PEOPLE

Current Lab Members



Phill Cassey

Lab Supervisor

Phill is an inaugural Australian Research Council Industry Laureate Fellow at the Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology in the School of Biological Sciences, The University of Adelaide.

For more information please see my bio HERE.


Aysegul Birand

Postdoctoral Research Associate

Aysegul is interested in ecological or evolutionary questions that she can write some equations, and/or some code for. Recently, Aysegul has been developing spatially explicit individual based simulations, to model the eradication potential of genetic (and traditional) control strategies on invasive species in Australia.



Dr Isabelle Onley

Postdoctoral Research Associate

As a part of the Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF) Program, my research aims to improve our understanding of the challenges and risk pathways for biosecurity in Antarctica, with a focus on translating scientific research into policy development for improved conservation outcomes into the future.



Zachary Carter

Research Fellow

Zach is a quantitative ecologist interested in safeguarding biodiversity from threatening processes. He is currently leading a project for the Securing Antarctica’s Environmental Future (SAEF) programme, which seeks to describe the marine and terrestrial pathways most-likely to contribute to the spread of non-native species across the Antarctic region.



Adam Toomes

Postdoctoral Researcher

Adam is using online and physical wildlife trade data to detect major trends and determine likely threats to species' conservation.



Frances Perry

PhD Candidate

(Co-supervised by Dr Justine Shaw and Dr Jonny Stark)

Frances is investigating the potential for marine invasive species to arrive in Antarctica through biofouling on vessels and aims to identify the most effective biosecurity practices to prevent their arrival. This project is supported by Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF).



Jacob Maher

PhD Candidate

(Co-supervised by Oliver Stringham and John Virtue)

Jacob is studying the online trade in plants. His research is primarily focussed on the trade of invasive species, but he also has an interest in threatened species. His aim is to understand the nature of the trade itself, as well as, the current and potential impacts.



Charlie Lassaline

PhD Candidate

(Co-supervised by Dr Adam Toomes and Dr Erin Fagan-Jeffries)

Charlie is researching the trade of Australian terrestrial invertebrates. The project aims to quantify the trade that is occurring both domestically and internationally, and to identify related biosecurity and conservation risks. Additionally, Charlie hopes to raise awareness for inverterbate conservation and change people's perception and lack of appreciation for all invertebrates.



Freyja Watters

PhD Candidate

Freyja is researching selective regulation and its impacts on the legal international trade of wildlife.



Sebastian Chekunov

PhD Candidate

(Co-supervised Tom Prowse)

Sebastian is investigating the international trade of Australian reptiles and amphibians, using automated data collection methods to monitor the online pet trade.



Nathan Deliveyne

PhD Candidate

(Co-supervised Jeremy Austin and Kate Sanders)

Nathan is working on developing rapid presumptive molecular detection methods for key incursion reptiles, including those on Australia's vertebrate pest priority list.



Tayla Allison

Honours Student

(Co-supervised Kate Sanders)

Tayla is investigating the status of illegal sea snake trade in Vietnam.



Casey Gove

Masters Candidate

Ecology of Australian Sheep Blowfly, Lucilia cuprina; Knowledge to enhance eradication efforts on Kangaroo Island.


Lab Mentors


Thomas Prowse

Thomas is a quantitative ecologist with a particular interest in understanding and forecasting the dynamics of wildlife populations, and informing the management of threatened species. Thomas uses data and models to address applied ecological questions in the fields of wildlife management, fisheries, conservation biology and disease ecology. Very occasionally he is sighted doing fieldwork.




Bec Boulton

Bec undertakes research and monitoring on threatened birds. Current projects include post-fire bird monitoring on Kangaroo Island and acoustic monitoring of Bassian Thrush throughout the Mt Lofty Ranges. She also Chairs the Threatened Mallee Bird Conservation Action Plan Implementation Team, a tri-state project.




Steve Delean