current research
mating system and association patterns of eastern grey kangaroos.
This project is investigating the mating system and reproductive strategies of eastern grey kangaroos living at Sundown National Park. We are focusing on female association patterns and male dominance hierarchies and interactions with females, with an emphasis on determining whether cooperative behaviours are found in either sex. The study is documenting patterns of paternity and genetic relatedness by recognizing individuals based on their natural features and extracting DNA from fecal samples collected from these known individuals. Alecia Carter and Vicki Thomson are studying for their honours degree on the kangaroo project, with Alecia focusing on female association patterns and Vicki on the genetic structure of the population. Anne Goldizen is looking for future PhD students for the project.
People: Joanne Towsey 
, Anne Goldizen , Jennifer Seddon., Olivier Pays , Alecia Carter, Vicki Thompson.
managing Tasmanian devil populations affected by the Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD): the effect of DFTD on demography, population dynamics, and fine-scale population genetic structure.
This project aims to determine the effect of DFTD on the population dynamics and fine-scale population genetic structure of affected populations, so as to investigate the consequences of, and evaluate the effectiveness of, various management strategies for recovery of affected populations. The specific aims are to:
- Determine the effect of DFTD on individual life history traits.
- Link changes in individuals parameters to changes in population vital rates/dynamics.
- Develop a model of the population dynamics of DFTD in devil populations. Utilise this model to explore the possible outcomes of different management scenarios on population trajectories and the likelihood of alleviating the impacts of this disease.
- Examine fine scale genetic differentiation in the Tasmanian devil, in order to make inferences about dispersal patterns and quantify dispersal distance.
People: Shelly Lachish , Anne Goldizen , Hamish McCallum, Peter Jarman (UNE).
phylogeny and phylogeography of the pademelons (Macropodidae: Thylogale) in Australia and New Guinea.
Pademelons are medium-sized (3-9kg), forest-dwelling wallabies. The genus is one of only three macropod genera currently found in both Australia and New Guinea and is comprised of six species. These are found from the wet sclerophyll forests of Tasmania in the south to the tropical and alpine forests of New Guinea in the north. One species (T. stigmatica) is represented in both countries. Although these species are thought to be modern representatives of the ancestors to grazing kangaroos and wallabies, very little is known about the phylogenetic relationships within the genus or of genetic variation within species. Additionally there is evidence of decline in the Australian mainland populations and three New Guinea species have suffered significant local extinctions. This project will investigate broad-scale patterns of genetic variation within and among pademelons using mitochondrial and nuclear genetic markers. The specific aims of the project are to:
- determine the population history and genetic diversity of the two mainland Australian species: the red-legged pademelon (T. stigmatica) and the red-necked pademelon (T. thetis).
- examine patterns of genetic variation in the red-bellied pademelon (T. billardierii) across the state of Tasmania.
- examine genetic variation within and between New Guinea species and use this information to infer the historical biogeography of the region.
- combine the genetic data from all species to determine the phylogenetic relationships among them and the approximate timing of divergence of New Guinea and Australian species.
People: Peggy Macqueen , Anne Goldizen , Jennifer Seddon.
social networks and individuals' social bonds in eastern grey kangaroos.
We are studying the social bonds and networks of a population of wild eastern grey kangaroos located at Sundown National Park in southeastern Queensland. Eastern grey kangaroos have a fission-fusion social system, in which individuals come and go from groups frequently. At this point we are focusing on females. We will be using association indices and network analysis to analyze the social bonds and positions of individual females in the population's social network, and will then relate these to characteristics of the females, such as their reproductive state, patterns of vigilance behavior, size/age and aspects of their personalities, such as measures of sociability and position along the shy/bold continuum. In future work, we will extend this study to males and also consider relationships between patterns of sociality and males' mating success and females' reproductive success.
People: Joanne Towsey , Zhi Zhao (Zac) Lim , Alecia Carter, Anne Goldizen .
patterns of vigilance in marsupial herbivores.
We are examining patterns of vigilance in mammalian herbivores, including at this point eastern grey kangaroos, red-necked pademelons, Bennett’s wallabies and common wombats. An overarching objective is to compare the factors affecting the vigilance of individuals across the spectrum from solitary species such as the wombat to quite social ones such as the eastern grey kangaroo. One area of our research concerns the degree to which vigilance is synchronized across group members, or conspecifics that are grazing in close proximity, and the causes of such synchronization. We are also examining how factors such as sex, reproductive state, and distance to cover affect both individuals’ vigilance and the degree of synchronization among individuals. Finally, we are quantifying variation among individuals in their vigilance patterns and attempting to determine the causes of this variation.
People: Olivier Pays , Francois-René Favreau, Joanne Towsey , Alecia Carter, Anne Goldizen .
structure and dynamics of Australian flying-fox colonies.
Flying-foxes, fruit bats of the Old World tropics and subtropics, form intriguingly large and stable colonies which at the beginning of last century were known to frequently have been comprised of up to half a million individuals. Surprisingly little is known about the dynamics and organisation of these rarely encountered large mammal aggregations. Our research done since the early 2000s has shown that the complex social and safety architecture of colonies has important implications for sexual selection in the large-scale lek-mating system, as well as individual safety. Positioning of individuals indicates social status and is closely associated not only with behavioural characters such as vigilance (alertness to social and environmental threats), but also physiological (stress and reproductive hormones) and immunological (immune response, ectoparasites) measures and body condition. These findings suggest insights into life-history trade-offs built around costs and benefits of social status and reproductive access in a unique mammalian model.
Future research aims at integrating cutting-edge methods in an interdisciplinary approach to better understand the proximate and ultimate processes governing colony structure and interactions between flying-fox species, at both micro- and macro-scales. Our work has shown that climate change will likely affect flying fox species differently, which may be of key importance to both conservation and human health. Some flying-foxes are already in decline and could be adversely affected by climate change. In relation to human health, there are concerns that human health may be affected by novel viruses associated with the bats. Only by better understanding the ecology of this keystone group of seed dispersers and engineers of forest biodiversity in Australia, will we be able to effectively reverse flying-fox declines and associated negative long-term consequences for biodiversity. A better understanding of these species will also improve management practices for flying-fox camps, which are increasingly the source of conflict between humans and wildlife.
People: Stefan Klose, Justin Welbergen, Elisabeth Kalko, Anne Goldizen .
female social networks and association patterns in giraffes.
We will be studying the female giraffes in the Okaukeujo area of Etosha National Park in Namibia. Giraffes have a fission-fusion social system, in which individuals come and go from groups frequently. We will be quantifying the social networks of these females, as well as the association patterns of individuals, determining who individual females associate with and the strengths of associations between pairs of females. We will relate these measures to the home ranges of females, their flight distances as a measure of their boldness/shyness, their reproductive state and other individual characteristics.
People: Kerryn Carter , John Carter, Bryan Shorrocks, Diana Fisher, Anne Goldizen .
testing relationships between patterns of burrow use and dispersal in common wombats.
All three extant wombat species exhibit unusual patterns of sex-biased dispersal for mammals, with females dispersing more frequently and/or further than males. The causes of these patterns have not yet been established, however two hypotheses have been proposed. (1) Because burrows are energetically costly and time-consuming to make, and such costs would be higher for juveniles, females may bequeath their burrows to their young by exhibiting breeding dispersal. (2) It is known that some level of sharing of burrows occurs, and it may be that males benefit from sharing burrows with closely related males, thus selecting for male philopatry. We will test these hypotheses and others using a combination of molecular genetic techniques and ecological and behavioural data. This project will begin in late 2009.
People: Cécile Vanpe, Anne Goldizen .
strategies for conserving habitat for the brush-tailed rock-wallaby.
The brush-tailed rock-wallaby is one of Australia's most threatened wildlife species. This species suffers from local extinctions due to poor habitat quality and isolation of patches caused by landscape modifications. These factors limit population size and movement which place populations at greater risk from catastrophic events. Some of the urgent measures needed to conserve this species are to identify and actively manage high quality brush-tailed rock-wallaby habitat. This project will use presence-absence surveys to generate habitat models for predicting the locations of high quality habitat for this species. We will then test different management strategies for identifying and protecting prime quality habitat for brush-tailed rock-wallabies at multiple scales.
People: Justine Murray , Anne Goldizen , Hugh Possingham , Clive McAlpine , Sama Low Choy (Qld EPA).
mimicry and cultural evolution in the songs of Albert's lyrebirds.
Albert's lyrebirds (Menura alberti) are famous for their spectacular displays that feature rhythmic dances with loud and very complex songs. Their songs include amazingly accurate mimicry of at least 10 other bird species. All male Albert's lyrebirds within a population produce roughly the same sequence of mimicked sounds within their cyclical mating displays, but the sequence varies among different populations. It is not known whether the variation in individual mimicked components among populations reflects the underlying variation in the songs produced by the model species. It is also unclear whether the entire song is transmitted as a single unit, or if it results from a complex interaction of alternative learning paths (eg. could the sequence be culturally transmitted, but the elements themselves be repeatedly learnt from the model species?).
This project is investigating the role of cultural transmission in shaping the complex song structure of the Albert's lyrebird by using a combination of observational and experimental techniques. Recordings of lyrebirds and the species they mimic will be used to test whether lyrebirds accurately copy the local variants of other species' songs. Playback experiments using both natural and synthesised song sequences will test whether different components of the song result from the different learning paths. More information is available on the lyrebird project page.
People:
Dave Putland , Anne Goldizen, Mike Noad.
acoustic and behavioural ecology of humpback whales.
This project involves acoustic and behavioural research on humpback whales as they migrate along the east coast of Australia. Male humpback whales produce long, complex songs on their tropical breeding grounds and during migration to and from these breeding grounds. All the males in the any one population sing similar songs at any time, but the pattern of the song changes with time, all the males making the same changes to their songs to maintain concurrent song-matching. Whether the songs are primarily used for attracting females or for male dominance-sorting is not currently known, and so the evolutionary pressures that have shaped the design and changing nature of the songs are not understood. Our research aims to better understand how and why the song patterns change, and how the singers use song to mediate interactions with other whales, and so better determine the role of song.
We are also engaged in a collaborative project with the Defence Science and Technology Organisation, Scripps Institute of Oceanography, Wood's Hole Oceanographic Institute, and the U.S. Office of Naval Research. The main aim of this research is to examine how whales perceive and utilise the underwater acoustic environment. There is increasing concern about potential adverse effects of some sources of anthropogenic sound on marine mammals, and understanding how marine mammals interact with their acoustic environment is crucial to any assessment of the possible impacts these sound sources may have.
Use the controls below to listen a short sample of humpback whale song.