(1) Predators and plant poisons
can change how herbivores forage. Investigate how foraging patterns
of herbivores are modified by the interaction of plant chemistry and
predation risk.
(2) Molecular ecological techniques
to study herbivore diets: Using generalist herbivores as a
model system, develop plant DNA-based molecular diagnostic techniques
to identify consumed plant species, for use in field experiments. (supervisor
G Sword, co-superviser C McArthur)
(3) Trophic interactions:
Using the ecosystem in the Warrumbungles NP, explore how variation in
kangaroo density influences the plant community and, subsequently, the
invertebrate community. (with D Hochuli)
(4) State-space nutrient-allelochemical
models have been effective at explaining feeding of invertebrates
in response to primary and secondary plant chemistry. Can we apply the
same framework to explain how marsupial folivores forage? (with S Simpson
and F Clissold)
(5) Wind and wave currents
are both energy forms that could affect plants and subsequently herbivores
in similar ways. Can we generalize their effects to demonstrate a common
but frequently ignored abiotic influence on plant-herbivore interactions?
(with A Pile)
(6) How do plants fight back?
How similar is the induced plant secondary chemistry response of marine
and terrestrial plants to herbivory? (with R Coleman)
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