I have two very different areas of interest for research projects
which I continue to maintain in parallel.
My honours research was carried out in Scotland on decomposition
processes in Sphagnum bogs, and on grazing relationships between
phyto- and zoo-plankton in freshwater lochs. A desire to work on
organisms taller than 5cm, and receipt of a NERC scholarship, sent
me to Malaysia to work on the reproductive biology of rainforest
trees. I still return to the Malaysian projects when time and funding
permit, but have moved into other areas more suited to life and
work in Sydney. I have recently collaborated on projects in urban
ecology and am setting up surveys on biodiversity in agricultural
landscapes.
Plant Reproductive Biology
Macaranga is a pioneer tree and a dominant feature of increasingly
fragmented forests in Asia. The most puzzling and exciting aspect
of Macaranga reproduction concerns pollination and we have previously
suggested that thrips may be important pollinators of these species.
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A current project is determining whether:
- thrips carry out a parallel function with respect to effective
pollen transfer in co-occurring species of Macaranga?
- the pattern of pollen production, at the scale of population,
species and individual, allows effective transfer inter-
and intra-specifically during mass flowering events?
- the potential breeding systems operate at the inter-specific
level ie outcrossing or apomixis (seed production without
fertilisation)?
- What are the isolating mechanisms operating at the intra-specific
level ie incompatibility, partitioning of pollinators?
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Urban Biodiversity
Birds in Backyards is a project of Birds Australia, currently in
partnership with the Australian Museum, focussing on research, education
and conservation of birds in urban environments. The program has
sponsored 4 students in honours or PhD projects studying
Interspecific relationships in urban
bird assemblages
Nesting ecology of urban bird populations
Population ecology of Superb Fairy Wrens in fragmented urban
environments
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A recent project by Honours student Lisa Ashley investigated the
relationship between increased planting of large-flowered hybrid
grevilleas and the distribution and abundance of Noisy Miners in
Western Sydney.
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While the presence and abundance of Noisy Miners
was not related to the presence of the grevilleas, it was strongly
related to the presence of tall eucalypts, where they forage
for lerps. It is still not clear whether the change (or decline)
in abundance and distribution of small native birds is due to
changes in noisy miner populations |
Future projects include:
- The interaction between weeds and urban birds: effects on distribution
and abundance
- The effects of competition for resources between native and
introduced birds in urban environments
- The importance of weeds as small bird habitat in disturbed environments
- Differences in pollinators, and success of pollination and seed
set, in fragmented habitats
I worked in a first year teaching unit for 14 years interacting
with thousands of keen and enthusiastic biology students in labs,
lectures and the occasional field trip. During that time I developed
research programs focusing on the most commonly encountered organisms
in the immediate environment - students. My educational research
has focused on student learning, and in particular how an understanding
of science is communicated in reports and other written forms. These
studies have expanded to encompass the concept of feedback: what
it is, how it works and how students use it to improve their writing.
I am interested in using quantitative and qualitative data from
students to determine which experiences most effectively enhance
learning in science. The outcomes of these studies are then used
to improve curriculum design and teaching approaches.
Academic Writing
These projects are currently funded by grants from the University
of Sydney or the Faculty of Science Education Research Group (ScifER).
See publications list for outcomes.
- Investigating student attitudes to scientific writing - the
effect of experience and expectations on performance in undergraduate
writing programs
- Communicating and learning on the web: an investigation of student
and staff use of web discussions in the learning process
- Learning from feedback: student interpretation, understanding
and use of comments on science assignments
- Writing to Learn in science: investigating student and staff
understanding of the process and outcomes of writing
Understanding Biology
A threshold concept can be defined in terms of troublesome knowledge,
and transformations of knowledge, such that new and conceptually
more difficult ideas can be understood. Such concepts are the key
to subsequent higher order learning within a discipline and a lack
of ability to progress past such a threshold may lead to ongoing
problems in subsequent understanding and application
A survey of biologists in Australian and UK universities, in 2004,
has identified a number of potential threshold concepts in biology
(see publications list). A collaborative study, with Prof JHF Meyer
at the University of Durham, is now determining the extent to which
these concepts fit the definition above.
Future projects include:
- Changing written work as a result of feedback: using thematic
analysis to characterise qualitative improvements to texts
- Phenomenographic analysis of student explanations of threshold
concepts
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