Behavioural ecology studies the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behaviour; how animals perceive their environments, find food and mates; and how plasticity in behaviour enables them to adapt to changing selective pressures from other organisms and the environment.

Key staff contacts

• Associate Professor Jonathan Evans
• Associate Professor Theodore Evans
• Dr Renee Firman
• Dr Cyril Grueter
• Associate Professor Jan Hemmi
• Dr Jennifer Kelley
• Dr Nicola Mitchell
• Associate Professor Amanda Ridley
• Professor Leigh Simmons
• Associate Professor Joseph Tomkins

Research in functional ecology focuses on physiological, anatomical, and life history characteristics of organisms to achieve a mechanistic understanding of their relationships with other organisms and the environment. Such insights link with evolutionary history and can be applied, for example, in biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration.

Key staff contacts

• Associate Professor Patrick Finnegan
• Dr Pauline Grierson
• Professor Hans Lambers
• Associate Professor Jan Hemmi
• Dr Nicola Mitchell
• Dr James O'Shea
• Dr Pieter Poot
• Associate Professor Erik Veneklaas
• Professor Phil Withers
• Dr Michael Renton

Evolutionary ecology is the study of how form and function evolves in response to the environment and to other organisms. We investigate the natural and sexual selection pressures that generate species and population divergence in morphological traits from size, shape or colour, to the form and function of gametes. Our research also examines the genetic basis of quantitative traits, and explores patterns of gene flow within and among population that underlie population divergence and speciation.

Key staff contacts

• Associate Professor Jacqueline Batley
• Dr Karen Bell
• Associate Professor Jonathan Evans
• Dr Cyril Greuter
• Dr Jason Kennington
• Dr Jennifer Kelley
• Dr Giovanni Polverino
• Dr Michael Renton
• Professor Leigh Simmons
• Associate Professor Joseph Tomkins

Population ecology deals with the demography and dynamics of populations, and seeks to understand the drivers of variation in population size and probability of species persistence in space and time. Population ecology is fundamental to the conservation management of threatened species.

Key staff contacts

• Dr Renee Catullo
• Associate Professor Theodore Evans
• Professor Simon Jarman
• Professor Gary Kendrick
• Dr Timothy Langlois
• Dr Nicola Mitchell
• Dr Jane Prince
• Dr Michael Renton
• Dr Thomas Wernberg

Our research in community ecology studies the interactions among species in communities at several spatial and temporal scales. Studies include assessment of the distribution, structure and abundance of communities. We investigate the important properties of interaction networks in determining the functional consequences of biodiversity loss, its implications for food web energetics and the provision of ecosystem services.

Key staff contacts

• Professor Raphael Didham
• Professor Michael Douglas
• Associate Professor Theodore Evans
• Dr Matthew Fraser
• Dr Pauline Grierson
• Professor Simon Jarman
• Professor Gary Kendrick
• Dr Timothy Langlois
• Dr Pieter Poot
• Dr Jane Prince
• Dr Michael Renton
• Associate Professor Samantha Setterfield
• Dr Thomas Wernberg

A wide variety of research activities in our School utilise biogeochemical, stable isotope, genetic and molecular methods to advance our understanding of ecosystem ecology. This includes the fundamental processes controlling water, carbon and nutrient stores and fluxes in plants, soils and sediments within marine and terrestrial ecosystems. We research major ecological challenges to maintain ecosystem functioning, including advancing understanding of the processes that drive biodiversity across various scales of time and space.

Key staff contacts

• Professor Michael Douglas
• Dr Matthew Fraser
• Dr Pauline Grierson
• Associate Professor Samantha Setterfield
• Dr Grzegorz Skrzypek
• Associate Professor Erik Veneklaas

Our studies of marine systems focus on determining what drives the dynamics and structure of populations and ecosystems. We work with marine flora and fauna, including the wonderful seagrass meadows of near shore environments as well as the marine megafauna such as sharks, whales and sea turtles, a major feature of Western Australian waters.

Key staff contacts

• Dr Belinda Cannell
• Dr Matthew Fraser
• Dr Renae Hovey
• Professor Simon Jarman
• Professor Gary Kendrick
• Dr Jennifer Kelley
• Dr Timothy Langlois
• Professor Jessica Meeuwig
• Dr Nicola Mitchell
• Dr Ylva Olsen
• Dr Jane Prince
• Dr Michael Renton
• Dr Ana Martins Sequeira
• Dr Thomas Wernberg
• Professor Dirk Zeller

Threats to the persistence of species through time are tightly linked to the genetic health of populations. We conduct field-based assessments of genetic diversity in species and populations under threat, as well as understanding the genetic basis to extinction risk in a laboratory setting.

Key staff contacts

• Dr Renee Catullo
• Professor Simon Jarman
• Dr Jason Kennington
• Dr Nicola Mitchell
• Associate Professor Joseph Tomkins

Understanding the nature of climate change and its impacts is a pressing concern for the management of threatened species and the ecosystems where they live. We use our knowledge of the behaviour and physiology of affected organisms to understand whether species can persist under current rates of climate change, or where species may live in the future. We also use our understanding of the way species respond to their environment to reconstruct past climates.

Key staff contacts

• Dr Renee Catullo
• Dr Matthew Fraser
• Dr Pauline Grierson
• Professor Simon Jarman
• Professor Jessica Meeuwig
• Dr Nicola Mitchell
• Associate Professor Amanda Ridley
• Dr Pieter Poot
• Dr Grzegorz Skrzypek
• Dr Thomas Wernberg
• Professor Dirk Zeller

Marine animals are increasingly facing the impacts of human manipulation of the marine environment, together with more general threats such as ocean warming and acidification. Understanding how marine animals respond to changed environments is vital if we are to predict changes in distributions, growth rates, population dynamics and ecosystem sustainability. We work with threatened species but also common species that are impacted by pressures such as tourism, recreational fishing, and oil and gas installations.

Key staff contacts

• Dr Belinda Cannell
• Dr Matthew Fraser
• Professor Simon Jarman
• Dr Timothy Langlois
• Professor Jessica Meeuwig
• Dr Nicola Mitchell
• Dr Jane Prince
• Dr Ana Martins Sequeira
• Professor Dirk Zeller

We aim to understand the processes that lead to the degradation of ecosystems and the mechanisms by which they can be conserved and restored. Our research covers a broad range of areas in ecology and natural resource management, from conceptual ecology, to environmental policy via ecosystem restoration and the management and captive breeding of rare and threatened flora and fauna.

Key staff contacts

• Professor Michael Douglas
• Dr Pauline Grierson
• Professor Richard Hobbs
• Professor Gary Kendrick
• Dr Nicola Mitchell
• Dr Michael Renton
• Associate Professor Samantha Setterfield
• Dr Grzegorz Skrzypek
• Associate Professor Erik Veneklaas