Ross Crates

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About

I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of East Anglia in 2006 with first class honours in Ecology. After graduating, I worked for 3 ½ years as a research assistant at the Edward Grey Institute of Ornithology, Oxford University. There, I was involved in a large-scale research project examining the social evolution of an intensively-monitored population of songbirds.

I am a member of the Difficult Bird Research Group here at ANU. I have broad interests in ecology, evolution and conservation, with a focus on birds. For my PhD, I studied the ecology and conservation of the critically endangered regent honeyeater. The regent honeyeater population has declined as a result of extensive habitat loss throughout its range, but much more drastically than other species. By developing a new monitoring program for the species, I identifed factors that explain its disproportionate decline, in order to assist the conservation of the regent honeyeater and other woodland birds.

Since graduating I have developed research projects exploring the management of noisy miners and the conservation of two of Australia's most threatened birds- the King Island scrubtit and brown thornbill, as well as the population dynamics of mistletoes.

I am also interested in the emerging field of animal cultures, and exploring how captive breeding and reintroduction programs can be improved and refined to improve conservation outcomes.

Please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss outreach or collaboration opportunities.

Affiliations

Research interests

I have broad interests in ecology, evolution and conservation, with a focus on birds. I am interested in how mobile species exploit food resources that vary in space and time, and how they are affected by extensive and ongoing environmental change.  For my doctoral research, I will be studying the ecology and conservation of the critically endangered regent honeyeater. The regent honeyeater population has declined as a result of extensive habitat loss throughout its range, but much more drastically than other species. I aim to identify factors that explain this disproportionate decline, in order to assist the conservation of the regent honeyeater and other woodland birds. My research will focus on describing movement patterns, fine-scale habitat selection, assessing interactions with other species and evaluating the genetic consequences of the drastic population decline.

I am also very keen on science communication and outreach, working closely with schools and interest groups. Please do not hesitate to contact me to discuss outreach opportunities.

Location

Robertson Building (46)