Our lab welcomes new postgraduate students (PhD, Masters, Honours) working on a range of topics related to fire, biodiversity or tropical savannas. Darwin is a great place to be based if you’re interested in field ecology in the vast, uncleared savanna landscapes of northern Australia. Darwin is close to renowned centres of biodiversity and Indigenous culture such as Kakadu National Park, the Arnhem Plateau and the Tiwi Islands.
Potential topics for student projects include:
- Drivers of small mammal decline in the tropical savannas, and possible mitigation strategies
- Optimal fire management strategies to mitigate wildfire impacts on biodiversity in the tropical savannas
- How does fire (and fire management) affect tree biomass in savannas?
- Optimal monitoring of fire management outcomes, using a range of approaches including remote sensing, unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), and ground-based observations
- Does pyrodiversity beget biodiversity in the tropical savannas?
- Designing effective long-term monitoring programmes for small mammals
At broader scales, topics include:
- Mapping the global distribution of savannas
- Mapping long-term trends in savanna woody biomass
Please contact us to discuss potential projects.
Tropical Savanna Ecology Research Group 