Justine Rice

In 2022, Justine completed a Bachelor's degree in Wildlife Science customised with electives from the Environmental Science degree.

Through this, she established a passion for wildlife-landscape interactions and strives for a future in conservation research working with threatened species and habitats. This has led her to undertake an Honours project investigating determinants of persistence for declining woodland birds.

Her 2023 Honours research will take place in the Desert Uplands looking at environmental factors that influence black-throated finch (BTF) occupancy. The BTF will be utilised as an exemplar species for application on other woodland birds facing similar threats. Methods will involve that of biocondition surveys and species occupancy data collection via use of bioacoustics and ground truthing.

Justine’s career goal is to establish threatening processes and persistence solutions for native biota over a diverse range of habitats from the north tropics to the arid centre. Rural work and a deep convection with nature are what drives Justine’s passion.