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Academic Staff - Dr Clare McArthur

Clare McArthur Photo
Position: Associate Professor
Phone: +61 2 9351 2062
Fax: +61 2 9351 4119
Mobile Phone: N/A
Email: clare.mcarthur@sydney.edu.au
Location: Room 303
Address: A08 - Heydon-Laurence Building, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia 
Links: N/A
Keywords: Behavioural ecology, Foraging ecology, Terrestrial ecology, Interactions, Mammals, Herbivores, Frugivores, Plant defence, Predation risk, Conservation and management

Career profile | Research Output | Teaching | Areas of research interest | Projects of some (past and current) students

Career Profile

Getting started

I started off my research career at Monash University, Victoria, by exploring the relationship between tooth wear in kangaroos and their capacity to masticate their tough grassy diet during my BSc Honours (1983) year. The variation in wear that I found between populations of kangaroos suggested an important link between how individuals cope with the diet they confront, how this varies with geography, and thus how populations may differ as a result of variation in individual characteristics.

Doing a PhD

I stayed on at Monash for my PhD (1984 - 1988), investigating how tannins in eucalypt leaves affect digestion in ringtail possums. Eucalypt are notoriously low in protein anyway, so if tannins suppressed protein digestion, it could have serious implication for those that eat them. Ringtail possums, along with koalas, greater gliders and brushtail possums, are one of the few mammalian herbivores that do. This early work suggested that tannins pose fewer problems to ringtails than to many other herbivores, presumably as a result of strong selective pressure from the fairly unique Australian eucalypt characteristics.

My first post-doc

I spent the next two years in the United States (1988 - 1990) on an NSF funded project with biochemist Ann E Hagerman, and wildlife biologists Charlie T Robbins and Tom Hanley. Here I was working on the influence of plant secondary chemistry on feeding in deer. This included running feeding preference trials with mule deer in Washington State and with Sitka black-tailed deer in Alaska. We were interested in bringing non-tannin phenolics into the ecological picture. In contrast to tannins, these small compounds are more likely to act as toxins to herbivores. By testing feeding preferences of deer offered a range of plants, we were able to show that deer chose the best plants – those which either maximised digestibility or minimised the non-tannin phenolic load. They never chose the plants with lowest digestibility and highest toxic load. This research highlighted the role and importance of these phenolics in the foraging ecology of browsers (consumers of woody plants).

My next post-doc

I spent several years as a post-doc back at Monash (1991 - 1994), further exploring how marsupial herbivores cope with leaf tannins. This included a detailed study of the saliva of a range of species, from possums to wombats to kangaroos. Salivary protein seems to be the first line of defence for many herbivores. It is extremely efficient at binding dietary tannins and so leaves the dietary protein free to be digested.

A fledged academic

For nine years (1995 - 2003) I was based in the School of Zoology, University of Tasmania, applying my understanding of foraging to the problem of browsing of tree seedlings in plantation forestry. During much of this period, I also managed the Resource Protection Program within the Cooperative Research Centre for (Temperate Hardwood and then Sustainable Production) Forestry. By investigating the fundamental principles of foraging ecology to an applied problem, my research group has been able to discover several ways in which browsing damage can be reduced.

And now

Since 2004 I have been at the University of Sydney. Research in my lab focuses on, but is not confined to, delving into the fascinating ecology of mammalian herbivores – how they interact with the plants they eat and with the predators that want to eat them. We explore the influence of the environment on plants and their chemical and structural defences against herbivores; and how herbivores forage in response to the dual costs associated with consuming plants and avoiding predators.

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Research Output

For copyright reasons, I cannot link you directly to most pdfs of my publications.

Please email me () if you’d like a copy of any of them.

Refereed Journal Articles

2012

  • Tuft KD, Crowther MS & McArthur C (2012) Fire and grazing influence food resources of an endangered rock-wallaby. Wildlife Research 39:436-445
  • Nersesian CL, Banks PB, Simpson SJ, McArthur C (2012) Mixing nutrients mitigates the intake constraints of a plant toxin in a generalist herbivore. Behavioral Ecology 23: 879-888
  • Nersesian CL, Banks PB, McArthur C (2012) Behavioural responses to indirect and direct predator cues by a mammalian herbivore, the common brushtail possum. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 66:47-55
  • McArthur C, Orlando P, Banks PB, Brown JS (2012) The foraging tightrope between predation risk and plant toxins: a matter of concentration. Functional Ecology 26:74-83 Watch video

2011

  • Onoda Y, Westoby M, Adler PB, Choong AMF, Clissold FJ, Cornelissen JHC, D'az S, Dominy NJ, Elgart A, Enrico L, Fine PVA, Howard JJ, Jalili A, Kitajima K, Kurokawa H, McArthur C, Lucas PW, Markesteijn L, Pérez-Harguindeguy N, Poorter L, Richards L, Santiago LS, Sosinski EE, Van Bael SA, Warton DI, Wright IJ, Joseph Wright S & Yamashita N (2011) Global patterns of leaf mechanical properties. Ecology Letters 14, 301-312
  • Nersesian CL, Banks PB, McArthur C (2011) Titrating the cost of plant toxins against predators: determining the tipping point for foraging herbivores. Journal Animal Ecology 80:753-760
  • Tuft KD, Crowther MS, Connell K, Mueller S, McArthur C (2011) Predation risk and competitive interactions affect foraging of an endangered refuge-dependent herbivore. Animal Conservation 14:447-457
  • Miller AM, O’Reilly-Wapstra JM, Potts BM, McArthur C (2011) Field screening for genetic-based susceptibility to mammalian browsing. Forest Ecology and Management 262:1500-1506
  • Miller AM, O’Reilly-Wapstra JM, Potts BM, McArthur C (2011) Repellent and stocking guards reduce mammal browsing in eucalypt plantations. New Forests 42:301-316
  • Tuft KD, Crowther MS, McArthur C (2011) Multiple scales of diet selection by brush-tailed rock-wallabies, Petrogale penicillata. Australian Mammalogy 33:169-180

2010

  • Simpson SJ, Raubenheimer D, Charleston MA, Clissold FJ, Couzin* ID, Clements KD, Coleman RA, Dussutour A, Foley WJ, Forbey JS, Glaze E, Gordon IJ, Hanan J, Hochuli DF, Kearney MR, McArthur C, Pile AJ, Poore AGB, Sword GA & Wallis IJ (2010) Modelling nutritional interactions: from individuals to communities. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 25, 53-60.
    * Couzin onwards listed as "ARC NZ Vegetation Function Network Herbivory Working
    Group"
  • Kirmani SN, Banks PB & McArthur C (2010) Integrating the costs of plant toxins and predation risk in foraging decisions of a mammalian herbivore. Oecologia 164, 349-356.
  • O’Reilly-Wapstra JM, Bailey JK, McArthur C & Potts BM (2010) Genetic- and chemical-based resistance to two mammalian herbivores varies across the geographic range of Eucalyptus globulus. Evolutionary Ecology Research 12, 1-16.
  • Close DC, Paterson S, Corkrey R & McArthur C (2010) Influences of seedling size, container type and mammal browsing on the establishment of Eucalyptus globulus in plantation forestry. New Forests 39, 105-115.
  • McArthur C, Bradshaw OS, Jordan GJ, Clissold FJ & Pile AJ (2010) Wind affects morphology, function and chemistry of eucalypt seedlings. International Journal of Plant Sciences 171, 73-80.
  • McArthur C, Loney PE, Davies N & Jordan GJ (2010) Early ontogenetic trajectories vary among defence chemicals in seedlings of a fast-growing eucalypt. Austral Ecology 35, 157-166.

2009

  • McArthur C, Loney PE, Davies N & Jordan GJ (DOI: 10.1111/j.1442-9993.2009.02021.x) Early ontogenetic trajectories vary among defence chemicals in seedlings of a fast-growing eucalypt. Austral Ecology.
  • Miller, A.M., O'Reilly-Wapstra, J., Potts, B.M. & McArthur, C. (2009) Non-lethal strategies to reduce browse damage in eucalypt plantations. Forest Ecology and Management 259:45-55
  • Simpson, S.J., Raubenheimer, D., Charleston, M.A., Clissold, F.J. & ARC-NZ Vegetation Function Network Herbivory Working Group (2009) Modelling nutritional interactions: from individuals to communities. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 25, 53-60.
  • Miller, A. M., C. McArthur & PJ Smethurst (2009) Spatial scale and opportunities for choice influence browsing and associational refuges of focal plants. Journal of Animal Ecology 78, 1134-1142.

2008

  • Borchard P, McIlroy J & McArthur C. (2008) Links between riparian characteristics and the abundance of common wombat (Vombatus ursinus) burrows in an agricultural landscape. Wildlife Research 35, 760-767.

2007

  • Miller A. M., McArthur C. & Smethurst P. J. (2007) Effects of within-patch characteristics on the vulnerability of a plant to herbivory. Oikos 116, 41-52.
  • Close DC, McArthur C., Hagerman AE, Davies NW, Beadle CL (2007) Phenolic acclimation to ultraviolet-A irradiation in Eucalyptus nitens seedlings raised across a nutrient environment gradient. Photosynthetica 45, 36-42.

2006

  • Loney PE, McArthur C., Potts BM & Jordan GL (2006) How does ontogeny in a Eucalyptus species affect patterns of herbivory in Brushtail Possums? Functional Ecology 20, 982-988.
  • While GM & McArthur C. (2006) Distance from cover affects food patch depletion by macropod herbivores. Wildlife Research 33, 565-570.
  • Loney PE, McArthur C., Sanson GD, Davies NW, Close DC & Jordan GL (2006) How do soil nutrients affect within-plant patterns of herbivory? Oecologia 150, 409-420.
  • Miller, A. M., C. McArthur, and P. Smethurst. 2006a. Characteristics of tree seedlings and neighbouring vegetation have an additive influence on browsing by generalist herbivores. Forest Ecology and Management 228:197-205.
  • Miller, A. M., C. McArthur, P. Smethurst, and S. F. Wang. 2006. Preferences of two mammalian herbivores for tree seedlings and potential cover crops in plantation forestry. Australian Forestry 69:114-121.
  • Wiggins, N. L., C. McArthur, N. W. Davies, and S. McLean. 2006. Behavioural responses of a generalist mammalian folivore to the physiological constraints of a chemically defended diet. Journal of Chemical Ecology 32:1133-1147.
  • Wiggins, N. L., C. McArthur, N. W. Davies, and S. McLean. 2006. Spatial scale of the patchiness of plant poisons: a critical influence on foraging efficiency. Ecology 87:2236-2243.
  • Wiggins NL, Marsh KJ, Wallis IR, Foley WJ, McArthur C. (2006) Sideroxylonal in Eucalyptus melliodora foliage affects feeding behaviour of ringtail possums. Oecologia 147, 272-279.
  • Wiggins NL, McArthur C., Davies NW (2006) Diet switching in a generalist mammalian folivore: fundamental to maximising intake. Oecologia 147, 650-657.

2005

  • Close DC, McArthur C., Hagerman AE, Fitzgerald H (2005) Differential stratification of leaf chemistry in eucalypt seedlings due to variation in whole-plant nutrient availability. Phytochemistry 66, 215-221.
  • O'Reilly-Wapstra JM, Potts BM, McArthur C., Davies NW (2005) Effects of nutrient variability on the genetic based resistance of Eucalyptus globulus to a mammalian herbivore and on plant defensive chemistry. Oecologia 142, 597-605.
  • O'Reilly-Wapstra JM, Potts BM, McArthur C., Davies NW, Tilyard P (2005) Inheritance of resistance to mammalian herbivores and of plant defensive chemistry in a Eucalyptus species. Journal of Chemical Ecology 31, 357-375.
  • le Mar K and McArthur C. (2005) Comparison of habitat selection by two sympatric macropods, Thylogale billardierii and Macropus rufogriseus rufogriseus, in a patchy eucalypt forestry environment. Austral Ecology 30, 674-683.
  • While GM and McArthur C. (2005) Foraging in a risky environment: a comparison of Bennett's wallabies Macropus rufogriseus rufogriseus (Marsupialia: Macropodidae) and red-bellied pademelons Thylogale billardierii (Marsupialia: Macropodidae) in open habitats. Austral Ecology 30, 766-774.
  • le Mar K, McArthur C. (2005) Habitat selection by common brushtail possums in a patchy eucalypt forestry environment. Australian Mammalogy 27, 119-127.
  • le Mar K and McArthur C. (2005) Interactions between herbivores, vegetation and eucalypt tree seedlings in a plantation forestry environment. Australian Forestry 68, 281-290.

2004

  • McArthur C., Appleton R (2004) Effect of seedling characteristics at planting on browsing of Eucalyptus globulus by rabbits. Australian Forestry 67, 25-29.
  • O'Reilly-Wapstra JM, McArthur C., Potts BM (2004) Linking plant genotype, plant defensive chemistry and mammal browsing in a Eucalyptus species. Functional Ecology 18, 677-684.
  • Close D, McArthur C., Pietrzykowski E, Fitzgerald H, Paterson S (2004) Evaluating effects of nursery and post-planting nutrient regimes on leaf chemistry and browsing of eucalypt seedlings in plantations. Forest Ecology and Management 200, 101-112

2003

  • McArthur C., Marsh NR, Close DC, Walsh A, Paterson S, Fitzgerald H, Davies NW (2003) Nursery conditions affect seedling chemistry, morphology and herbivore preferences for Eucalyptus nitens. Forest Ecology and Management 176, 585-594.
  • Pietrzykowski E, McArthur C., Fitzgerald H, Goodwin AN (2003) Influence of patch characteristics on browsing of tree seedlings by mammalian herbivores. Journal of Applied Ecology 40, 458-469.
  • Wiggins NL, McArthur C., McLean S, Boyle R (2003) Effects of two plant secondary metabolites, cineole and gallic acid, on nightly feeding patterns of the common brushtail possum. Journal of Chemical Ecology 29, 1423-1441.
  • le Mar K, McArthur C. (2003) Location of 1080-poisoned marsupial herbivore carcasses in relation to their home-ranges. Tasforests 14, 131-135.
  • Bulinski J, McArthur C. (2003) Identifying factors related to the severity of mammalian browsing damage in eucalypt plantations. Forest Ecology and Management 183, 239-247.
  • le Mar K, McArthur C., Statham M (2003) Home-ranges of sympatric red-necked wallabies, red-bellied pademelons and common brushtail possums in a temperate eucalypt forestry environment. Australian Mammalogy 25, 183-191.
  • Close DC, McArthur C., Paterson S, Fitzgerald H, Walsh A, Kincade T (2003) Photoinhibition: a link between effects of the environment on eucalypt seedling leaf chemistry and herbivory. Ecology 84, 2952-2966.

2002

  • O'Reilly-Wapstra JM, McArthur C., Potts BM (2002) Genetic variation in resistance of Eucalyptus globulus to marsupial browsers. Oecologia 130, 289-296.
  • Scott SL, McArthur C., Potts BM, Joyce K (2002) Possum browsing - the downside to a eucalypt hybrid developed for frost tolerance in plantation forestry. Forest Ecology and Management 157, 231-245.
  • Sprent J, McArthur C. (2002) Diet and diet selection of two species in the macropodid browser-grazer continuum - do they eat what they "should"? Australian Journal of Zoology 50, 183-192.
  • Close DC, McArthur C. (2002) Rethinking the role of many plant phenolics - protection from photodamage not herbivores? Oikos 99, 166-172.

1998 - 2001

  • le Mar K, Southwell C, McArthur C. (2001) Evaluation of line transect sampling to estimate nocturnal densities of macropods in open and closed habitats. Wildlife Research 28, 9-16.
  • le Mar K, McArthur C. (2001) Changes in marsupial herbivore densities in relation to a forestry 1080-poisoning operation. Australian Forestry 64, 175-180.
  • Bulinski J, McArthur C. (2000) Spatial distribution of browsing damage and mammalian herbivores in Tasmanian eucalypt plantations. Australian Forestry 63, 27-33.
  • Bulinski J, McArthur C. (2000) Observer error in counts of macropod scats. Wildlife Research 27, 277-282.
  • McArthur C., Goodwin A, Turner S (2000) Preferences, selection and damage to seedlings under changing availability by two marsupial herbivores. Forest Ecology and Management 139, 157-173.
  • le Mar K, McArthur C. (2000) Relocating radio-collared targeted marsupials after a 1080-poisoning operation. Tasforests 12, 155-160.
  • Bulinski J, McArthur C. (1999) An experimental field study of the effects of mammalian herbivore damage on Eucalyptus nitens seedlings. Forest Ecology and Management 113, 241-249.

1993 - 1997

  • McArthur C., Turner S (1997) Feeding preferences of captive brushtail possums for eucalypt and acacia foliage. Tasforests 9, 155-162.
  • O'Reilly J, McArthur C. (1997) Damage to and intake of plantation seedlings by captive European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Australian Forestry 63, 1-6.
  • McArthur C., Sanson GD, Beal AM (1995) Salivary proline-rich proteins in mammals: roles in oral homeostasis and counteracting dietary tannin. Journal of Chemical Ecology 21, 663-691.
  • McArthur C., Sanson GD (1993) Nutritional effects and costs of a tannin in a grazing and a browsing macropodid marsupial herbivore. Functional Ecology 7, 690-696.
  • McArthur C., Sanson GD (1993) Nutritional effects and costs of a tannin in two marsupial arboreal folivores. Functional Ecology 7, 697-703.
  • McArthur C., Hagerman AE, Robbins CT, Hanley TH (1993) Diet selection by a ruminant generalist browser in relation to plant chemistry. Canadian Journal of Zoology 71, 2236-2243.

1988 - 1992

  • Hagerman AE, Robbins CT, Weerasuriya Y, Wilson TC, McArthur C. (1992) Tannin chemistry in relation to digestion. Journal of Range Management 45, 57-62.
  • Hanley TA, Robbins CT, Hagerman AE, McArthur C. (1992) Predicting digestible protein and digestible dry matter in tannin-containing forages consumed by ruminants. Ecology 73, 537-541.
  • McArthur C., Sanson GD (1991) Effects of tannins on digestion in the common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus), a specialized marsupial folivore. Journal of Zoology 225, 233-251.
  • Robbins CT, Hagerman AE, Austin PJ, McArthur C., Hanley TA (1991) Variation in mammalian physiological responses to a condensed tannin and its ecological implications. Journal of Mammalogy 72, 480-486.
  • McArthur C. (1988) Variation in neutral detergent fibre analysis of a tannin-rich foliage. Journal of Wildlife Management 52, 374-378.
  • McArthur C., Sanson GD (1988) Tooth wear in eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) and western grey kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus), and its potential influence on diet selection, digestion and population parameters. Journal of Zoology 215, 491-504.

Refereed Book Chapters

  • O’Reilly-Wapstra JM, McArthur C and Potts BM (accepted 1 Dec 2010) Selection for anti-herbivore PSMs in a Eucalyptus system. In: The integrative role of plant secondary metabolites in ecological systems. (eds: Iason, G.I., Hartley, S. Dicke, M) Ecological Reviews. Cambridge University Press. London.
  • Foley W.J., Iason G.R., McArthur C. (1999) Role of plant secondary metabolites in the nutritional ecology of mammalian herbivores - how far have we come in 25 years? In 'Nutritional Ecology of Herbivores. Proceedings of the Vth International Symposium on the Nutrition of Herbivores'. (Eds H-JG Jung and GC Fahey) pp. 130-209. (American Society of Animal Science: Savoy, Illinois, US A).
  • Foley W.J., McArthur C. (1994) The effects and costs of allelochemicals for mammalian herbivores: an ecological perspective. In 'The Digestive System in Mammals: Food, Form and Function'. (Eds DJ Chivers and P Langer) pp. 370-391. (Cambridge University Press: Cambridge).
  • Wright W., Sanson G.D., McArthur C. (1991) The diet of the extinct bandicoot Chaeropus ecaudatus. In 'Vertebrate Palaeontology of Australasia'. (Eds PV Vickers-Rich, JM Monaghan, RF Baird and TH Rich) pp. 229-245. (Pioneer Design Studios & Monash University Publications Committee: Melbourne, Australia).
  • McArthur C., Hagerman A.E., Robbins C.T. (1991) Physiological strategies of mammalian herbivores against plant defenses. In 'Plant Defenses Against Mammalian Herbivores'. (Eds RT Palo and CT Robbins) pp. 103-114. (CRC Press: Boca Raton, Florida USA).
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Teaching

I am interested in showing you the fantastic world of biology and our place in it. My approach to teaching is to treat biology as a vocation. I want to introduce you to the skills and information you’ll need to be a biologist, as well as to general skills you could use if you go on to use biology as the basis for another career. Biology is not about learning a bunch of facts that others have generated – it's about weaving current knowledge into your own research to explore the living world. It’s about asking exciting research questions and going out and getting the answers; extending both the depth and breadth of our understanding.

I teach in the following units of study:

  • Intermediate - Vertebrates and their Origins (BIOL2012/2912)
  • Senior - Ecological Methods (BIOL3006/3906)
  • Senior - Ecology (BIOL3007/3907)
  • Senior - Terrestrial Field Ecology (BIOL3009/3909)
  • Honours coursework - (BIOL4015)
  • Postgraduate coursework - Methods in Applied Ecology (ENVI5904)
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Areas of research interest

My research falls under the umbrella of terrestrial ecology, though I get my feet wet when interacting with marine ecologists. I am fascinated in the ecology of herbivores, particularly mammals – how they live and interact with individuals of their own species, with plants, with predators and with the environment. How do herbivores cope with eating plants at the same time as avoiding becoming a meal themselves? How do plants defend themselves? How does predation risk modify where herbivore feed? My research falls roughly under the following interlinked topics:

Clare

Interactions with plant-eaters

Plants can’t run (although they can sometimes hide). Instead, they have an array of physical and chemical characteristics that make it difficult for animals to eat them.

  • How do mammalian herbivores deal with these plant characteristics?
  • Do generalists (e.g. brushtail possums) view the plant world the same way as specialists (e.g. koalas)?
  • What behavioural or physiological tricks do they use to get around the problems of eating plants?
  • Do mammals exert selective pressure on plants or are they just coping with the responses of plants to other factors, such as shade, wind or insects?

Acacia thorns

Pademelons: what to eat?

Eucalypt seedlings in wind

Tannins in a gumleaf

Foraging ecology

Vegetation is patchy at a range of spatial scales. The home range of many animals encompasses one or more of these scales of patchiness. This means they can choose to spend more time in some areas than others. The variation in food quality within this environment varies, so that animals can also select amongst food patches and decide how long to spend feeding at each.

  • How do natural plant toxins affect foraging behaviour within the landscape?
  • How does size, complexity and spacing of vegetation patches affect foraging by specialist or generalist herbivores?
  • How do macropods use the landscape when foraging? What habitats do they prefer to feed or rest in? Does the size of their home range reflect the size and quality of vegetation patches in the landscape?
  • Do sympatric herbivores partition their temporal or spatial use of the landscape or the food within it? How?

Landscapes can be patchy

Bushtail possum at a feeder

Swamp wallaby at a feeder

Predators represent a third trophic level, complicating the interactions between plant-eaters and their food.

  • How do plant-eaters balance the costs of foraging for food in a landscape of fear?
  • How do predators – or the risk of predators - modify foraging behaviour of plant-eaters?
  • Can fear act as a plant defence?

Vigilant brushtail possum at a feeder

Alert bushbaby & forest fruits in southern Africa

Conservation and Management

The landscape is rapidly changing and this alters the capacity of different species to survive within it.

  • How dependent are brush-tailed rock wallabies on rocks as refuge in a modified landscape?

Brush-tailed rock wallabies in their rocky refuge - islands in modified, open landscapes

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Projects of some (past and current) students

PhD students and their projects

  • Miguel Bedoya-Perez (current) Foraging in a risky and toxic environment: the choices macropods make. The University of Sydney, NSW. Associate supervisor PB Banks.
  • Valentina Mella (current) Factors affecting foraging by brushtail possums. The University of Sydney, NSW. Associate supervisor PB Banks.
  • Rebecca Stutz (current) Associational plant refuges in a matrix of abundant herbivores. The University of Sydney, NSW. Associate supervisor PB Banks.
  • Carolyn Nersesian (2010) Foraging efficiency: quantifying the cost of plant toxins to herbivores. The University of Sydney, NSW. Associate supervisor PB Banks.
  • Katherine Tuft (2010) The foraging ecology of the brush-tailed rock-wallaby. The University of Sydney, NSW. Associate supervisor MR Crowther.
  • Phil Borchard (2009) The ecological impact of wombats (Vombatus ursinus) and cattle (Bos taurus) in a southeastern Australian agricultural riparian system. The University of Sydney, NSW. Associate supervisors CR Dickman & J McIlroy.
  • Prue Loney (2006) Plant-herbivore interactions and the physiological basis to plant defence. University of Tasmania, Hobart. Associate supervisor G Jordan (School of Plant Science).
  • Alison M Miller (2006) Foraging by herbivores in relation to vegetation patchiness and its influence on browsing of tree seedlings. University of Tasmania, Hobart. Associate supervisor PJ Smethurst (CSIRO – Forest and Forest Products).
  • Natasha Wiggins (2006) Effects of plant secondary metabolites on feeding behaviour in herbivores. University of Tasmania, Hobart. Associate supervisor S McLean (School of Pharmacy).
  • Julianne O’Reilly-Wapstra (2004) The phenotypic and genetic basis of browsing resistance of Eucalyptus globulus foliage to marsupial herbivores. University of Tasmania, Hobart. Associate supervisor B Potts (School of Plant Science).
  • Kirsten le Mar (2002) Spatial organization and habitat selection patterns of three marsupial herbivores within a patchy forestry environment. University of Tasmania, Hobart.
  • James Bulinski (1999) Quantifying and predicting mammalian herbivore damage in Tasmanian eucalypt plantations. University of Tasmania, Hobart.

Honours students and their projects (2005 – present)

  • Elyce Coluccio (current) Foraging strategies of rats in response to food and fear. The University of Sydney, NSW. Associate supervisor PB Banks.
  • Petah Low (2011) Direct and indirect effects of host plant attributes on insect herbivores. The University of Sydney, NSW. Supervisor D Hochuli, Associate supervisor C McArthur.
  • Dan Issa (2009) Plant toxins and predation risk shape swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) foraging patterns. The University of Sydney, NSW. Associate supervisor PB Banks.
  • Chayna Moldrich(2009) Risky business: the effects of plant defences and predation risk on the foraging behaviour of the common brushtail possum. The University of Sydney, NSW. Associate supervisor PB Banks.
  • Sahar Kirmani (2008) Influence of plant toxins and predation on foraging behaviour of brushtail possums. The University of Sydney, NSW. Associate supervisor PB Banks.
  • Stephens H (2007) Interactions between browsing Rusa deer (Cervus timorensis) and plants in Royal National Park. The University of Sydney, NSW. Associate supervisor CE Taylor.
  • Oliver Bradshaw (2006) Effects of wind and nutrients on plants and consequences for herbivory. The University of Sydney, NSW. Associate supervisor AJ Pile.
  • Antony Gould (2006) Effects of wave exposure on subtidal macroalgae dominated by temperate reefs: implications for individuals and the community. The University of Sydney, NSW. Associate supervisor; Supervised by AJ Pile.
  • Katherine Tuft (2005) Brushtailed rock-wallabies (Petrogale penicillata) in the Warrumbungle National Park: potential for dietary competition with sympatric macropods. The University of Sydney, NSW. Associate supervisor MS Crowther.
  • Leonard Drynan (2005) Dietary responses of a generalist herbivore (Trichosurus vulpecula) along a habitat diversity gradient. The University of Sydney, NSW. Associate supervisor CE Taylor.
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