Project description
- Background: Animals respond to stressors through activation of physiological pathways that create stress hormones (i.e., glucocorticoid hormones). Stress hormones help animals cope with disturbances, but long-term exposure can cause declines in body condition, health, and survival and reproduction. Animals that live in close proximity to humans may experience chronic stress due to anthropogenic noise, changes in habitat, or simply the presence of people. One way to assess the impact of human disturbance on wildlife is by measuring stress hormones.
- Project aims/outcomes: The aim of this project is to measure the impact of human disturbances on glucocorticoid levels in Port Jackson Sharks. Specifically, the aim is to compare glucocorticoid levels from sharks in a human disturbed environment to sharks from an environment without human disturbances. This project will generate new knowledge to help us understand the impact of human disturbances on marine systems.
- Methods: We will capture sharks from two sites (human disturbed and undisturbed) and collect blood samples to measure glucocorticoid stress hormones. There may be scope to include tracking data in this project as well.
Co-supervisors
Professor Charlie Huveneers is a collaborator on this project and will provide all the technical knowledge for capturing sharks and collecting blood samples.
Assumed knowledge
There are no perquisites or assumed knowledge required for this project. However, the student who takes on this project should have an interest in BOTH field work (to collect samples) and lab work (to do hormone assays).
Supervisors research focus
My research examines the physiological mechanisms that regulate animal behaviour. I have focused primarily on understanding how conditions experienced during development shape endocrine responses that affect behaviour and physiology across life history stages with consequences on fitness and life history strategies. I take a whole organism approach by integrating studies of animal behaviour and physiology to tackle large-scale questions that sit at the nexus of behavioural ecology, physiological ecology, and evolutionary biology. I work broadly across taxonomic groups but focus heavily on birds and lizards.
Note: You need to register interest in projects from different supervisors (not a number of projects with the one supervisor).
You must also contact each supervisor directly to discuss both the project details and your suitability to undertake the project.