PhD project in faunal response to ecological restoration

Short title: Removing rabbits to restore and connect ecosystems at large scale

We are seeking a PhD student, available now with a guaranteed scholarship, to work in a large-scale restoration program in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia. The PhD project is imbedded in a broader project that will measure how strategic removal of large patches of rabbit warrens could achieve restoration of plants and soils, and vertebrate and invertebrate wildlife, and how strategic placement of patches in the landscape could connect habitat for mobile wildlife (reintroduced quolls) at large scale.

These projects will test a method for ecosystem restoration in large, unfenced landscapes, contributing to conservation and restoration of the vast areas of Australia that are ‘outside the fence’. High densities of introduced rabbits support feral cats, causing both broad-scale environmental degradation and native wildlife decline in Australia. In an ARC-funded project in the semi-arid South Australian Flinders Ranges, we are showing how rabbit warren removal leads to reduced browsing of vegetation by rabbits and decreased predation of native wildlife by cats, and how this in turn promotes recovery of vegetation, soils and wildlife. We will show how strategic removal of patches of warrens can be used to link isolated areas of intact habitat to achieve large-scale conservation outcomes.

The wildlife PhD project will focus on the faunal responses to rabbit control, including the responses of feral cats and reintroduced western quolls, and other vertebrate and invertebrate wildlife. Methods include remote camera trapping, bird surveys and pitfall/funnel trapping for vertebrates and invertebrates. The project would suit a candidate with interest in wildlife and responses to ecological restoration interventions.

The PhD candidate will work alongside a second PhD student focussing on plants, soil seed banks and soils, and will be supported in the field by a postdoctoral researcher focussing on large-scale connectivity and quolls. These projects are part of an ongoing collaboration between the Department of Environment and Water and the University of Tasmania. Both PhD candidates and the postdoctoral researcher will spend significant amounts of time in a remote location. The field base is established and is comfortable. The project provides good opportunities for networking with conservation NGOs and land managers.

What are we looking for in a PhD candidate? We are looking for highly motivated and committed candidates, capable of working in remote locations in a challenging climate. You will need to be physically fit, able to navigate, and preferably with 4WD experience. You will be working as part of an interdisciplinary team, in collaboration with industry partners. We are looking for candidates with excellent team and communication skills and resilience. You will need to have a good understanding in the fields of either plant and soil or wildlife ecology, good quantitative skills in study design and statistical analysis of large data sets using R.

The project is based in the School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania in Hobart.