Three early-career researchers have been awarded funding for ecology projects in 2023 thanks to the Margaret Middleton Fund for endangered Australian native vertebrate animals.
Drawing on Yolŋu Elders’ knowledge of important fauna ecology and habitats, and working with the Yirralka Rangers, Dr Shaina Russell’s research aims to co-design and implement a camera trap network for monitoring of culturally significant and endangered species in the Laynhapuy Indigenous Protected Area in northeast Arnhem Land.
By studying the purple-crowned fairywren (PCFW), an endangered riparian bird of the Kimberley region of Western Australia, Ariana La Porte’s research aims to identify the riparian habitat features in the Kimberley that will allow species to persist under climate change. Understanding which best enable PCFWs to keep the next generation cool will allow targeted protection and restoration that will benefit all riparian species.
Mountaintop-dwelling nursery frogs are among the amphibians most at risk of extinction due to climate change, but very little is known about how to conserve these species. Emma Carmichael’s research aims to improve our understanding by resolving current elevational limits for these species, whether these have contracted upwards in the past 20 years, and what environmental parameters determine distributions and breeding activity.
The Margaret Middleton Fund for endangered Australian native vertebrate animals was established in 2000 with Dr Margaret Middleton, who donated generously to this fund across her lifetime. Dr Middleton was a long-time supporter of the Academy and early-career scientists, with the fund supporting more than 90 projects to date.
Applications for the 2024 awards will open in February 2023.
© 2024 Australian Academy of Science
