My Research

My research explores how Australian environments and faunal communities have changed through time, and what the fossil record can tell us about the environmental pressures shaping ecosystems today. I combine traditional palaeontological approaches with stable isotope geochemistry to investigate past changes in climate, vegetation, diet and animal ecology, with a particular focus on Australian mammals and the Quaternary fossil record.

A major focus of my research is using stable isotopes preserved in fossilised teeth and bone to reconstruct past environments. Carbon and oxygen isotope analysis can provide insights into what animals were eating, the vegetation available to them, and the water sources and climatic conditions they experienced. When combined with palaeontological records, these techniques allow us to build a much more detailed picture of past ecosystems and how they responded to environmental change.

I am particularly interested in the Australian fossil record as a long-term ecological archive. Australia has experienced substantial environmental and climatic changes throughout the Quaternary, alongside major shifts in its mammal communities and the extinction of many species. By examining fossil communities across different periods and environments, my research aims to identify the factors that contributed to faunal change, extinction and decline. This provides an important historical context for understanding the ecological changes we see in Australia today.

I am also interested in how palaeontological records can be directly applied to conservation. Modern ecological studies are often limited by the relatively short timeframe over which we have detailed environmental and biodiversity records. Fossils provide an opportunity to extend these baselines back thousands, or in some cases hundreds of thousands, of years. This longer perspective can help us understand what ecosystems looked like before major environmental and human-driven changes and identify how species and communities responded to previous periods of environmental stress.

Much of my research is centred on southern Australia, including the Naracoorte Caves World Heritage Area. This environment preserves exceptional records of past biodiversity and provide an opportunity to investigate long-term interactions between climate, vegetation and animal communities. I am particularly interested in linking fossil records with modern vegetation and ecological data to understand how these landscapes have changed and how this information can support future conservation and restoration efforts.

Alongside my research, I have a strong interest in museum and university collections as resources for understanding Australia's environmental history. Collections provide an invaluable archive of biological and geological material that can be revisited using new techniques and technologies. I am interested in improving the use and documentation of these collections, to ensure that specimens remain accessible for future research.

Ultimately, my research aims to bridge the gap between palaeontology, geology, biology and conservation. By combining evidence from the geological and fossil records with modern ecological approaches, I aim to develop a better understanding of how Australian ecosystems have changed in the past and how this knowledge can help us manage and restore them into the future.