The project: In the face of global environmental change and during Earth’s “sixth mass extinction”, maintaining or enhancing landscape ‘connectivity’- the degree to which the landscape facilitates or impedes movement, has been widely advocated as a key conservation tool. Connectivity is not always beneficial as it can also aid in the spread of disease, pollution and invasive species. This project will integrate complex network modelling using graph theory and time-series of habitat networks from satellite data to identify which areas have facilitated the infamous cane toad invasion in arid Australia and thus identify areas that should be targeted to prevent further expansion.
Supervisory team: The project will be supervised by Dr Mirela Tulbure, Professor David Keith and Associate Professor Mike Letnic.
The candidate: We are looking for an outstanding graduate with a strong academic record including Honours Class I or equivalent. Domestic or international candidates with a background in modelling and analysing large, spatially explicit data sets and coding skills in Python and/or R are encouraged to apply.
Scholarship and application process: The project is funded through a prestigious Sciential PhD Scholarship at the University of New South Wales, one of Australia’s leading research universities. This includes a stipend of $40,000 per year for four years, as well as up to $10,000 each year for career development, as well as mentoring, several research opportunities and parental leave. For more information about the scholarship, please see https://www.2025.unsw.edu.au/apply and the FAQ page (https://www.2025.unsw.edu.au/apply/unsw-scientia-phd-scholarships-faqs). You would be based at UNSW Kensington campus, in the eastern suburbs of beautiful Sydney!
More information: Interested candidates should contact Dr. Mirela Tulbure (Mirela.Tulbure@unsw.edu)