Researcher biography
Hannah Rigney is a plant ecologist and PhD student at The University of Queensland, working under the supervision of Drs Simon Hart, Wilma Blaser Hart, and Prof Richard Fuller. She holds a Bachelor of Environmental Science with Honours (Class I) from The University of Queensland. Prior to her PhD studies, Hannah worked as a field ecologist conducting environmental assessments for renewable energy projects across Queensland.
The focus of her PhD research is to understand and improve outcomes for biodiversity, particularly plant diversity, in the tropical agricultural landscapes of Ghana, West Africa. Her project will explore the trade-offs between agricultural production and biodiversity conservation that can be achieved through agroforestry – the deliberate retention or integration of trees into existing agricultural landscapes. In 2025, she conducted a 7-month field campaign in the cocoa growing areas and nearby rainforest reserves of Ghana.