Dr Sarah McGrath

I am the Project Officer for the Threatened Species Index (TSX) at the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN). The TSX integrates long-term monitoring data for Australia’s threatened species to estimate abundance trends. A key focus of my role is working with data providers to incorporate their data into the index to generate up-to-date and reliable trends in abundance at national, state and regional levels.

In addition to my TSX role, I continue to pursue my interest in the conservation of primates and other wildlife. In 2023, I completed my PhD at the Australian National University, studying the impacts of illegal selective logging and hunting pressure on the Endangered northern yellow-cheeked crested gibbon (Nomascus annamensis) in Veun Sai-Siem Pang National Park, Cambodia. For my Master’s research, I investigated the host plant preferences of the Critically Endangered Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococlus australis) to assist reintroduction to Lord Howe Island.

Publications

McGrath, S. J., & Behie, A. M. (2021). Hunting pressure on primates in Veun Sai-Siem Pang National Park, Cambodia. International Journal of Primatology, 42, 563-588. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-021-00219-1.

McGrath, S. J., Cleave, R. J., Elgar, M. A., Silcocks, S. C. & Magrath, M. J. L. (2017). Determining host plant preferences for the critically endangered Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococlus australis) to assist reintroduction. Journal of Insect Conservation, 21, 791-799. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-017-0002-3.

McGrath, S. J., Liu, J., Stevenson, B. C., & Behie, A. M. (2023). Density and population size estimates of the endangered northern yellow-cheeked crested gibbon Nomascus annamensis in selectively logged Veun Sai-Siem Pang National Park in Cambodia using acoustic spatial capture-recapture methods. PLoS ONE, 18, e0292386. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0292386.