Deakin Centre for Integrative Ecology 2013 HDR Conference 24th-25th October Geelong Conference Centre Eastern Park

Gardens, Adams Court, Geelong Day 1

10:00 10:30 Morning tea Opening address
Prof Lee Astheimer, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research)

Session 1 (chaired by Marta Ferenzi) 10:40 Plenary speaker Foraging ecology of migratory shorebirds wintering at Banc dArguin (Mauritania)
Dr Jan van Gils, Marine Ecology, Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Netherlands

Students talks:
11:20

1. John McEvoy- It's more than rain: Cues for long distance movement in nomadic waterfowl 2. Reece Pedler- Banded Stilt movements in arid Australia 3. Wayne Koster- Spawning season movements of Macquarie perch 4. Blake Allen- Using tri-axis accelerometers to understand fine-scale movement in animals

11:35 11:50 12:05

12:20 Lunch Session 2 (chaired by Milla Mihailova) Students talks:

13:30

1. Justin Eastwood- Running rings around your host: first evidence of a viral ring species and its role in host speciation 2. Marta Ferenczi- Avian influenza virus dynamics in a waterfowl community 3. Simeon Lisovski- Seasonal variability in avian influenza infection dynamics

13:45

14:00

Session 3 (chaired by Yaara Rotman) 14:15 Plenary speaker Movement ecology of sea turtles
Prof Graeme Hays, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University

Students talks:
14:45

1. John Patykowski- The contribution of rare plants towards ecosystem functions within the Victorian Central Highlands 2. Adam Cardilini- For the love of understanding, knowledge and progress

15:00

15:15

3. Mark Richardson- Population genetics of the invasive northern Pacific

Seastar

15:30 16:00 18:30

Tea, poster & photo judging session Discussion- building expertise Dinner at the Wharf Shed Pizza Night 15 Easter Beach Road, Geelong Location map @ http://www.leparisien.com.au/wharfshed/location.html

Day 2
08:30 Arrival & tea/coffee Session 5 (chaired by Simeon Lisovski) 09:00 Plenary speaker Using ecology to help solve conservation problems in Australia: the approach of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy
Dr. John Kanowski, National Ecologist & Regional Ecologist, North-east Australia Australian Wildlife Conservancy

Students talks:
09:40

1. Anna Moodie- Vulnerability of small mammal nesting sites during low-coverage prescribed burning 2. Evelyn Chia- Too hot to handle: Fire severity and its role in influencing mammal recovery post wildfire 3. Christine Connelly- Identifying landscape connections for a small woodland bird in an urbanising ecosystem in Melbourne, Australia 4. Grant Leeworthy- Preserve your patch! Spatial management of fisheries

09:55

10:10

10:25

10:40

Morning tea

Session 6 (chaired by Zoe Robertson) Students talks:

11:10

1. Meijuan Zhao- Aging techniques in vertebrates and their limited adequacy when deducing mortality rate from age distributions 2. Milla Mihailova- Olfactory signalling in the crimson rosella complex (Platycercus elegans) 3. Nega Tassie Abate- Plumage pigments reflect birds latitudinal shift in response to global climate change 4. Sera Blair- The role of community in threatened species conservation in Victoria

11:25

11:40

11:55

12:10

Lunch

Session 7 (chaired by Meijuan Zhao) Student talks:

13:30 13:45

1. Marty Gent- Mapping Social-Ecological Hotspots 2. Victoria Bywater- Nocturnal population counts of waterfowl: implications for conservation 3. Eliza Larson- Temperature variation, reproductive success and stress in crimson rosellas 4. Tom Hurst- Mangrove Restoration In Western Port Bay 5. Kim Weston- Resilient Reefs and the role of connectivity

14:00

14:15 14:30

14:45 15:00 15:15

Prizes
(Eliza Larson, Chair)

Closing address
Prof Marcel Klaassen, Director-Centre for Integrative Ecology

Afternoon tea