Planning for the persistence of native species in rapidly changing landscapes is a major focus of environmental management and research. The ‘death by a thousand cuts’ scenario is a particular challenge: landscape change and habitat loss occurs incrementally so we rarely have the opportunity to assess the risk of aggregate impacts of future land use change.

The research project

This project will take a population biology approach to quantify thresholds for species persistence in changing landscapes. The priority species for the project is the black-footed tree rat in the Darwin region, although there are opportunities for research on other species.

Small mammals have undergone rapid declines in recent decades in northern Australia. In the Darwin region, habitat loss through land use change is a key threat.

The research will draw on methods in landscape ecology, genetics and computational population modelling to develop approaches to identify the long-term outcomes of landscape change scenarios for the persistence of native mammals in the Darwin region. Research activities will include:

1. field surveys to develop improved models of species occurrence and abundance in relation to landscape and site-level factors;
2. the use of ecological and genetic approaches to identify the role of landscape elements and their spatial configuration for habitat quality and population connectivity;
3. the application of simulation modelling to evaluate thresholds for effective species conservation.

Required skills and experience

The student will need to have a good undergraduate academic record. They must be able to work independently, showing a high level of initiative. They will need to have field experience, preferably in mammal research, and the capacity to run a field research program.

Research experience or an educational background in population genetics and/or simulation-based population modelling is desirable

Project funding and supervision

The project will involve close collaboration between Charles Darwin University and the Northern Territory Government Department of Environment and Natural Resources.

• The student would need to successfully apply for Research Training Program scholarship ($27,596 per annum) from Charles Darwin University (see www.cdu.edu.au/research/ori/scholarships), and the project will provide a 'top up' of $7,500 per annum for three years.
• The student would be based at CDU’s Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods (RIEL; http://riel.cdu.edu.au) and be supervised by Prof. Sam Banks and Dr Brett Murphy (CDU) with Brydie Hill (Acting Director of Terrestrial Ecosystems, NT DENR) as external advisor.

If you are interested in this project, please send a CV, academic transcript and a brief description of why you want to do this project, to sam.banks@cdu.edu.au

Closing date: 27 October 2018.