Jackson Wilkes Walburn

I am an aquatic ecologist with a keen interest in riverine ecosystems. Prior to commencing my PhD I gained experience working in fisheries research and freshwater ecological monitoring in Australia and the United Kingdom. I'm interested in how we can conserve our freshwater ecosystems and the species that they support. As such, my research focus is aimed at delivering novel insights to improve environmental management.

Supervised by: Gilad Bino and Tahneal Hawke (co-primary), Richard Kingsford (secondary)

Project Title: Understanding the impact of habitat degradation on the resilience of platypus populations

Project Description: The platypus is one of Australia's most unique freshwater species. However, degradation of our freshwater ecosystems is impacting on the resilience of platypus populations to extreme climatic events. My PhD project aims to quantify the impact of threats such as river regulation and habitat loss by studying platypus population dynamics and individual behaviour. By combining the results of platypus surveys, eDNA sampling, acoustic telemetry, and SNP genotyping, with hydrological and habitat data from sites across the Murray-Darling Basin, we hope to be able to better understand how habitat degradation is impacting the species.