New projects for 2026
Does removal of kangaroo grazing alter soil seed banks?
Some areas of the Western Sydney Parklands support a large number of kangaroos. Exclosures were constructed about a decade ago to examine the effects of kangaroos on the standing vegetation. Long-term records suggest that there may be an effect of kangaroo grazing on plant community composition but their effects on soil seed banks are little-known. This study will examine the impacts on soil seed banks, using glasshouse studies, and soil microbial communities.
In this study you will:
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collect soil samples from different microsites inside and outside kangaroo-proof exclosures;
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run germination trials to assess soil seed banks in the glasshouse, and
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analyse the results.
You will be expected to be undertake fieldwork in Western Sydney in an area that has very poor public transport. You should have an interest in plants and soils, and prepared to work with colleagues from the New South Wales National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Ecosystem change at Fowlers Gap following livestock removal
Fowlers Gap is now free of domestic livestock and 50 large monitoring sites have been established to see how conditions change with the removal of sheep. We also want to ask interesting science questions about the health of the station by comparing the features close to water with those away from water.
Research questions include:
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are there differences in plant and soil function with increased grazing pressure
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does grazing change the size distribution of important arid zone plants,
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and how does soil surface morphology change with distance from water?
This project aims to:
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Examine biophysical changes associated with increasing grazing, using distance to water and dung as surrogates of grazing intensity.
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Investigate changes in plant community composition with grazing.
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Investigate changes in soil chemistry and soil surface health.
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Examine differences in the makeup of different herbivores in relation to water using dung mass.
You will:
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Learn how to establish a rigorous monitoring program that involves assessing plants, soils, and soil surface health,
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Undertake fieldwork in an arid, remote and exciting environment,
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Gain a greater appreciation of the impact of grazing on plants and ecosystems, and;
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Learn practical skills that are extremely useful in the workforce.
Does invertebrate herbivory affect plants and soil microbes?
We are part of a global network (the Bug-Network) to quantify plant community and ecosystem responses to insects, molluscs and fungal pathogens in a wide range of herbaceous-dominated ecosystems. These ecosystems range from desert grasslands to arctic tundra, heathlands and Mediterranean shrublands.
The University of New South Wales has two BugNet sites (Western Sydney and Fowlers Gap). We have been treating our sites for 2 years and want to know the effect of altering invertebrate herbivores on soil microbial communities and soil nematodes.
In this study you will:
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Collect soils to extract nematodes for identification by international experts
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Measure herbivory of plant species across a wide range of herbivory modes (chewing, rasping, spotting etc)
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Extract microbes from soils to determine microbial communities, and;
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Assess the condition of the soil surface using appropriate methodologies.
Do the traits of soil disturbing animals explain their impacts on ecosystem functions ?
Soil-disturbing animals are common globally and play important roles in creating and maintaining healthy functional soils and landscapes. Some reintroduction and rewilding programs have as their core aims to increase animal populations and reinstate processes that have been lost due to their extirpation.
We compiled a database of 2437 records from 70 soil disturbing vertebrates on their effects on soils, plants and a range of ecosystem properties. It is clear from this database that some animals have positive effects whereas others have negative effects, but the reason for these differences in poorly understood.
This project will examine whether there are particular animal traits that confer positive or negative effects on plants and soils. You will:
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compile a database of traits of the 70 soil disturbing animals, and,
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combine this with environmental data on the soils and climate of different regions
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to explore trait-related effects on soil and function.
There will be opportunities to undertake some field work to collect additional information on the ecosystem effects of soil disturbing animals to include in the database.
An interest in animals and soils and a knowledge of R is required for this project
