Movement and landscape ecology

Our focus

The Movement and Landscape Ecology Lab develops tools and techniques for tracking the movement, migration and dispersal of animals in their natural habitat. We integrate bio-logging data with remotely sensed environmental data or physiological information to better understand the drivers and patterns of animal population abundance and distribution. We use this information to address human–wildlife conflicts and threatened species and community conservation.

Specialist expertise and tech:  We are specialists in the application and development of animal telemetry technologies and the analysis and synthesis of these data sources. We are one of the leading laboratories in Australia developing autonomous receiver arrays to track the movements of flying animals over broad spatial scales. We also use technologies such as Doppler Weather Radar, Hydrodynamic models, and Autonomous vehicles to supplement and correlate with the animal occurrence data. The lab is CASA approved for Drone operations and we host a large fleet of diverse craft and remote sensing technologies.

Why this research is important

Environments change and therefore the resources that animals require also change in availability through space and time. By tracking the consequent changes in individual-based animal movement, population abundance and distribution, we can provide information to make better management decisions for these resources.

Key Projects

1. Movement ecology of granivores: informing fire management of savannas

Funded by: Australian Research Council - linkage grant

Partners: Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (Wa); The University of Auckland; Save The Gouldian Foundation; World Wide Fund For Nature Australia; Wild Spy Pty Ltd; National Drones Pty Ltd; Kimberley Land Council

Total: $430,000.00 aud (2018-2021)