Kimberly McCallum

Background

I studied a Bachelor of Science with majors in Ecology and Wildlife at the University of Adelaide, before completing honours in 2011. During honours I undertook a research project as part of TREND (Transect for Environmental Monitoring and Decision Making), assessing how a species of shrub endemic to South Australia may be affected by climate change. After completing honours I worked as an environmental consultant in GIS and ecology before returning to the University of Adelaide in 2014 to start my PhD in my main area of interest, revegetation. My research is looking into the role of planting arrangement on pollination and seed production in a revegetated area.  I am supervised by Associate Professor David Paton, Professor Andy Lowe and Dr Martin Breed.

Research Topic

In general, little thought is given to the fine-scale arrangement of plants during revegetation and this may limit the success of plantings. Planting arrangement may influence plant growth, ecological processes (pollination, competition), and habitat value. However, despite this, the role of planting layout remains poorly understood. My research is working to close that gap by determining if ecological processes are influenced by planting arrangement. Specifically, eucalypt seed production, germination, pollination, inbreeding and gene flow are being examined as a function of population density, nearest neighbour distance and level of aggregation. Additionally, I have also undertaken detailed surveys of Eucalyptus leucoxylon dominated woodlands in the Mt Lofty and Southern Flinders Ranges to get a better understanding of the natural arrangements of species within this region and to determine ways to incorporate this information in revegetation design.