Working on the wild side

An old trapper once told me ‘It takes three years to learn to catch a fox.  Three years, girlie.’

That was back in 2012. As I found out, he was pretty much right.

Photo: L. Engledow

I did learn how to catch foxes.  And now I’m a Research Fellow with the Quantitative and Applied Ecology group (QAECO) at the University of Melbourne.  As an applied ecologist, I use a broad set of field, quantitative and simulation modelling skills to improve the integrated management of invasive predators and fire – two key threats to Australia’s native fauna.

I work with land management agencies to identify priority research questions and conduct collaborative, landscape-scale field experiments. I also create accessible decision-support tools by synthesising available evidence in individual-based simulation models. I am passionate about science communication, fostering the next generation of ecologists, and promoting an inclusive academic community. I am delighted to be achieving real-world management outcomes through the adoption of my research by land managers.

I currently coordinate an ARC Linkage Project Integrating fire and predator management to conserve threatened species (led by Prof. Brendan Wintle) and supervise a bunch of awesome students: Vishnu Ramachandran Menon, Kristina MacDonald, Mark Le Pla and Stephanie Stylli.  My first PhD student, Dr Matt Rees, recently graduated.  He did an incredible project and I couldn’t be prouder!  He now works for CSIRO.

I completed my PhD in 2016 on Interactions between Invasive Predators, Native Mammals and Fire in a Forest Ecosystem with the Fire Ecology and Biodiversity research group at the University of Melbourne.

If you’d like to learn more about my research, would like a copy of a paper, or are interested in collaborating, please contact me at:

Bronwyn Hradsky
School of BioSciences
University of Melbourne
VIC Australia 3010

hradskyb_at_unimelb.edu.au
@bron_hradsky