Natalie Freeman
Researcher biography
Natalie completed her BSc in Biological Sciences and MSc in Behavioural Ecology at the University of Lethbridge, Canada. Her previous research has concentrated on animal behaviour, focusing on the benefits of sociality of several species including vervet monkeys in South Africa and eastern grey kangaroos in Queensland. Natalie’s PhD is investigating the relationship between escape performance, foraging behaviour, and survival in wild endangered northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus) on Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory. Using mark-recapture, remote video, and experimental manipulations, she aims to understand how sex, size, metabolism and motor performance of quolls affects their willingness to take risks during foraging, and how this contributes to their survival and reproductive success. Ultimately, her work will pave the way for a mechanistic approach for predicting the extinction risk of small mammal species such as northern quolls based on their behaviour, morphology, and habitat.
@NatJFreeman