As part of the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at The University of Sydney, the Global Ecology Lab seeks to understand how humans and wildlife shape and drive ecosystem processes.

Much of our work is focused on wildlife that act as important ecosystem engineers, especially large carnivores and scavengers. Our work provides solutions to the challenges of wildlife conservation and management in a rapidly changing world.

If you are a student interested in working with the Global Ecology Lab see the Student Opportunities tab.

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Principal Investigator

Thomas Newsome

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Main Projects

• ProjectOzScav: evaluating the ecosystem effects of carcasses in Australia (Project Flyer) (student: Emma Spencer at The University of Sydney)
• NSW Environment Trust Deer Project (Project Partner)
• Ecological effects of invasive European wasps in Alpine ecosystems (Project Flyer) (students: James Vandersteen and Christopher Fust at The University of Sydney)
• The ecological effects of animal mass mortality events (Project Flyer) (students: Stefanie Bonat at The University of Sydney)
• Washington Predator Prey Project (with the Predator Ecology Lab at The University of Washington, USA) (student: Lauren Satterfield at The University of Washington)
• Trophic cascades and global extinction risk (with the Global Trophic Cascades Program at Oregon State University, USA)
• Long term ecological monitoring in the Simpson Desert (with the Desert Ecology Research Group at The University of Sydney, Australia)
• Long term ecological monitoring and behaviour, ecology and evolution of dingoes in the Tanami Desert (with the Central Land Council and Newmont Pty Ltd; multiple projects)
• Multiple collaborative projects with Australian Wildlife Conservancy assessing the impacts of bushfires on small mammals at North Head and Wolombi region (student: Angela Rana)

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Recent Grants, Partnerships and Fellowships

• ARC Discovery Project 2021 DP210102593 (Current) Ecological forecasts of species response to fire, drought and heatwaves ($371,000) Co-Investigator
• NSW Environment Trust Deer Project (Current) Major in-kind field support from NSW NPWS, and funding support for a PhD Student Stipend (up to $160,000). Principal Investigator
  
• Morris Animal Foundation (Current) After the bushfire catastrophe: recovering our missing marsupials” ($220,000) Co-Investigator
• Australian Alps National Parks Cooperative Management Program (Current) Ecological effects of invasive European wasps in Alpine ecosystems ($21K) Principal Investigator
• Hermon Slade Foundation (Current) Ecological Effects of Animal Mass Mortality Events ($61K) Principal Investigator
• Pest and Weed Drought Funding (Australian Government) (Current) Grosses Plains, Mowamba and Ingebyra Feral Deer Control Initiative ($211K) University partner with South East Local Land Services.
• Greater Sydney Local Land Services (Current) Management and genetic assessments of urban and rural foxes across the Sydney region. Co-Investigator.
• Australian Geographic (Current) The web of death: evaluating the effects of carrion on vulnerable alpine communities ($1500) Co-Investigator.
• Threatened Species Recovery Hub (Current) Cat suppression to conserve night parrots” ($180K) Co-Investigator.
• Australian Pacific Science Foundation (Current) Fighting over the scraps: predator interactions and the ecosystem effects of carrion ($35K) Principal Investigator.
• Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (Current) Interactions between wolves and cougars in NE Washington ($1.4M) Co-Investigator.
• Seattle City Lights Wildlife Research Grant (Current) Interactions between wolves and Cougars in NE Washington ($64K) Co-Investigator.
• National Geographic Society Committee for Research Exploration (Current) Wolves in the pacific northwest: the final frontier ($34K) Principal Investigator.
• USEED Crowd-Funding (Current) The top dog returns: the impact of wolves in the American west ($17K) Co-Investigator.
• Alfred Deakin Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (2016-2017) Predator management in Australia: lessons from interactions between wolves and cougars in NE Washington ($180K) Principal Investigator.
• Australian American Fulbright Commission (2013-2014) How to manage dingoes in Australia: understanding the effect of reintroducing top-order predators ($57K) Principal Investigator.
• Northern Territory Government (2010) EnvironmeNT Grant Diet of camp dogs in the Tanami Desert” ($10K) Principal Investigator.
• Newmont Tanami Operations (2007-2011) The ecology of dingoes in the Tanami Desert” ($100K) Principal Investigator.

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Current Students (Primary Supervisor)

Emma Spencer (PhD; University of Sydney): Studying the ecological role of carrion in Australian ecosystems.

James Vandersteen (MSc; University of Sydney): Studying the ecological effects of invasive European wasps on scavenger communities in Kosciuszko National Park.

Chris Fust (MSc; University of Sydney): Studying the factors influencing carcass decomposition rates.

Stefanie Bonat (PhD; University of Sydney): Studying the ecological effects of animal mass mortality events.

Angela Rana (PhD: University of Sydney): Studying the success of the rewilding of small mammals into North Head.

Eliane McCarthy (PhD: University of Sydney): Studying deer movement and genetics in the Australian Alps.

Emily Fang-ling Hsu (Honours: University of Sydney): Studying how carcasses influence landscapes of fear and disgust.

Rhys Cairncross (Honours: University of Sydney): Studying how invasive European wasps disrupt scavenging dynamics in the Australian Alps.

Current Students (Co-Supervisor)

Lauren Satterfield (PhD; University of Washington): Studying the effects of wolf recolonization on mountain lion resource selection in Washington State.

Donna McIntyre (PhD; Federation University): Studying fly communities and interactions at animal mass mortality sites.

Anna Reboldi (PhD; Federation University): Studying plant responses to carcass decomposition islands.

Rebecca Stone (Honours; Federation University): Studying beetle assemblages associated with animal mass mortality sites.

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Past Students

Lily Van Eeden (PhD 2019; University of Sydney): Studied the drivers of human-wildlife conflicts, focusing on the dingo in Australia.

Molly Kane (Honours 2019; University of Sydney): Studied the ecological role of feral pigs as scavengers.

Patrick Bragato (Honours 2019; University of Sydney): Studied the ecological effects of carcasses in the Simpson Desert.

Zyna Krige (Honours 2019; University of Sydney): Studied the effects of flooding on carcass-scavenging in the Simpson Desert.

Aiden Wright (Honours 2019; University of Sydney): Studied the population genetics of Australian bush rats following their reintroduction into North Head, Manly.

Sarah Campbell (MRes 2018; Macquarie University): Studied antibiotic resistance, gene diversity and expression in wild foxes across urban, peri-urban and rural landscapes.

Will Ashley (MRes 2018; Macquarie University): Studied dispersal pathways, connectivity and gene flow between red fox populations across the Greater Sydney region.

Dara Albrecht (Summer Intern from Yale University 2019): Assisted with field and lab studies and science communication of ProjectOzScav.

Margarita Gil-Fernandez (MRes 2018; Macquarie University). Studied the visitation rates of red fox and other species to M44 ejectors in peri-urban and urban areas of Sydney.

Gavin Trewella (Honours 2016; Deakin University): Studied whether dingoes (Canis dingo) facilitate behaviourally-mediated trophic cascades in mallee ecosystems?

Evie Jones (Honours 2016; Deakin University): Studied the factors influencing feral cat density and distribution in a mallee ecosystem.

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Main External Collaborators

• William Ripple: Oregon State University – Trophic Cascades Program
• Aaron Wirsing: University of Washington – Predator Ecology Lab
• Euan Ritchie: Deakin University – Centre for Integrative Ecology
• Alexandra Carthey: Macquarie University – Macquarie University

I am always interested to hear from potential collaborators.