Dr Emma Sumner | PhD Student
My research focused on how alpine plants respond to heatwaves and drought which are climate extremes predicted to become more frequent in the Australian Alps. I focused on a suite of alpine plant species growing across the Bogong High Plains and in Kosciuszko National Park: Poa fawcettiae, Grevillea australis, and Ranunculus graniticola to name a few. Much of my research involves imposing drought and heatwave treatments in the field and/or in the glasshouse and then measuring thermal tolerance response. I’m also interested in how plant thermal tolerance changes throughout the year, and along elevational gradients.
Georgia Moyes | Honours Student
My honours project used the Australian Mountain Research Facility's rain-out shelters in New South Wales and Victoria to compare whether species showed variation in their ability to tolerate drought. This was complemented with a manipulative glasshouse experiment applying prolonged drought to seedlings of two common species in the Australian mountains; Carex breviculmis and Grevillea australis. This contributed to the first year of a larger project titled ‘High and Dry: Understanding alpine plant water stress in a drying climate’ which will continue to monitor species-specific drought responses in the future.
Teah Coate | Honours Student
My honours project focused on how prescribed burning in winter affects seedling germination in the heathy woodlands of Anglesea, Victoria. I’m also interested in understanding how the season of burn influences the proportion of species with differing post-fire responses i.e. resprouting vs germination. The results from this research will help inform fire management practices in the Anglesea Heathlands and potentially any other highly diverse, shrubby ecosystems.
Holly Mlikota | Honours Student
My honours research investigated the ecology of the five Victorian species of Celmisia snow daisies. These alpine species seem to have quite different relationships with water availability, which is reflected by differences in the types of environments they grow in. My project investigated these differences through field and lab work to find out:
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How water availability shapes the functional traits of these species, particularly their root traits, in early life stages, and
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How these functional traits shape their distribution at state, regional, and local scales
I hope to improve our understanding of these species’ ecology, particularly relating to water, with a view to predict how they might respond to climate change and survive under reduced precipitation and changing snow regimes.
Dr Jerónimo Vázquez-Ramírez | PhD Student
I'm a plant ecologist and conservation biologist. My PhD research is focused on the effects of climate change on the early life-history stages of key Australian alpine plants. Using a combination of field, glasshouse and laboratory experiments, I'm trying to answer questions like:
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How will a future drier and warmer climate affects seed germination and seedling establishment?
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How will a future with less snow, less water and more fire affect alpine and treeline soil seed banks?
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Does a future drier maternal environment will enhance seeds and seedlings water stress tolerance?
See more at my website.
Shelby Jones | Honours Student
I am a Deakin Honours graduate with a background in Conservation and Land Management (Diploma) and Environmental Science (Bachelor). My Honours research, under the guidance of Tara Lewis and Dr. Matt Dell, focused on the pollination and recruitment requirements of Gentiana baeuerlenii L.G. Adams. Discovered in Wilsons Promontory National Park in 2023 and listed as Endangered under the EPBC Act, the species marks a significant addition to the state's flora.
I also work part-time with Themeda Ecology in Natural Resource Management, where I contribute to conservation efforts in priority areas through weed control, vegetation surveys, revegetation and grassland burns. My passion for environmental science drives me to pursue future roles in botanical consulting or similar, where I hope to make a meaningful impact on preserving and protecting our natural ecosystems.
See more at my LinkedIn.
Joshua Burke | Honours Student
I’m an Honours graduate with a keen interest in plant adaptations, particularly those formed on this continent to fire. My Honours research, under co-supervision of eXtreme plant ecologists Tara Lewis and Dr Tricia Wevill, investigated seasonal differences in plant responses to fire in times of shortened planned burning windows due to drying and warming climates. I conducted plant cover and seedling recruitment surveys in areas of the Anglesea Heath burnt in both spring and autumn 2022. The output can be directly compared with research analysing recruitment following planned burns in winter 2021, undertaken by eXtreme alum Teah Coate.
