Contact details:
Email: viyanna.leo@unsw.edu.au
Office: Room 456, D26 Building, UNSW, Kensington 2052
Supervisors
Richard Reading (Denver zoo USA)
Research Focus
The importance of top-order predators in maintaining ecosystem function has been demonstrated in many marine and terrestrial systems. Top-order predators often have positive effects on biological diversity by limiting populations and reducing impacts of their prey and/or subordinate competitors. Consequently, restoring and maintaining populations of top predators has been identified as a critical imperative for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. In this project, I will investigate how Australia’s largest predator, the dingo, affects the diversity of tropical ecosystems by investigating the lethal and non-lethal effects they have on other species. The results will be used by conservation agencies who require better knowledge on how dingoes provide ecosystem services to improve recovery programs for species threatened by invasive predators and will be of particular value to managers who are faced with decisions to kill dingoes or not.
| Author | Date | Title | Link | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leo et al | 2015 | Interference competition: odours of an apex predator and conspecifics influence resource acquisition by red foxes |
Apex predators can impact smaller predators via lethal effects that occur through direct killing, and non-lethal effects that arise when fear-induced behavioural and physiological changes reduce the fitness of smaller predators. To read full publication, click here |
|
| Gawne et al. | 2011 | A Review of River Ecosystem Condition in the Murray-Darling Basin | View PDF |
