Researcher biography

I completed a dual Bachelor of Science (Ecology) and Journalism in 2020. These degrees gave me a wider understanding of the importance of conservation and the difficulties we face in trying to achieve this. This fostered my interest in learning about how diverse ranges of species are affected, how we currently undertake conservation efforts, and ways we can improve these methods to the benefits of the environments and humans.

My research is being undertaken in collaboration with Hidden Vale Wildlife Centre, where I am investigating the ability of LiDAR to estimate and predict small mammal presence and diversity. I am conducting animal trapping and vegetation surveys at Old Hidden Vale to uncover plant and animal diversity at 10 separate survey sites. I will then use previously collected LiDAR data to identify vegetation characteristics. I will examine correlations between the LiDAR derived variables and on-ground variables. I am predicting that the LiDAR variables will be strong predictors of habitat attributes and thus useful for identifying species' habitats across large, and difficult to survey locations.