Restoring functional ecosystems requires the re-establishment of interactions between plants and animals, particularly where plant reproductive success depends on services rendered by animals, such as pollination. The vast majority of plants in the South-west Biodiversity Hotspot are pollinated by insects, and yet very little research has been directed towards their return in restoration. Working with Alcoa of Australia, Emily is conducting extensive surveys of the flower visiting insect communities, and focussing on the nesting habits and thermal requirements of cavity nesting bees to understand if they return naturally to restored Jarrah forests, and whether they have specific physiological traits that direct their preferences for different ages of restoration.

To achieve ‘high-quality’ rehabilitation, there is a growing consensus for the need to restore a functional ecosystem.  Assessment of successful rehabilitation is commonly monitored through presence/absence records of taxa, such as reptiles. Presence/absence data has been used as the key monitoring tool to assess the translocation success of the Western Spiny-tailed Skink (Egernia stokesii badia),  a taxon currently listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act.  Low translocation success from areas of high risk to suitable habitat indicate the need for more comprehensive monitoring strategies to analyse the adaptability of translocated individuals to their new areas, and to better understand the behavioural and microhabitat requirements dictating habitat suitability.  In some circumstances, natural log supply has been low at translocation sites, indicating artificial logs to be a viable option to improve translocation site suitability in the future.   This study aims to identify the key microhabitat requirements of E. s. badia for artificial replication, as well as deciphering key biological characteristics of the species, critical for its survival.

The Banded Ironstone Formation (BIF) ranges and granite outcrops of Western Australia host unique plant communities that are floristically distinct from the deep-soil vegetation of the broader surrounding matrix. These geographically isolated, island-like, shallow-soil ecosystems harbour many rare and range-restricted plant species, including a significant proportion of taxa that are threatened or likely to become threatened in the near future due anthropogenic activities. One of the most critical steps of a life stage transition framework is the progression from seed to seedling, which is regulated by a host of different factors. However, there is a major shortage of information on how BIF endemics and granite outcrop specialists respond to changes in temperature and drought stress. Subhashi is investigating how seeds of some range-restricted flora of BIF ranges and granite outcrops respond to fluctuations in temperature and moisture content compared to common congenerics.

Sophie evaluated the behavioural and ecophysiological responses of Varanid species (monitor lizards) in a restored mine site. Her study determined the success of current rehabilitation practices in restoring previously degraded systems to a state capable of supporting varanid populations to a level comparable with reference ‘intact’ sites, finding that the fauna community structure was different in restored landscapes, and that, while large varanids would move through restoration, they very rarely stopped and foraged or burrowed there. A small perentie that Sophie radio tracked generally avoided the restoration in her territory. This is one of the few studies globally to consider the impacts of landscape restoration on top order predators, and the first to look at reptilian predators. The diversity of sizes and ecological niches of Varanids implies a broad array of spatial scales at which management may impact upon their successful recruitment.

Currently, restoration of arid and semi-arid ecosystems fails due to high seedling mortality. The physical conditions of these environments are heavily altered by previous land use, and often characterized by strong winds. The primary goal of the thesis is to research impacts and ameliorative measures to mitigate wind as a functional tool in restoration practice, backed by in-depth ecophysiological studies defining mechanistic drivers behind wind as a factor in restoration.

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Erica's work focuses on initiating an overlay of structured components of engineering principles, theoretical mathematics, and aerodynamic modelling, on the more fluid nature of field ecology and restoration, in order to design innovative solutions for restoration practice, and to gain novel insight into the underlying ecophysiological mechanisms.