WA
Caught in the act: pollination of sexually
deceptive trap-flowers by fungus gnats in
Pterostylis (Orchidaceae)
Jessica Clayton, PhD Candidate,
Flinders University, SA Spiders as
conservation managers for the
Endangered pygmy bluetongue lizard
(Tiliqua adelaidensis)s
Fernanda Oliveira, Federal University
of Pernambuco Effects of increasing
anthropogenic disturbance and aridity
on ant-mediated seed-dispersal
services in brazilian Caatinga
Damian Thomson, Marine Ecologist,
CSIRO
Physical structuring of Benthic
communities at Ningaloo Reef,
Western Australia
8

1815-1945 Barbara Rice Memorial Poster Session - EXHIBITION FOYER
2000-2130 Indigenous Walking Tour – Noel Nannup
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
0700-0800 Morning refresh & rejuvenation – YOGA SESSION
0900-1040 PLENARY SESSION FOUR Chair: Christina Birnbaum, Southern Cross Ballroom
0900-0930 Keynote Address: ESA President's Address – Nigel Andrew
0930-0935 Presentation of 2016 TNC Applied Conservation Award, Rowena Hamer, The University of Tasmania, Tas
0935-0950 2015 TNC Applied Conservation Award Winner Presentation, Opening the trapdoor: artificial wetlands as ecological traps for frogs, Michael Sievers, The University of Melbourne, Vic
0950-0955 Presentation of 2016 Jill Landsberg Trust Fund Scholarship to Samantha McCann, The University of Sydney, NSW
0955-1010 2015 Jill Landsberg Trust Fund Scholarship Presentation, Realignment of sea turtle isotope studies needed to optimise effectiveness and match conservation priorities, Ryan Pearson, Griffith University, Qld
1010-1025 2015 Wiley Fundamental Ecology Award Winner Presentation, Interactions among a plant, ants and fungi in the ant-plant Myrmecodia beccarii, Melinda Greenfield, James Cook University, Qld
1025-1040 2016 Applied Forest Ecology presentation, Quantifying forest maturity, Laura van Galen, The University of Tasmania, Tas
1040-1115 Morning Tea (Wednesday)
1115-1245 SYMPOSIUM: Disease ecology in
biodiversity conservation
Ecological Modelling (part 2)
SYMPOSIUM: Seed ecology: from
population process to applied
conservation (part 1)
Translocation and Habitat
Socio-ecological interactions
ROOM Sirius Room Pleiades Room Orion Room Rottnest Room Garden Room
CHAIR Krista Jones Brendan Wintle Mark Ooi April Reside Ro Hill
1115-1130 Dr Mike Gardner, Flinders University, SA
Bacteria of the Spotted Fever Group in ticks
of the lizard Tiliqua rugosa
Dr Hanna Weise, Freie Universität Berlin,
Germany Climate change effects on
northern sandplain Kwongan –
ecohydrology and individual-based
modelling for impact assessment
Dr Nathan Emery, Australian Botanic Garden
Mount Annan, NSW
Overcoming breeding system and endocarp
limits to conserve the critically endangered
Persoonia pauciflora
Dr Yaara Aharon-Rotman, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Research Center for Eco-Environmental
Services
Assessing the consequences of habitat loss and
degradation in a long-distance migratory shorebird
Ascelin Gordon, RMIT University, Vic
The use of model-based approaches for
evaluating the effectiveness of no net loss
policies
9

1130-1145 (withdrawn) A/Prof Brendan Wintle, The University of
Melbourne, Vic Understanding and
predicting the impacts of global trade on
local biodiversity
Amelia Stevens, Australian National University
Does polyploidy provide an advantage in a
changing climate? A test case with kangaroo
grass
Dr April Reside, Postdoctoral Research Fellow,
The University of Queensland, Qld
The role of refuges in the conservation of
Australian threatened species
Florence Damiens, PhD Student, RMIT
University, Vic How politics, power and social
representations determine the ecological
viability of biodiversity offsets in Victoria
1145-1200 Matt West, The University of Melbourne, Vic
55-year data set implicates disease and a
sympatric species in a threatened frogs
decline
Himali Ratnayake, PhD Candidate, The
University of Melbourne, Vic Understanding
and predicting impacts of extreme heat
events on grey-headed flying-foxes
Justin Collette, PhD Candidate, The University
of Wollongong, NSW
The ecology of the rare and endangered plant
Asterolasia buxifolia
Dr Michael Craig, The University of Western
Australia, WA
Water and the conservation of wide-ranging Forest
Red-tailed Black-Cockatoos
Lucy Taylor, PhD Candidate, The
University of Sydney, NSW
Wellbeing and urban living: nurtured by nature
1200-1215 Donald Mcknight, PhD Candidate
James Cook University, Qld
Back from the brink: population genomics of
rainforest frogs following recovery from a
chytridiomycosis outbreak
Bronwyn Hradsky, The University of
Melbourne, Vic How do interactions
between introduced predators and fire
influence the persistence of critical-weightrange
mammals?
Dr Valerie Densmore, Department of Parks and
Wildlife, WA Optimum temperature to break seed
dormancy varies among climate zones for
Australian woody legumes
Dr Alan York, The University of Melbourne, Vic
Tuans and trees: Habitat characteristics and
resource use of a threatened arboreal marsupial
Alex Kusmanoff, Phd Candidate
RMIT University, Vic
Economically framed information about
ecosystem services can crowd out intrinsic
motivations for protecting nature
1215-1230 Sarah Sapsford, PhD Candidate,
Murdoch University, WA Biotic and abiotic
factors predisposing marri trees (Corymbia
calophylla) to canker disease
Dr Gurutzeta Guillera-Arroita, The
University of Melbourne, Vic Estimating
species richness with hierarchical
occupancy-detection models: what to expect
Ryan Tangney, PhD Candidate,
BGPA & Curtin University, WA Lethal conditions
of seeds: identifying lethal thresholds of seeds
exposed to extremely high temperatures.
Stefanie Rog, PhD Candidate, Monash University,
WA Mangrove forest conservation with a focus on
their critical importance to terrestrial vertebrates
Megan Evans, Phd Candidate, Australian
National University, ACT
Stakeholder perceptions of the efficacy of
biodiversity offset policy in Australia
1230-1245 Narelle Dybing, PhD Candidate,
Murdoch University, WA
What did the feral cat drag in? Feral cats,
helminths and the Island Syndrome
Discussion
Dr Lydia Guja, Centre for Australian National
Biodiversity Research, CSIRO & Australian
National Botanic Gardens, ACT
Seed dormancy and germination ecology in
endangered alpine peatlands: informing
conservation and management
Juan Mula Laguna, PhD Candidate, James Cook
University, Qld Applying habitat models to the
conservation of endangered species: The Case of
the Black-throated Finch
Lucy Clive, PhD Candidate, Flinders University,
SA Translocation of the endangered pygmy
bluetongue lizard: the ecological and genetic risks
Dr Liz Pryde, VicForests, Vic
Creating Hollows for the Critically Endangered
Leadbeater’s Possum
Dr Sacha Jellinek, The University of
Melbourne, Vic
Reconciling social and ecological motivations
to achieve landscape restoration
1245-1345 Lunch (Wednesday)
1250-1330 Research Chapter Meetings
1345-1515 PLENARY SESSION FIVE Chair: Niels Brouwers, Southern Cross Ballroom
1345-1430 Keynote Address: The critical role of ‘every-day-nature’ for the future of cities, Associate Professor Sarah Bekessy, Future Fellow, School of Global, Urban & Social Studies City
Campus, RMIT University, Vic
1430-1515 Keynote Address: Restoration in a climate change context: understanding pattern, process and prospects, Dr Margaret Byrne, Director Science and Conservation, Department
of Parks and Wildlife, WA
10

1515-1545 Afternoon Tea (Wednesday)
1545-1800 SYMPOSIUM: New science for
prioritising management actions on
Australian islands
SYMPOSIUM: Surviving the dry:
how diversity is maintained in the
arid zone (part 1)
SYMPOSIUM: Seed ecology; from
population process to applied
conservation (part 2)
SYMPOSIUM: Beneath the surface:
groundwater-dependent ecosystem
hydroecology, diversity and processes (1)
Invasion Ecology
ROOM Sirius Room Pleiades Room Orion Room Rottnest Room Garden Room
CHAIR Bob Pressey Glenda Wardle Mark Ooi Andrew Boulton Elizabeth Wandrag
1545-1600 Carolyn Williams, Department of Parks and
Wildlife, WA
A manager's perspective on managing
islands
Dr Catherine Nano, Department of Land
and Resource Management, NT Drought,
browsing and fire: A reassessment of
population viability in the arid tree Acacia
peuce
Annisa Satyanti, Phd Candidate, The Australian
National University, ACT
Australian alpine seeds are short-lived compared
to other Australian species
A/Prof Grant Hose, Macquarie University, NSW
What happens to groundwater ecosystems when
you take out the groundwater?
Pauline Lenancker, Phd Student
James Cook University & CSIRO
Colony founding strategies of the invasive
tropical fire ant Solenopsis geminata
1600-1615 Katherine Zdunic, Department of Parks
and Wildlife, WA
Mapping habitats on remote islands using
remote sensing
Dr Jayne Brim Box, Department of Land
Resource Management, NT
Camels and native species at desert
waterholes: Evidence of an interference
cascade?
Dr Anne Cochrane, Senior Research Scientist,
Department of Parks and Wildlife
Can hot summer temperatures effectively
overcome dormancy and stimulate germination in
physically dormant seeds?
Dr Jarrod Kath, University of Southern
Queensland, Qld Seeking ecohydrological
commonality among groundwater-dependent
ecosystems: A framework for assessing ecological
responses to groundwater-regime alteration
Louise Barnett, Phd Candidate
James Cook University, Qld
Hide and seek: factors affecting detection of
invasive gecko populations
1615-1630 Dr Owen Woodberry, Senior Consultant,
Bayesian Intelligence, Vic
Developing Bayesian Belief networks to
support ecological risk assess-ment in
Western Australian Islands
Professor Jenny Davis, Charles Darwin
University, NT
Characterising the climatic and hydrological
processes supporting arid zone aquatic
refugia
Matthew Chick, Student, The University of
Melbourne, Vic
Soil heat transfer during prescribed burns and its
implications for post-fire recruitment?
Dr Jodie Dabovic, A/Team Leader Plan Ecological
Assessment, NSW DPI Water
A new method for identifying groundwater
dependent vegetation communities in NSW
Associate Professor Melodie McGeoch
Monash University, Vic
Pattern and process in invaded plant
communities: Dry forest floors in northern
Victoria
1630-1645 Dr Amelia Wenger, The University of
Queensland, Qld Predicting weed spread
throughout Western Australian Islands to
enable effective environmental management
Professor Glenda Wardle, The University
of Sydney, NSW
Dry, drier, driest: extreme years and
potential ecosystem collapse
Dr Jenny Wilson, Goulburn Broken Catchment
Management Authority, Vic
Direct seeding for revegetating landscapes for
biodiversity - how effective is it?
Dr Kathryn Korbel, Macquarie University, NSW
The importance of groundwater biotaunderstanding
the structure and potential roles of
groundwater communities
Dr Michael Crossland, The University of
Sydney, NSW
Enhanced cannibalism by cane toad larvae in
Australia following introduction from Hawai’i
1645-1700 Dr Christopher Baker, The University of
Queensland, Qld
Modelling the spread of weeds to inform
decision-making on islands
Dr Paul Nevill, Curtin University, WA
Insights into landscape genetic structure of
three short range rock outcrop endemic
plant species using resistance surfaces
Berin Mackenzie, PhD Candidate, The
University of New South Wales, NSW
Advancing our understanding of fire-driven
recruitment in species with physiological
dormancy
Michelle Pyke, PhD Candidate
The University of Western Australia, WA
Ecosystems and cultural life: groundwater
dependent cultural-systems of the Dampier
Peninsula, Kimberley region of WA
Emily De Stigter, PhD Candidate
Monash University, Vic
Understanding invasive species spread using
phenological and environmental data
1700-1715 Dr Cheryl Lohr, Department of Parks and
Wildlife, WA
Modelling dynamics of native and invasive
species in response to management
Claire Treilibs, PhD Candidate, Flinders
University, SA
Spatial dynamics and burrow occupancy in
a population of Slater’s skink Liopholis
slateri
Dr Shane Turner, The University of Western
Australia, WA
Mechanisation of native seed use to enhance
large-scale land restoration programs
Professor Nick Bond, Murray-Darling Freshwater
Research Centre, Vic What can existing datasets
tell us about streamflow characteristics and
surface-groundwater interactions across landscape
scales?
Richard Faulkner, RMIT University, Vic
Evaluating and Understanding National Feral
Cat Management Effort
11

1715-1730 Dr Gwen Iacona, The University of
Queensland, Qld Estimating conservation
management costs: why simplistic
assumptions can result in inadequate
conservation budgets
Lauren Young, PhD Candidate
The University of Sydney, NSW Spatial and
temporal variability of a threatened aridzone
rodent in drought refuges
Dr Todd Erickson, Restoration Seedbank
Initiative, The University of Western Australia,
WA Unpacking seed regeneration for restoration
using life-stage transition models
Dr Neil Pettit, Edith Cowan University, WA
Typology and ecohydrology of groundwater
dependent vegetation associated with perennial
and intermittent streams
Professor Richard Duncan, Institute for
Applied Ecology, University of Canberra, ACT
Partitioning of seedling microsites facilities
grassland invasion
1730-1745 Hugh Davies, The University of Melbourne,
Vic
Managing feral cats on Melville Island:
saving the brush-tailed rabbit-rat from
extinction
Dr Chris Pavey
CSIRO, NT
Population dynamics and persistence of
dasyurid marsupials in arid Australia
Dr Nerissa Haby, Wild R&D, SA The benefits of
mechanical disturbance in revegetating degraded
areas in the central Flinders Ranges
Annette Muir, Arthur Rylah Institute / Dept
Environment Land Water & Planning, Vic
Evidence for interval squeeze? Drivers of seed
production in a south-eastern Australian Banksia
Ganesha Liyanange, PhD Candidate, The
University of Wollongong, NSW Determinants of
fire-related dormancy-breaking thresholds
Martin Andersen, Senior Lecturer, The University
of New South Wales
Biogeochemical processes in the hyporheic zone:
the role of flow regime in controlling habitat
Arthur Broadbent, PhD Student
Lancaster University, UK
Species responses to fertilisation vary in
relation to soil biota origin
1745-1800 Professor Bob Pressey, James Cook
University, Qld
Putting it all together: a new decisionsupport
tool to guide management actions
DISCUSSION
Dr Mark Ooi, Research Fellow, The University of
Wollongong
Summation and Discussion
DISCUSSION
Dr Iadine Chades, CSIRO Divide and
conquer: a solution for managing large invasive
species networks
Dr Akane Uesugi, Monash University, Vic
What prevents alien populations from turning
invasive: the mechanisms of lag-time in
Australian goldenrod populations
1900-2300 Conference Dinner at Bathers Beach House
Thursday, December 1, 2016
0900-0945 PLENARY SESSION SIX Chair: Lesley Gibson, Southern Cross Ballroom
0900-0945 Keynote Address: Refuges/refugia – bringing together ecology and evolution to understand resilience, Professor Craig Moritz, Director, Centre for Biodiversity Analysis, The
Australian National University, ACT
0945-1015 Morning Tea (Thursday)
12

1015-1215 SYMPOSIUM: Small players, big
consequences: linking belowground
diversity to ecosystem functioning
SYMPOSIUM: Surviving the dry: how
diversity is maintained in the arid zone
(part 2)
SYMPOSIUM: Beneath the surface:
groundwater-dependent ecosystem
hydroecology, diversity and processes
(part 2)
Restoration Ecology Global Change (2)
ROOM Sirius Room Pleiades Room Orion Room Rottnest Room Garden Room
CHAIR Eleonora Egidi Chris Pavey Andrew Boulton Todd Erickson Alan Andersen
1015-1030 Prof Brajesh Singh, Western Sydney
University, NSW
Microbial diversity and ecosystem functions:
Evidence from micro- to global scale
Sandy Gilmore, Bush Heritage Australia,
NSW
Kangaroo grazing and sheep grazing bad for
arid birds
Dr Stefan Eberhard, Subterranean Ecology
Pty Ltd Out of sight, out of mind: the hyporheic
zone is an under-recognised ecosystem
service provider
Kate Stanbury, Botanic Gardens and Parks
Authority Post-pine Banksia woodland
restoration: seedling morphology and function
is compromised by Ehrharta calycina.
A/Prof Dylan Korczynskyj, The University of
Notre Dame Australia, WA How will Australian
birds manage the thermoregulatory implications
of a hotter continent?
1030-1045 Dr. Samiran Banerjee, OCE Postdoctoral
Fellow, CSIRO
Soil microbial networks are linked to
extracellular enzyme activities across a
grassland-woodland ecotone
Emma Razeng, PhD Candidate, Monash
University, Vic
Aridification as a driver of speciation in weakdispersing
mayflies but not strong-dispersing
dragonflies
A/Prof Mark Kennard, Australian Rivers
Institute, Griffith University, Qld
Biodiversity patterns and cumulative impacts of
multiple stressors on Great Artesian Basin
discharge springs
Elise Gould, PhD Candidate, The University of
Melbourne, Vic
Managing Grasslands with Models: Resolving
Uncertainty and Allocating Effort Among a
Suite of Sites
Dr Christine Groom
Importance of urban vegetation to Carnaby’s
cockatoo, Calyptorhynchus latirostris
1045-1100 Assoc Prof Charles Warren
How does drying and re-wetting affect the soil
carbon cycle?
Jonny Schoenjahn, PhD Candidate, The
University of Queensland
Can climate explain the delayed juvenile
independence and behavioural development in
the Grey Falcon?
Dr Ryan Burrows, Australian Rivers Institute,
Griffith University, Qld
Role of baseflows for surface and hyporheic
food-webs and detrital processes in intermittent
streams
Dilanka Mihindukulasooriya, PhD Candidate,
Curtin University, WA
Reinstating ecosystem processes after mining:
Ground-Dwelling Invertebrates and Litter
Decomposition recovery after Bauxite Mining
Lauren Svejcar, PhD Candidate, Murdoch
University, WA Multi-species interactions in
disturbed Banksia woodlands
Dr Bridget Johnson, The University of
Western Australia
Nitrogen fertilisation changes the composition
of nectar and floral visitation rates of the Apis
mellifera
1100-1115 Tracey Steinrucken, PhD Student,
Western Sydney University, NSW
The Age of Endophytes: invasive plants and
their microbial residents
Dr Aaron Greenville, The University of
Sydney, NSW
Surviving the dry: one species' bust is another
species' boom
Dr Moya Tomlinson, Office of Water Science
Translating the science of groundwater ecology
into information to support management
Dr Leah Beesley, The University of Western
Australia, WA Incorporating antecedent
conditions into environmental flow delivery can
improve restoration outcomes for native
freshwater fish
Dr Katinka Ruthrof, Murdoch University, WA
Forests and climate change: consequences of
drought and heat events
1115-1130 Dr Christina Birnbaum, Murdoch University,
WA Bacterial diversity in legume nodules
across a 2-million-year dune chronosequence
in an Australian biodiversity hotspot
DISCUSSION
Dr Helen Rutlidge, CWI/UNSW The
importance of the hyporheic zone in processing
organic matter in a groundwater-fed stream.
Fiamma Riviera, PhD Candidate, The
University of Western Australia, WA Patterns
and drivers of floristics and functional traits in
post-mining restoration of kwongan shrublands
Carola Pritzkow, PhD Candidate, The
University of Melbourne, Vic Linking
physiological, morphological and anatomical
drought related traits in eucalypts
1130-1145 Dr Anna Hopkins, Murdoch University & Edith
Cowan University, WA Do microbial
communities drive floristic diversity in
ephemeral rock pools in the Northern
Kimberley?
Dr Scott Strachan, Murdoch University, NSW
South lake: I know what you did last summer!
Dr Matthew Barrett, Research Scientist,
University of Western Australia, WA Genetic
partitioning in hummock grasses (Triodia) and
the implications for restoration
A/Prof Sally Power, Hawkesbury Institute for
the Environment, NSW Low resistance but high
resilience of an Australian grassland to altered
rainfall timing and amount.
13

1145-1200 Mark Brundrett, Department of Parks &
Wildlife / University of Western Australia
The global importance of mycorrhizas: Scaling
up from roots to continents
DISCUSSION
Timothy Treuer, PhD Candidate, Princeton
University, USA Exploring drivers of tree and
sapling composition in a large regenerating
tropical dry forest
Dr Heini Kujala, The University of Melbourne,
Vic
How well do species distribution models predict
range shifts under climate change?
1200-1215 Ruvinie Withana, PhD Candidate,
The University of Melbourne, Vic
Changes in eucalypt-ectomycorrhizal
associations across a climatic gradient
Jennifer Wood, PhD Researcher,
LaTrobe University, Vic Investigating microbial
community structure to understand rainforest
community structure
Kent Broad, Executive Director, Carbon
Neutral, WA
Restoring degraded farmlands for carbon
sequestration and biodiversity benefits in WA’s
Midwest
Prof Alan Andersen
Charles Darwin University
Fire and climate change: Variation in savanna
fire regimes in northern Australia
1215-1315 Lunch (Thursday)
1220-1310 Ecosystem Science Council briefing and Q&A (Sirius Room)
1315-1530 PLENARY SESSION SEVEN Chair: Eddie Van Etten, Southern Cross Ballroom
1315-1400 Keynote Address: Continental scale data reveals patterns and processes in soil microbial communities, Dr Andrew Bissett, Senior Research Scientist, CSIRO, Tas
1400-1500
1400-1405
1405-1415
1415-1425
1425-1430
1430-1500
PRIZES and AWARDS
ESA Gold Medal, Bill Holsworth
Members service Award, Adrienne Nicotra
OEH Outreach Awards
Mike Bull Prize
Student Prizes
1500-1530 Conference Close
1700-1900 Pub Debate: Conservation science, scientists and advocacy – The Bar Orient
14

Friday, December 2, 2016
WORKSHOPS
0830-1300 WORKING WITH A NEW DECISION-SUPPORT TOOL FOR PRIORITISING MANAGEMENT ACTIONS IN SPACE AND TIME| PARTICIPATION FEE: $NIL, INCLUDES MORNING TEA, Rottnest Room
0900-1500 INNOVATIVE TOOLS FOR MAPPING AND MODELLING SPECIES DISTRIBUTIOS| PARTICIPATION FEE: $20 (INC GST), INCLUDES MORNING TEA, Orion Room
0900-1630 AN INTRODUCTION TO MIXED EFFECTS MODELLING IN ECOLOGY WITH R| PARTICIPATION FEE: $50 (INC GST), INCLUDES MORNING TEA, LUNCH AND AFTERNOON TEA, Admiralty Gulf Room
0900-1600 TERRESTRIAL LASER SCANNING FOR ECOLOGY – NEW FIELD TECHNOLOGY TO HELP MEASURE AND MONITOR VEGETATION STRUCTURE| PARTICIPATION FEE: $20 (INC GST), INCLUDES MORNING
TEA, LUNCH AND AFTERNOON TEA, Garden Room
0900-1300 PUTTING NATURE BACK ON THE AUSTRALIAN POLITICAL AGENDA | PARTICIPATION FEE: $55 (INC GST), INCLUDES MORNING TEA, King Sound Room
1330-1630 WORKING WITH TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH NETWORK| PARTICIPATION FEE: $NIL, INCLUDES AFTERNOON TEA, Prince Regent Room
1430-1630 COMPASS TRAINING: COMMUNICATE THE SO WHAT OF YOUR SCIENCE WITH THE MESSAGE BOX, PARTICIPATION FEE: NIL, Rottnest Room
FIELD TRIPS
0730 SOUTH-WESTERN FORESTS AND LOW-ELEVATION MOUNTAINS DATES: 2 – 4 DECEMBER 2016
0800-1500 KINGS PARK AND BOTANIC GARDEN FIELD TOUR: THE MANAGEMENT, RESTORATION AND CONSERVATION ECOLOGY OF URBAN WOODLAND
0800-1500 Photography workshop | Participation fee: $35 per person
1500-2240 KARAKAMIA SANCTUARY: MAMMAL CONSERVATION AND ENCOUNTERS! | Participation fee: $70 per person (students / retirees $65)
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