Edith Shum and Moses Pillay
Edith Shum is a PhD student at UTAS exploring how species play a role in how we connect and adapt to a changing place. She is particularly interested in short-tailed shearwater (muttonbird/yula) rookeries on islands like Lunawanna, Bruny Island in lutruwita, Tasmania. With increasing storm surges and sea level rise, nest inundations, or loss of suitable nesting burrows are a growing concern. To address this, she is working on weaving drone and digital photogrammetry to construct a series of 3D terrain models under climate change scenarios. These models will act as a visual medium to facilitate discussions with the community to address where and how muttonbirds are currently impacted, where they may move to adapt to climate change, and how this might influence people and their attachment to place. By using species as a focal point to communicate about climate change, she hopes to bridge the gap between scientific knowledge and public understanding, thereby encouraging more meaningful conversations and actions that are necessary for addressing the challenges posed by climate change.Short-tailed shearwater.
Moses Pillay is an ANU Honours student who is using existing blood samples collected since 2014 from wild orange-bellied parrots to implement a novel study of diet and its carry over effects on fitness. Orange-bellied parrots prefer the seeds of native herbs and sedges that grow in the aftermath of fire in Tasmania; however, fire suppression has resulted in total dependence of the contemporary population on supplementary food provided by managers. Using blood samples from wild nestlings, he will use isotopic signatures to determine the ratio of native foods to supplementary foods in diet and investigate how it affects body condition and future survival.Orange-bellied parrot.
