The Adaptive Ecology Lab Members
Current
Sanjida Chowdhury – Masters Student (2026)
[Co-supervised with A/Prof Brad Murray]
My MPhil research explores how plant communities change across different environments and conditions. I’m interested in understanding patterns of biodiversity and how plants respond to environmental pressures, particularly in Australian ecosystems. Through fieldwork and ecological surveys, I aim to better understand how plant communities function and how this knowledge can support effective conservation and land management in a changing climate.
Olivia De La Mare – Masters Student (2025/26)
[Co-supervised with A/Prof Brad Murray and Prof Jonathan Webb]
My MSc research focuses on how changes to fire regimes are impacting native Australian fauna, particularly reptiles, in the heritage listed Blue Mountains National Park. My work is novel, exploring multiple ecological variable in the context of changing fire age classes and fire intensity, at both a species and community level. I hope to develop a framework to help conserve these misperceived fauna species for future generations.
📧 olivia.k.delamare@student.uts.edu.au
Natalie Lim – Honours Student (2026)
[Co-supervised with A/Prof Brad Murray and Dr Anne Griebel]
Joni McGarry – Honours Student (2026)
[Co-supervised with Dr Yvonne Davila]
My Honours thesis will investigate the impact of invasive plants on native seed banks across greater Sydney. I hope to reveal the effects of Lantana on native and invasive seeds through ex-situ germination and soil sieving. This will identify what plants are most likely to grow back from ‘invaded’ sites in comparison to ‘natural’ sites across different levels of human disturbance. While these methods are currently investigating one invasive species, it may reveal broader ecological patterns exhibited by numerous invasive plant species.
📧 joni.mcgarry@uts.edu.au
Past
Interns
Luke Carr – Summer Intern (2025/26) [Co-supervised with Dr Inna Osmolovsky]
– Investigating flowering phenology changes in Kosciuszko National Park: 2006 to 2025
Lauren Blue (6cp; Spring 2025) [Co-supervised with A/Prof Brad Murray]
– Assessing the efficacy of plant identification apps
Georgia Daniele (6cp; Spring 2025) [Co-supervised with A/Prof Brad Murray]
– Assessing the efficacy of plant identification apps
Jae Bell (24cp; Spring 2025) [Co-supervised with A/Prof Brad Murray]
– Assessing the efficacy of plant identification apps
Georgia Daniele (6cp; Spring 2025)
– Professional internship with NSW National Parks
Audrey Bell (6cp; Spring 2025)
– Professional internship with Planting Seeds
Syvlette Robinson (6cp; Spring 2025)
– Professional internship with Planting Seeds
Katina Huang (12cp; Spring 2025)
– Research internship assisting with fieldwork planning, collecting seeds and scanning vegetation using LiDAR
Joel Telfer (6cp; Spring 2025)
– Research internship assisting with fieldwork planning, collecting seeds and scanning vegetation using LiDAR
Jayden Jackson-Hay (6cp; Spring 2025)
– Research internship assisting with fieldwork planning, collecting seeds and scanning vegetation using LiDAR
Marcelle Tiller (6cp; Spring 2024)
– Mapping the Spread: Insights from a Comprehensive Database of Invasive Plant Species In New South Wales
Rohan Chretien (18cp; Spring 2024) [Co-supervised with Dr Yvonne Davila]
– Flying solo or a group affair? Neighbouring plant and floral visitor impacts on the reproduction and defences of Lantana camara in the Sydney Region
-> Now a Trainee Ecologist at Abel Ecology.
Olivia De La Mare (12cp; Spring 2024) [Co-supervised with A/Prof Brad Murray]
– The effect of bushfire history and severity on habitat structural suitability for reptiles
-> Now pursuing a Masters by Research (see above).
Honours
Tully Lily-Merigan (2025) [Co-supervised with A/Prof Brad Murray, Dr Jen Matthews, Dr Malcolm Possell and Natasha Bartels]
– A chemical inferno: How emitted biogenic volatile organic compounds affect plant flammability
Adam Powell (2024 – 2025) [Co-supervised with A/Prof Brad Murray and Dr Anne Griebel]
– Leaf and shoot traits explain shoot flammability in dry sclerophyll plant species
Madelon Cruickshank (2022) [Co-supervised with Prof Angela Moles]
– Introducing the COVERater: A training tool that decreases inaccuracy of cover estimates in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
-> Now in the Graduate Development Program of the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water.
Sebastian Schwarz (2020) [Co-supervised with Prof Angela Moles]
– Plants with domatia house mycophagous mites to endure wetter climates for fungal control
-> Now a Policy Officer at the Department of Agriculture & the Environment.
Masters
Michelle Bird (Environment Research Project A; Spring 2025) [Co-supervised with A/Prof Brad Murray]
– Assessing the efficacy of plant identification apps
Dr Zoe Xirocostas 