Dr Annelise Wiebkin has background with Biosecurity SA leading senior policy, technical, research and management work across SA.
Prior to Biosecurity SA, Annelise work ranged terrestial and marine NRM from the tropics to the Antarctic.
Annelise brings boundless enthusiasm as well as strengths in engaging groups with diverse values.
Dr Wu is a Principal Research Scientist and a group leader in weed research and management at Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute, NSW DPI. He has been active in weed research since 1997 and has diverse research experience in chemical ecology, weed biology, genetic diversity, herbicide resistance and weed management. He is a globally recognised expert in the biology and management of many important agricultural and environmental weeds such as flaxleaf fleabane and silverleaf nightshade. He has supervised a large number of research projects funded by various funding bodies such as GRDC, MLA, RIRDC and CRDC. Many of these multidisciplinary research projects involve the collaboration between taxonomists, social and economic scientists, molecular geneticists and weeds professionals from various organisations.
Dr Wu also leads an impressive outreach program, promptly disseminating research results to growers, Ag-advisors, Weed/NRM officers, academic peers and other stakeholders through Research updates, field days, workshops, grower’s articles, professional conferences, media interviews and academic publications. The active research dissemination has significantly benefited farmers, agricultural and scientific communities.
Dr Peter Adams has >16 years research experience focusing on applied ecology, with the aim of improving our understanding of the physiology, behaviour and impact of vertebrate pests to inform and improve current conservation and pest management strategies. Peter has participated in a range of scientific research on vertebrate pests including pigs, foxes, cats, and deer. In particular, Peter has focused on the impacts of feral pigs, investigating the abundance and digging activities of feral pigs on different landscapes, as well as methods for controlling and managing these impacts. More recently, he has been involved in research to evaluate the efficacy of thermal sensors to detect and monitor feral pigs and other vertebrate pests. Peter is currently a Development Officer with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and works to facilitate coordinated and improved vertebrate pest management by community-led groups. This involves the adoption of ‘best practice’ management and innovative technologies to improve control efficiency.
Qualifications:
BSc in Biotechnology (Honours 1st Class)
PhD Veterinary Parasitology
Currently working with the West Australian Department for Primary Industries and Regional development, Susan is an ecologist with over ten years’ experience in the field of invasive pest animal research. Her research primarily focusses on preventing new incursions of starlings, an invasive pest bird, into the western third of Australia, Susan is also the West Australian co-ordinator for rabbit biological control and she collaborates closely with other CISS researchers who are currently investigating biological and genetic alternatives for control of established pest animals. With an Honours degree and PhD in microbat conservation from the University of Melbourne, Susan also has a keen interest in the direct and indirect conservation benefits ensuing from improved pest animal management.
Dr Agus Sunarto obtained his PhD in virology from the University of Queensland and was head of Fish Health Research Laboratory within the Indonesian Ministry of Fisheries before joining the CSIRO in 2013. Agus is a senior research scientist in the Managing Invasive Species & Diseases Program within the CSIRO Health and Biosecurity. His research interests include viral biocontrol of invasive fish. Currently, he is investigating the application of cyprinid herpesvirus 3 (CyHV-3) as a potential biocontrol agent for carp and tilapia lake virus (TiLV) for tilapia. Agus is based at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) in Geelong, Victoria.
Lynette is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of New England. Her primary research field is environmental psychology, concentrating on the application of human behaviour change approaches to improve current extension and adoption practices. Current research projects have covered a variety of environmental and agricultural issues, including domestic cats, wild dogs, widespread weeds and chemical spray application. Lynette has over twenty five years of experience working in invasive mammal management with NSW DPI, Local Land Services and community groups. In 2017 she completed a PhD on human behaviour change and domestic cat containment.
Tracey is a wildlife ecologist who has being researching for over a decade. Coming from an academic and government background Tracey is a versatile researcher who has worked with a range of native and invasive species in conservation and agricultural environments.
Tracey completed her honours and PhD on endangered mammals and tree declines at Murdoch University, Perth. Tracey has also worked on a range of wildlife species whilst a fauna conservation officer with Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions for many years. More recently, Tracey was a post-doctoral researcher at Murdoch University investigating wild canids and their impact on agriculture. This research looked at land holder canid control practices, bait efficacy, guardian animals and learned aversion behaviours around wild dogs, feral cats and foxes.
Currently, Tracey is a research scientist with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development focusing on wild dog management in farming and pastoral areas. Her research investigates a range of management tools from fencing, canid pest ejectors, non-lethal deterrents to using whole system approaches. Whilst in the Department Tracey has also been involved in feral pig management, thermal imagery and industry engagement.
In 2020 Tracey will travel to South Africa as a Winston Churchill Fellow to investigate predator management in agricultural and farming contexts.
Dr Pat Taggart is a Research Officer (rabbits) with the Vertebrate Pest Research Unit (Biosecurity and Food Safety) of the NSW Department of Primary Industries. His primary role is to investigate interactions between RHDV2 and other RHDVs and its potential as an additional rabbit biocontrol agent.
Since 2011, Pat has worked within the field of environmental consulting and sub-contracting conducting targeted and general fauna surveys for various government and non-government organisations, both within Australian and internationally.
More recently Pat completed his PhD at the University of Adelaide which investigated factors influencing the presence of cat-borne diseases in wildlife, livestock and people. Over the years, Pat has developed extensive experience in trapping, catching, handling and sampling a wide range of native and exotic wildlife.
Qualifications:
Matt has been actively involved in natural resource management for the past 18 years. He has expertise in coastal and estuarine management and biosecurity and threatened species policy and management Australia-wide.
Matt has worked within the public and private sectors, as well as for NGOs and research institutes. Over the past 10 year he has held national coordination roles where he has worked extensively with local, state and national governments, community groups and industry. He has established extensive networks in NRM across Australia.
Matt is passionate about improving how natural resource management issues are communicated. He works tirelessly to ensure consultation process are meaningful, so that participants feel empowered, take ownership of the issue and are motivated to work collectively towards a common outcome. Matt enjoys being the conduit between policy makers, researchers and land managers, ensuring that the needs and expertise of each party is communicated and used to make strategic decisions which will lead to the best possible outcomes.
Matt holds a Bachelor of Applied Science from LaTrobe University and a PhD from the University of Tasmania.
Dr Ruscoe works as an ecologist for CSIRO at Black Mountain, Canberra.
Her research is focused on the understanding the ecology and impacts of pest animals in both agricultural and conservation settings.
Her primary expertise is in wildlife ecology, quantitative analysis of ecological data, and modelling population dynamics and species interactions (plant-herbivore, predator-prey).
She has worked for 15 years at Landcare Research in New Zealand studying trophic level interactions among pest species, principally competition between exotic rodents and possums, and predation effects of higher order pests (ferrets, stoats, cats) on meso predators (rodents). This involved large scale manipulation experiments in indigenous forests and fragmented agricultural grasslands. Other projects revolve around measuring the benefit of management agency pest control measures for native biota and translating this into monitoring and management plans for agencies involved in biodiversity protection and reporting.
She has a PhD in ecology and population genetics of cane-field rats in sugarcane crops.