Paucity of predators: does Australia have fewer predators than it should?

Project description

Australia appears to have few large (native) mammalian predators relative to other continents. Whether this is a result of insularism since Australia first separated from Gondwana around 100 million years ago, a product of differential extinction rates during the megafauna extinction event of the Late Pleistocene, or a combination of both is still unknown. Additionally, we are uncertain whether the paucity of predators applies to other taxonomic groups (birds, reptiles, amphibians), and if Australia differs markedly from other continental masses. Co-supervisor: Dr John Llewleyn

Co-supervisors

Dr John Llewelyn

Supervisors research focus

I am an ecologist and environmental modeller who develops mathematical approaches to predict ecosystem function, resilience, and change in the past, present, and future, with a focus on maintaining biodiversity. See the Global Ecology Laboratory website, my Google Scholar profile for a list of my publications, my Github code repository account, my Bluesky profile, and my blog ConservationBytes.com.

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