Shannon Kleemann

Shannon Kleemann

Higher Degree by Research Candidate

School of Biological Sciences

Faculty of Sciences, Engineering and Technology

I am a PhD candidate with a passion for wildlife ecology, conservation and management at different spatial scales. My PhD research project is focusing on southern hairy-nosed wombat ecology and how this is impacted by drought conditions. With drought events predicted to increase in severity, duration, and frequency due to climate change, research is needed to understand how this will impact the conservation of Australia's vulnerable mammal population. The large and sedentary southern hairy-nosed wombat is an excellent study species for this purpose.

In 2019 I completed my honours on a critically endangered colony of brush-tailed rock-wallabies, reintroduced into the Grampians National Park. This research investigated the status of the colony using non-invasive faecal genetics and remote camera monitoring eight years following the reintroduction. The use of non-invasive monitoring techniques were  evaluated in the project to improve the success of future brush-tailed rock-wallaby reintroductions.

I have skills in animal capture, handling, and collection of morphometric data and biological samples from wombats, rock-wallaby species, other macropodid, peramelid, and potoroidid species. Identification of scats, DNA extraction and microsatellite amplification. I am developing research skills in gut microbiome analysis, modelling and statistical analysis using R language. 

  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2022 Kleemann, S., Sandow, D., Stevens, M., Schultz, D. J., Taggart, D. A., & Croxford, A. (2022). Non-invasive monitoring and reintroduction biology of the brush-tailed rock-wallaby (. Australian Journal of Zoology, 69(2), 41-54.
    DOI Scopus3 WoS1

My project has been funded by:

  • Schultz Foundation Ltd
  • ARC Linkage Grant titled ‘Ecology and Management of the Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat’
  • Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment
  • Australasian Wildlife Management Society
  • Murraylands and Riverland Grass Roots Grants

Informal teaching activities:

  • Instruction of DVM-3 students on the capture, handling, and processing of southern hairy-nosed wombats
  • Training of other undergraduate and postgraduate students on capture, handling, and processing of southern hairy-nosed wombats
  • Educating 'ecology and management of vertebrate pests III' students about the ecology, agricultural impact, and management of southern hairy-nosed wombats

 

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