Carrion is a ubiquitous ecological resource, central to nutrient cycling, food web structure, and scavenger dynamics. Yet, its role in infectious disease transmission remains profoundly underappreciated in both theory and applied biosecurity frameworks. We argue that carrion is a neglected but critical interface in disease ecology: a spatiotemporal nexus where interspecific contact, pathogen persistence, and spillover risk converge. Drawing on emerging empirical data and theoretical synthesis, we explore how carcasses may function not only as nutrient hotspots but also as epidemiological nodes—sites of high disease risk, social interaction, and interspecies contact. Through case studies ranging from African swine fever and rabies, to avian influenza, we suggest that disease risk via carrion is likely shaped by carcass persistence, scavenger guild composition, and environmental context, impacting both conservation efforts and agriculture. In Australia, where dingo-dog interactions and the threat of rabies loom large, carrion dynamics may prove pivotal yet remain absent from predictive models. We propose that carrion be integrated into One Health surveillance, modelling, and conservation planning, and propose key areas of enquiry to explore further. We urge ecologists and land managers to reconceptualise carrion not solely as ecological detritus but as a dynamic vector of pathogen transmission with global relevance.

Investigation into invasive impacts has become particularly important in Australia due to the isolative nature of species evolution, leaving native prey vulnerable to invasive predators. In this talk I will discuss this concept through fox predation on Australian freshwater turtle nesting sites. Freshwater turtles are under significant threat from invasive foxes particularly at nesting stages of their lifecycle, with vulnerable nesting sites showing a 95% mortality as a direct result of fox predation. There are two peak vulnerability periods in turtle nests, the first is the initial few days after eggs are laid, and the second is immediately prior to hatching. Existing research on American freshwater turtles indicated that auditory cues are produced by turtles immediately prior to hatching, coinciding with the predation spike, In this study we aim to show that foxes were eavesdropping on nesting auditory cues, causing the predation spike. We hypothesise that if freshwater turtles are producing pre-hatching auditory cues then foxes are detecting these previously cryptic cues and in turn are predating on nests, which would explain the secondary spike in nest predation. A series of proof experiments were conducted in order to determine whether turtles produce vocalisations while in nests, whether these vocalisations were audible to foxes, whether foxes used these auditory cues to find nesting sites, and whether nest predation in the secondary spike was a plausible result of auditory eavesdropping and further having significant impacts on freshwater turtle populations. Testing these processes is critical to informing future conservation initiatives through targeting functional impacts of foxes as fox eradication across Australia is currently viewed as unachievable. Targeting functional impacts through sensory misinformation tactics could potentially reinstate auditory nesting cues with their previous crypsis causing a reduction in nest mortality.

Seagrass meadows are vital for thriving coastal seas. However, loss of seagrass habitats can cause an ecological shift due to the concurrent loss of their sediment stabilising function. In disturbance-generated bare patches within a meadow, mobilised sediments can hinder natural regrowth and successful transplanting of seagrass due to erosion or burial. This limits successful restoration, even at sites where the cause of decline has been mitigated.

This study investigated how sediment dynamics change in mooring scars within meadows of Posidonia australis, the effect this has on restoration, and how it may be mitigated. We measured sediment movement at three sites with different levels of wind exposure, within an estuary in New South Wales, Australia. At the most exposed site, sediment movement was minor within the meadow, significantly higher at the edge of the scar, and higher again within the bare patch. At sheltered sites, there was no difference across the meadow-to-scar gradient.

Restoration plots with artificial seagrass mimics were placed in the centre of two to three scars at each site, with and without a structure designed to stabilise sediments. At the most exposed site, additional plots were placed at the scar’s edge to investigate any sheltering effect of the remaining meadow. Burial of seagrass mimics was significantly higher at the most exposed site. The sediment-stabilising structure did not affect sediment movement or seagrass burial, nor did it affect burial to restore at the edge of a scar.

This study highlights how loss of seagrass cover can cause ecological shifts even at small spatial scales, which significantly affects the feasibility of both natural recovery and restoration. Additionally, findings indicate that different, or more extensive, forms of sediment stabilisation may need to be implemented for restoration to be successful at exposed sites, even when restoring along the remaining meadow.

Dingoes (Canis dingo) are increasingly recognised for their ecological importance as apex predators and scavengers, yet their individual-level feeding behaviours remain poorly understood. While studies have examined dingo predation and pack dynamics, little is known about how individuals interact at carrion sites, particularly in relation to social hierarchy, seasonality, and competition. Understanding these patterns is crucial for refining models of dingo ecological function and informing conservation and land management strategies.
This study investigates how individual dingoes use carrion across seasons and whether social dominance influences access to carcasses. Conducted in the Wolgan Valley, Blue Mountains, NSW, the study site spans 50km2 of open woodland and grassland adjacent to the Greater Blue Mountains National Park. Twenty eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) carcasses were deployed across warm (Jan-Feb) and cool (July-Aug) seasons in 2019, evenly split between open and closed canopy habitats. Carcasses were monitored with motion-triggered camera traps for up to four months. From the camera trap images, individual dingoes are identified based on unique coat patterning and morphological features. Feeding frequency, time spent scavenging, and co-feeding interactions are quantified to assess variation across individuals and seasons. Aggressive and neutral interactions are also recorded and classified to explore whether seasonal dietary stress increases competition.
These insights will inform how resource availability and social hierarchy shape foraging dynamics in group-living carnivores. These findings have practical implications for wildlife management, particularly around carrion provisioning, conflict mitigation, and recognition of dingoes as structured scavengers. In doing so, this work challenges outdated pest narratives, reframes dingoes as ecologically valuable regulators, and supports evidence-based policies that better reflect their role in Australian ecosystems.

Australian freshwater turtle populations face critical threats from habitat loss, road mortality, and nest predation. In response, the 1 Million Turtles (1MT) Community Conservation Program is working with communities to establish “Biohaven Islands” – refuges that combine habitat restoration, targeted conservation actions, and education. Central to 1MT is the TurtleSAT app, which allows citizen scientists to record sightings, nests, and threats in real-time. This data is visualised through interactive maps, showing users the cumulative impact of their actions and building a sense of local and national purpose. Participation is accessible, immediate, and rewarding. While data collection is a powerful entry point, the next step is true engagement. Through training workshops, school programs, and co-design with local councils, 1MT transforms contributors into conservation leaders. Citizen-collected data is integrated with remote sensing and ecological modelling to identify high-value nesting sites and guide on-ground interventions. This demonstrates not just the quantity but the quality and utility of public contributions to ecological management. By demystifying methods and sharing tangible outcomes, 1MT builds trust, broadens participation, and illustrates the vital role of science communication in conservation success. Alongside her involvement with 1MT, this speaker is an early-career ecologist actively involved with science communication initiatives such as the weekly radio/podcast show That’s What I Call Science and upcoming web series Methods. Both projects aim to help the public get involved with the wonders of STEMM by removing the financial and jargon barriers that often prevent the public from engaging with science.

Amphibians face a global crisis, with 41% of species currently considered at risk of extinction. Wild and captive interventions to prevent extinction have individual welfare implications. However, these welfare risks are understudied, particularly in comparison to other taxa such as mammals and birds. Recent developments in welfare science highlight the importance of understanding the affective states of all sentient animals, including amphibians, to gain a deeper comprehension of individual welfare, and aid management and conservation. Physiological and behavioural indicators can be used to infer the affective experiences.

Non-invasive endocrine monitoring has emerged as a method for assessing physiological stress responses, providing a reliable and minimally disruptive approach to measure welfare. Glucocorticoids serve as key indicators of how an individual responds to specific experiences such as acute stressors. This study explores the novel use of dermal patches to collect and measure glucocorticoid secretions in multiple threatened amphibian species in captivity, and will compare these to potential behavioural indices of welfare. We aim to opportunistically assess behavioural and physiological responses to common stressors such as handling and marking methods, which are routinely employed to identify unique individuals. By using a multi-disciplinary approach to study amphibian response to stressors, we aim to elucidate the impacts of multiple stressors on amphibian welfare.

Through this research we hope to foster a shift in how amphibians are perceived within welfare science, and use our results to refine management practices. Ultimately, we seek to influence the trajectory of welfare research for this often overlooked taxon, optimise methods to maximise individual welfare, and advocate for their welfare to be prioritised alongside other vertebrate taxa.

Australia’s recent mammal extinction rate is the highest in the world, with up to 10% of endemic species having vanished since 1500 CE. With such rapid recent losses, our understanding of mammal species distributions and community compositions at the time of European colonisation are incomplete, limiting the accuracy of reintroduction targets and ongoing conservation management. Historic environmental DNA offers a tool that can potentially reveal detailed insights about past mammal species communities and their habitats – information that may help guide and enhance current conservation efforts.

We tested the potential of historic DNA from cave and rock crevice sediments to detect pre-European native mammals and plants at sites across central-western NSW, including Yathong Nature Reserve and Warrumbungle National Park. At each site, sediment samples were taken from the surface layer and a depth approximating the time of European arrival (estimated using biostratigraphy). DNA was extracted from 60 sediment samples and amplified using standard metabarcoding primers for short regions of the mammal 16S gene and plant trnL gene. I will present the results of this study, and discuss how this information will enable us to give informed recommendations on species and site selection for conservation efforts in the region, and also feed into a larger country-wide effort at averting further species extinctions.

Conservation efforts for the critically endangered Kyloriny (Western Ground Parrot; Pezoporus flaviventris), like those of many animal species facing extinction globally, suffer greatly from limited monitoring and ecological knowledge due to the species’ rarity and cryptic nature. My PhD project will investigate key knowledge gaps relating to the species’ habitat selection, abundance, population dynamics, and acoustic repertoire using novel monitoring, machine learning, and statistical techniques.

1) The first research chapter of my project will document a comprehensive acoustic repertoire for wild Kyloriny in CANP and a captive population in Perth Zoo. A documented repertoire is critical for monitoring and behaviour analysis, and by comparing repertoires of the wild and captive populations we can understand whether population decline impacts repertoire and subsequently, fitness.

The second chapter of my project will use acoustic spatial capture recapture (aSCR) and an acoustic recogniser to estimate Kyloriny density at various sites in CANP and correlate density with environmental and habitat covariates. The covariates of interest include vegetation fire age, structure, composition (floristics), and climatic data. An acoustic array of three ARUs (Frontier Labs Bar-V2 recorders) will constitute each recording site, and these sites are stratified according to vegetation fire age, the variable hypothesised to exert the greatest influence over Kyloriny density. Two sites will be established in each of six vegetation fire ages for a total of 12 sites and 36 ARUs

The final chapter will measure population viability using estimates of birth rate and adult sex ratio (ASR). Population demography and breeding are two aspects of Kyloriny ecology that have eluded concerted investigation since the species was first studied – a Kyloriny nest with a live clutch has not been observed since 1913. A CNN recogniser trained on juvenile and hatchling calls will be used to estimate breeding success and Kyloriny birth rate.

Colouration is a functionally important trait, playing a key role in mate finding, communicating between conspecifics and predator avoidance. However, visual perception is influenced by habitat structure and density, which alters the effectiveness of visual signals and impacts how organisms’ express colour. To date, the role that habitat openness plays on reproductive colour displays in agamid lizards has not been investigated in detail

The tawny dragon (Ctenophorus decresii) is a rock-dwelling Agamid lizard endemic to the Adelaide Mount Lofty Ranges (AMLR) in South Australia. Males display conspicuous dorsal and throat colour as apart of sexual signalling to compete for mates. However, conspicuous dorsal colouration increases predation risk – highlighting a trade-off between sexual and natural selection. To understand how vegetation regulates this trade-off, we evaluated a field-based method to accurately quantify dorsal colour and pattern for tawny dragons across a spectrum of vegetation openness across their distribution. Secondarily we sought to improve understanding of the species’ occupancy in poorly surveyed regions.

Dragons were sampled from six sites in open woodlands and dense heathlands, using netting and hand-capture techniques before release. We photographed dorsal colour using a light-diffusion box to maintain consistency and recorded local vegetation structures using vertical stratification and density estimates. Dorsal colours were segmented into colour-similarity bins to assess variation in colour pattern across populations. Finally, results of the imagery analysis were ranked against vegetation data to identify relationships between specific colour phenotypes and vegetation characteristics.

This project seeks to improve our understanding of how vegetation influences colour expression in agamid lizards, and providing documentation of genetic variation, inferred via breeding colour, for subpopulations of tawny dragons throughout the AMLR. This research has applicability to other agamid lizards that display breeding colours, and may provide insight into how lizards respond phenotypically to anthropogenic changes to vegetation cover.

As the occurrence of climate-induced mass mortality events (MMEs) increases, and key global vertebrate scavenger populations decline, there is a potential for increased carcass persistence and an altered risk of pathogen transmission. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of an increased carcass biomass on vertebrate scavenging dynamics, and thus quantify the potential for disease spread. Over a 30-day period, camera traps monitored two single carcass (SC) and two simulated mass mortality event (MMEs; n = 10 carcasses) plots at three sites across Kosciuszko National Park. To quantify the structure of scavenger-carcass interactions across the decay period, each site was visualised as a static bipartite network. Network metrics such as degree centrality, closeness centrality, nestedness, and modularity were calculated to quantify key carcass plots and determine the structure of each site’s scavenger guild. Relational Event Models (REMs) were fitted to compare SC and MME plots, whilst accounting for the time-series data associated with dynamic bipartite networks. Preliminary network analyses demonstrate that there was minimal variation in degree between carcass plot types (i.e. similar number of species at each plot), which is important considering vertebrate scavenger diversity is correlated with the rate of carcass removal. However, weighted closeness centrality was consistently greater at MME plots than SC plots, indicating that MME plots have a more central network position across all sites, i.e. they attract greater activity in the context of visitation ‘events’. Whilst nestedness was not significant at any site, each REM identified the likelihood of events at MME plots was significantly higher than SC plots across time. Overall, these findings have the potential to (1) inform interventions, such as whether human-mediated carcass removal is necessary in the instance of a MME, and (2) support the parameterisation of infectious disease models relating to scavenger interactions at MMEs.