Thomas Prowse

Dr Thomas Prowse

Research Associate

School of Biological Sciences

Faculty of Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD - email supervisor to discuss availability.

I am a mathematical ecologist with a particular focus on population biology and epidemiology for wildlife populations. Specifically, I use stochastic modelling to address applied ecological questions in the fields of wildlife management, fisheries, conservation biology, invasion ecology and disease ecology. I have also contributed mathematical models to guide the management of native and feral species, including giant cuttlefish, koalas and feral goats.

I am a mathematical ecologist with a particular focus on population biology and epidemiology for wildlife populations. Specifically, I use stochastic modelling to address applied ecological questions in the fields of wildlife management, fisheries, conservation biology, invasion ecology and disease ecology. I have also contributed mathematical models to guide the management of native and feral species, including giant cuttlefish, koalas and feral goats.

Some current projects include:

  • Multi-strain modelling of rabbit haemorrhagic disease (RHD) dynamics
  • Stochastic modelling to inform the development of new genome-editing technologies for controlling invasive species populations
  • Spatial optimisation of integrated control strategies for native and feral species
  • Molecular surveillance and latent-class analysis for detecting emerging marine pest species
  • Evidence-based adaptive-management models for the Mount Lofty Ranges biodiversity hotspot
  • Modelling the evolutionary impacts of past climate change and human hunting on Australian mammals
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  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2021 Tatler, J., Prowse, T. A. A., Roshier, D. A., Cairns, K. M., & Cassey, P. (2021). Phenotypic variation and promiscuity in a wild population of pure dingoes (Canis dingo). Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 59(1), 311-322.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS3
    2021 Boardman, W. S. J., Baker, M. L., Boyd, V., Crameri, G., Peck, G. R., Reardon, T., . . . Prowse, T. A. A. (2021). Serological evidence of exposure to a coronavirus antigenically related to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus (SARS-CoV-1) in the Grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus).. Transboundary and emerging diseases, 68(4), 2628-2632.
    DOI Scopus1 Europe PMC1
    2021 Boardman, W. S. J., Roshier, D., Reardon, T., Burbidge, K., McKeown, A., Westcott, D. A., . . . Prowse, T. A. A. (2021). Spring foraging movements of an urban population of grey-headed flying foxes (Pteropus poliocephalus). Journal of Urban Ecology, 7(1).
    DOI
    2021 Tatler, J., Currie, S. E., Cassey, P., Scharf, A. K., Roshier, D. A., & Prowse, T. A. A. (2021). Accelerometer informed time-energy budgets reveal the importance of temperature to the activity of a wild, arid zone canid. Movement Ecology, 9(1), 12 pages.
    DOI
    2021 Prowse, T. A. A., O'Connor, P. J., Collard, S. J., Peters, K. J., & Possingham, H. P. (2021). Optimising monitoring for trend detection after 16 years of woodland-bird surveys. Journal of Applied Ecology, 58(5), 1090-1100.
    DOI Scopus1
    2020 Boardman, W. S. J., Baker, M. L., Boyd, V., Crameri, G., Peck, G. R., Reardon, T., . . . Prowse, T. A. A. (2020). Seroprevalence of three paramyxoviruses; Hendra virus, Tioman virus, Cedar virus and a rhabdovirus, Australian bat lyssavirus, in a range expanding fruit bat, the Grey-headed flying fox (Pteropus poliocephalus).. PLoS One, 15(5), 1-18.
    DOI Scopus5 WoS4 Europe PMC2
    2020 Van Harten, E., Reardon, T., Holz, P. H., Lawrence, R., Prowse, T. A. A., & Lumsden, L. F. (2020). Recovery of southern bent-winged bats (Miniopterus orianae bassanii) after PIT-tagging and the use of surgical adhesive. Australian Mammalogy, 42(2), 216-219.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS2
    2019 Prowse, T., O'Connor, P., Collard, S., & Rogers, D. (2019). Eating away at protected areas: Total grazing pressure is undermining public land conservation. Global Ecology and Conservation, 20, 10 pages.
    DOI Scopus7 WoS6
    2019 van Harten, E., Reardon, T., Lumsden, L. F., Meyers, N., Prowse, T. A. A., Weyland, J., & Lawrence, R. (2019). High detectability with low impact: Optimizing large PIT tracking systems for cave-dwelling bats. ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, 9(19), 10916-10928.
    DOI Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC1
    2019 Sudweeks, J., Hollingsworth, B., Blondel, D. V., Campbell, K. J., Dhole, S., Eisemann, J. D., . . . Lloyd, A. L. (2019). Locally Fixed Alleles: A method to localize gene drive to island populations.. Scientific reports, 9(1), 15821.
    DOI Scopus16 WoS13 Europe PMC11
    2019 Grey, E. K., Bernatchez, L., Cassey, P., Deiner, K., Deveney, M., Howland, K. L., . . . Lodge, D. M. (2019). Author Correction: Effects of sampling effort on biodiversity patterns estimated from environmental DNA metabarcoding surveys (Scientific Reports, (2018), 8, 1, (8843), 10.1038/s41598-018-27048-2). Scientific Reports, 9(1), 15892.
    DOI Scopus1
    2019 Godwin, J., Serr, M., Barnhill-Dilling, S. K., Blondel, D. V., Brown, P. R., Campbell, K., . . . Thomas, P. (2019). Rodent gene drives for conservation: Opportunities and data needs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 286(1914), 20191606.
    DOI Scopus11 WoS11 Europe PMC5
    2019 Holz, P., Hufschmid, J., Boardman, W. S. J., Cassey, P., Firestone, S., Lumsden, L. F., . . . Stevenson, M. (2019). Does the fungus causing white-nose syndrome pose a significant risk to Australian bats?. Wildlife Research, 46(8), 657-668.
    DOI Scopus5 WoS4
    2019 García-Díaz, P., Prowse, T. A. A., Anderson, D. P., Lurgi, M., Binny, R. N., & Cassey, P. (2019). A concise guide to developing and using quantitative models in conservation management. Conservation science and practice, 1(2), e11.
    DOI WoS11 Europe PMC1
    2019 Collard, S. J., O Connor, P., Prowse, T. A. A., Gregg, D., & Bond, A. J. (2019). Objectives versus realities: Spatial, temporal, financial and social deficiencies in Australia’s public revegetation investment model. Ecological Management and Restoration, 21(1), 35-41.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS2
    2019 Tatler, J., Prowse, T. A. A., Roshier, D. A., Allen, B. L., & Cassey, P. (2019). Resource pulses affect prey selection and reduce dietary diversity of dingoes in arid Australia. Mammal Review, 49(3), 263-275.
    DOI Scopus6 WoS6
    2019 Breed, M. F., Harrison, P., Blyth, C., Byrne, M., Gaget, V., Gellie, N., . . . Mohr, J. (2019). The potential of genomics for restoring ecosystems and biodiversity. Nature Reviews Genetics, 20(10), 615-628.
    DOI Scopus54 WoS51 Europe PMC12
    2019 Bardsley, D. K., Prowse, T., & Siegfriedt, C. (2019). Seeking knowledge of traditional Indigenous burning practices to inform regional bushfire management. Local Environment, 24(8), 727-745.
    DOI Scopus9 WoS8
    2019 Buss, J. J., Wiltshire, K. H., Prowse, T. A. A., Harris, J. O., & Deveney, M. R. (2019). Bonamia in Ostrea angasi: Diagnostic performance, field prevalence and intensity. Journal of Fish Diseases, 42(1), 63-74.
    DOI Scopus7 WoS6
    2019 Prowse, T. A., Adikusuma, F., Cassey, P., Thomas, P., & Ross, J. V. (2019). A Y-chromosome shredding gene drive for controlling pest vertebrate populations. eLife, 8, e41873-1-e41873-19.
    DOI Scopus13 WoS13 Europe PMC10
    2019 Arman, S. D., Prowse, T. A. A., Couzens, A. M. C., Ungar, P. S., & Prideaux, G. J. (2019). Incorporating intraspecific variation into dental microwear texture analysis. Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 16(153), 1-14.
    DOI Scopus6 WoS5 Europe PMC1
    2018 Bradshaw, C., Prowse, T., Drew, M., Gillanders, B., Donnellan, S., & Huveneers, C. (2018). Predicting sustainable shark harvests when stock assessments are lacking. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 75(5), 1591-1601.
    DOI Scopus11 WoS11
    2018 Bradshaw, C. J. A., Prowse, T. A. A., Drew, M., Gillanders, B. M., Donnellan, S. C., & Huveneers, C. (2018). Corrigendum: Predicting sustainable shark harvests when stock assessments are lacking(ICES Journal of Marine Science (2018) DOI: 10.1093/icesjms/fsy031). ICES Journal of Marine Science, 75(5), 1840.
    DOI WoS1
    2018 Correll, R., Prowse, T., & Prideaux, G. (2018). Environmentally- and human-induced body-size responses in Macropus robustus and Macropus rufus, two widespread kangaroo species with largely overlapping distributions. Austral Ecology, 43(1), 13-24.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS1
    2018 Jones, A., Doubleday, Z., Prowse, T., Wiltshire, K., Deveney, M., Ward, T., . . . Gillanders, B. (2018). Capturing expert uncertainty in spatial cumulative impact assessments. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 1469-1-1469-13.
    DOI Scopus8 WoS9 Europe PMC2
    2018 Grey, E., Bernatchez, L., Cassey, P., Deiner, K., Deveney, M., Howland, K., . . . Lodge, D. (2018). Effects of sampling effort on biodiversity patterns estimated from environmental DNA metabarcoding surveys. Scientific Reports, 8(1), 10 pages.
    DOI Scopus51 WoS36 Europe PMC14
    2018 Wilkins, K., Prowse, T., Cassey, P., Thomas, P., & Ross, J. (2018). Pest demography critically determines the viability of synthetic gene drives for population control. Mathematical Biosciences, 305, 160-169.
    DOI Scopus9 WoS9 Europe PMC5
    2018 Barnett, L., Prowse, T., Peacock, D., Mutze, G., Sinclair, R., Kovaliski, J., . . . Bradshaw, C. (2018). Previous exposure to myxoma virus reduces survival of European rabbits during outbreaks of rabbit haemorrhagic disease. Journal of Applied Ecology, 55(6), 2954-2962.
    DOI Scopus7 WoS6
    2018 Tatler, J., Cassey, P., & Prowse, T. (2018). High accuracy at low frequency: detailed behavioural classification from accelerometer data. Journal of Experimental Biology, 221(23), 184085-1-184085-8.
    DOI Scopus17 WoS15 Europe PMC7
    2018 Prowse, T. A. A., Cassey, P., Ross, J. V., Pfitzner, C., Wittmann, T., & Thomas, P. (2018). Correction to: Dodging silver bullets: Good CRISPR gene-drive design is critical for eradicating exotic vertebrates (Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2017 ) 284 (20170799) DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0799). Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285(1888), 2 pages.
    DOI Scopus1 WoS1 Europe PMC2
    2017 Prowse, T., Sewell, M., & Byrne, M. (2017). Three-stage lipid dynamics during development of planktotrophic echinoderm larvae. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 583, 149-161.
    DOI Scopus12 WoS12
    2017 Prowse, T., Cassey, P., Ross, J., Pfitzner, C., Wittmann, T., & Thomas, P. (2017). Dodging silver bullets: good CRISPR gene-drive design is critical for eradicating exotic vertebrates.. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 284(1860), 20170799-1-20170799-10.
    DOI Scopus54 WoS57 Europe PMC28
    2017 Prowse, T., Collard, S., Blackwood, A., O'Connor, P., Delean, S., Barnes, M., . . . Possingham, H. (2017). Prescribed burning impacts avian diversity and disadvantages woodland-specialist birds unless long-unburnt habitat is retained. Biological Conservation, 215, 268-276.
    DOI Scopus14 WoS13 Europe PMC1
    2016 Cope, R., Ross, J., Wittmann, T., Prowse, T., & Cassey, P. (2016). Integrative analysis of the physical transport network into Australia. PLoS One, 11(2), e0148831-1-e0148831-16.
    DOI Scopus9 WoS9 Europe PMC1
    2016 Wells, K., O Hara, R., Cooke, B., Mutze, G., Prowse, T., & Fordham, D. (2016). Environmental effects and individual body condition drive seasonal fecundity of rabbits: identifying acute and lagged processes. Oecologia, 181(3), 853-864.
    DOI Scopus17 WoS17 Europe PMC6
    2016 Prowse, T., Bradshaw, C., Delean, S., Cassey, P., Lacy, R., Wells, K., . . . Brook, B. (2016). An efficient protocol for the global sensitivity analysis of stochastic ecological models. Ecosphere, 7(3), e01238-1-e01238-17.
    DOI Scopus16 WoS25
    2016 Doubleday, Z., Prowse, T., Arkhipkin, A., Pierce, G., Semmens, J., Steer, M., . . . Gillanders, B. (2016). Global proliferation of cephalopods. Current Biology, 26(10), R406-R407.
    DOI Scopus120 WoS115 Europe PMC20
    2016 Cunningham, C., Prowse, T., Masters, P., & Cassey, P. (2016). Home range, habitat suitability and population modelling of feral Indian peafowl (Pavo cristatus) on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology, 64(2), 107-116.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS1
    2016 Heinrich, S., Wittmann, T., Prowse, T., Ross, J., Delean, S., Shepherd, C., & Cassey, P. (2016). Where did all the pangolins go? International CITES trade in pangolin species. Global Ecology and Conservation, 8, 241-253.
    DOI Scopus78 WoS70
    2016 Correll, R., Prowse, T., & Prideaux, G. (2016). Lean-season primary productivity and heat dissipation as key drivers of geographic body-size variation in a widespread marsupial. Ecography, 39(1), 77-86.
    DOI Scopus7 WoS8
    2015 Cope, R., Prowse, T., Ross, J., Wittmann, T., & Cassey, P. (2015). Temporal modelling of ballast water discharge and ship-mediated invasion risk to Australia. Royal Society Open Science, 2(4), 150039-1-150039-15.
    DOI Scopus16 WoS15 Europe PMC5
    2015 Prowse, T., Gillanders, B., Brook, B., Fowler, A., Hall, K., Steer, M., . . . Fordham, D. (2015). Evidence for a broad-scale decline in giant Australian cuttlefish (Sepia apama) abundance from non-targeted survey data. Marine and Freshwater Research, 66(8), 692-700.
    DOI Scopus2 WoS2
    2015 Prowse, T., Correll, R., Johnson, C., Prideaux, G., & Brook, B. (2015). Empirical tests of harvest-induced body-size evolution along a geographic gradient in Australian macropods. Journal of Animal Ecology, 84(1), 299-309.
    DOI Scopus5 WoS5 Europe PMC3
    2015 Prowse, T., Johnson, C., Cassey, P., Bradshaw, C., & Brook, B. (2015). Ecological and economic benefits to cattle rangelands of restoring an apex predator. Journal of Applied Ecology, 52(2), 455-466.
    DOI Scopus33 WoS28 Europe PMC1
    2014 Prowse, T., Johnson, C., Bradshaw, C., & Brook, B. (2014). An ecological regime shift resulting from disrupted predator-prey interactions in Holocene Australia. Ecology, 95(3), 693-702.
    DOI Scopus33 WoS36 Europe PMC16
    2014 Cassey, P., Prowse, T., & Blackburn, T. (2014). A population model for predicting the successful establishment of introduced bird species. Oecologia, 175(1), 417-428.
    DOI Scopus28 WoS28 Europe PMC15
    2013 Haby, N., Prowse, T., Gregory, S., Watts, M., Delean, J., Fordham, D., . . . Brook, B. (2013). Scale dependency of metapopulation models used to predict climate change impacts on small mammals. Ecography, 36(7), 832-841.
    DOI Scopus5 WoS5
    2013 Blackburn, T., Prowse, T., Lockwood, J., & Cassey, P. (2013). Propagule pressure as a driver of establishment success in deliberately introduced exotic species: fact or artefact?. Biological Invasions, 15(7), 1459-1469.
    DOI Scopus41 WoS40 Europe PMC12
    2013 Prowse, T., Johnson, C., Lacy, R., Bradshaw, C., Pollak, J., Watts, M., & Brook, B. (2013). No need for disease: Testing extinction hypotheses for the thylacine using multi-species metamodels. Journal of Animal Ecology, 82(2), 355-364.
    DOI Scopus31 WoS29 Europe PMC17
    2012 Bradshaw, C., McMahon, C., Miller, P., Lacy, R., Watts, M., Verant, M., . . . Brook, B. (2012). Novel coupling of individual-based epidemiological and demographic models predicts realistic dynamics of tuberculosis in alien buffalo. Journal of Applied Ecology, 49(1), 268-277.
    DOI Scopus20 WoS20 Europe PMC8
    2012 Prowse, T., & Byrne, M. (2012). Evolution of yolk protein genes in the Echinodermata. Evolution and Development, 14(2), 139-151.
    DOI Scopus12 WoS12 Europe PMC5
    2012 Swanson, R., Byrne, M., Prowse, T., Mos, B., Dworjanyn, S., & Steinberg, P. (2012). Dissolved histamine: a potential habitat marker promoting settlement and metamorphosis in sea urchin larvae. Marine Biology, 159(4), 915-925.
    DOI Scopus34 WoS35
    2011 Blackburn, T., Prowse, T., Lockwood, J., & Cassey, P. (2011). Passerine introductions to New Zealand support a positive effect of propagule pressure on establishment success. Biodiversity and Conservation, 20(10), 2189-2199.
    DOI Scopus28 WoS25
    2011 Prowse, T., & Brook, B. (2011). Climate change, variability and conservation impacts in Australia. Pacific Conservation Biology, 17(3), 168-178.
    DOI Scopus8
    2009 Prowse, T. A. A., Falkner, I., Sewell, M. A., & Byrne, M. (2009). Long-term storage lipids and developmental evolution in echinoderms. Evolutionary Ecology Research, 11(7), 1069-1083.
    Scopus18 WoS16
    2009 Soars, N., Prowse, T., & Byrne, M. (2009). Overview of phenotypic plasticity in echinoid larvae, 'Echinopluteus transversus' type vs. typical echinoplutei. Marine Ecology-Progress Series, 383, 113-125.
    DOI Scopus62 WoS63
    2008 Prowse, T., Sewell, M., & Byrne, M. (2008). Fuels for development: evolution of maternal provisioning in asterinid sea stars. Marine Biology, 153(3), 337-349.
    DOI Scopus63 WoS62
    2008 Byrne, M., Prowse, T., Sewell, M., Dworjanyn, S., Williamson, J., & Vaitilingon, D. (2008). Maternal provisioning for larvae and larval provisioning for juveniles in the toxopneustid sea urchin Tripneustes gratilla. Marine Biology, 155(5), 473-482.
    DOI Scopus53 WoS51
    2008 Byrne, M., Sewell, M., & Prowse, T. (2008). Nutritional ecology of sea urchin larvae: influence of endogenous and exogenous nutrition on echinopluteal growth and phenotypic plasticity in Tripneustes gratilla. Functional Ecology, 22(4), 643-648.
    DOI Scopus59 WoS60 Europe PMC4
    2006 Byrne, M., Sewell, M., Selvakumaraswamy, P., & Prowse, T. (2006). The larval apical organ in the Holothuroid Chiridota gigas (Apodida): Inferences on evolution of the ambulacrarian larval nervous system. Biological Bulletin, 211(2), 95-100.
    DOI Scopus9 WoS11 Europe PMC4
    2005 Prowse, T., & Pile, A. (2005). Phenotypic homogeneity of two intertidal snails across a wave exposure gradient in South Australia. Marine Biology Research, 1(3), 176-185.
    DOI Scopus12 WoS13

  • Conference Papers
    Year Citation
    2015 Boardman, W. S. J., Bradshaw, C., Prowse, T., Crameri, G., Westcott, D., & Caraguel, C. (2015). What are fruit bats doing in my back yard? Researching the disease and ecological implications of Grey-headed flying foxes in South Australia.. In Proc of the WDA Conference. Maroochydore, Australia.

  • Conference Items
    Year Citation
    2015 Boardman, W., Bradshaw, C., Prowse, T., Crameri, G., Westcott, D., & Caraguel, C. G. (2015). What are fruit bats doing in my back yard? Researching the disease and ecological implications of Grey-headed flying foxes in South Australia. Poster session presented at the meeting of International Wildlife Disease Association Conference. Sunshine Coast, Australia.

  • Report for External Bodies
    Year Citation
    2016 Gillanders, B. M., Ward, T. M., Bailleul, F., Cassey, P., Deveney, M. R., Doubleday, Z. A., . . . Wiltshire, K. H. (2016). Spencer Gulf Ecosystem and Development Initiative. Developing knowledge and tools to inform integrated management of Spencer Gulf: Case study on shipping and ports.. Adelaide.
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  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2021 Principal Supervisor Investigation into the Reproductive Success and Survival Rates of the Southern Bent-wing Bat Master of Philosophy Master Full Time Miss Nicola Bail
    2021 Co-Supervisor Drivers of the live pet trade in Australian reptiles Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Sebastian Chekunov
    2020 Principal Supervisor Optimising fire and herbivore management for biodiversity conservation in temperate woodlands Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Ms Johanna Grace Kuhne
    2019 Principal Supervisor Monitoring methods, ecology and activity of the cave roosting Southern Bent-wing Bat. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Ms Amanda Bush

  • Past Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2016 - 2018 Co-Supervisor Disease ecology of low pathogenic avian influenza in the Australian environment Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Dr Antonia Eleanor Dalziel
    2015 - 2019 Co-Supervisor Integrated analysis of the movement and ecology of wild dingoes in the arid zone Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Full Time Mr Jack Tatler
    2013 - 2021 Principal Supervisor Setting up camp in Adelaide: Ecological Insights into the Range Expanding Grey-Headed Flying Fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Dr Wayne Boardman

  • Other Supervision Activities
    Date Role Research Topic Location Program Supervision Type Student Load Student Name
    2018 - ongoing Co-Supervisor Population ecology of the critically endangered southern bent-wing bat Lat Trobe University Biological Sciences Doctorate Full Time Emmi van Harten
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  • Editorial Boards
    Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
    2015 - ongoing Associate Editor Wildlife Research CSIRO Publishing Australia
    2013 - ongoing Associate Editor Management of Biological Invasions REABIC Australia
  • Position: Research Associate
  • Phone: 83136070
  • Email: thomas.prowse@adelaide.edu.au
  • Fax: 8313 3696
  • Campus: North Terrace
  • Building: Ingkarni Wardli, floor 6
  • Room: 6 65
  • Org Unit: Mathematical Sciences
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