Mariella Herbestein

(she/her)

(Supreme Leader)

BSc (1989) Sydney University, Masters (Mag. rer. nat. (1994) University of Vienna, PhD (Dr rer. nat. (1995) University of Vienna. Current Position: Professor, Macquarie

I am interested in all aspects of spider behaviour – from mating behaviour and sexual cannibalism, to web-building, mimicry and deception. I also collaborate with my students and post-docs in the behavioural ecology of various insects, including moths, bugs, damselflies, and praying mantids. Some of the more recent projects that I have been involved in include the evolution of imperfect mimicry in ant-mimicking spiders, warning signals in moths and butterflies.

Inexplicable behaviour - an inordinate fondness of Eurovision.

Kawsar Khan

(He/they)

(PhD, Postdoctoral researcher)

I am from Bangladesh, and very smart in Bengali. I did my PhD with Mariella and choose to stay in her lab forever. I like dragonflies, music, stats and coffee. I am interested in sexual selection, animal communication and host-symbiont interactions and how ecological factors impact these interactions.

Jim McLean

(He/him)

(PhD, Postdoctoral researcher)

I am an evolutionary biologist with a research focus on rates of evolution, predator-prey interactions and anti-predatory strategies such as mimicry. My work combines empirical work with theoretical modelling and the development of new methodologies.

Liisa Hämäläinen

(she/her)

(PhD, Postdoctoral researcher)

BSc/MSc 2009-2014 (University of Jyväskylä, Finland). PhD 2015-2019 (University of Cambridge, UK).

I am a behavioural ecologist interested in predator-prey interactions, with my work focusing on prey warning signals and predator learning and information use. Currently I am a Visiting Fellow at Macquarie University (funded by Jenny and Antti Wihuri Foundation) where I study aposematic Amata nigriceps moths. The aim of the project is to quantify variation in warning signal expression and chemical defences within and among A. nigriceps populations, and to investigate how this variation influences predator learning.

Louis O’Neill

(He/him)

(PhD Candidate)

I have had a passion for nature and conservation since watching David Attenborough as a young child. This led me on a path of volunteering with various conservation and wildlife research projects around the world. I started bird banding as a teenager, which directed my future research.

I did my Undergrad degree in ecology at the University of East Anglia & Otago University where I looked at movement patterns of reintroduced South Island robins. I’ve also studied the behaviour of brent geese along their migration in Ireland and Iceland for my MSc with the University of Exeter. My PhD brought me to Australia to study cooperative breeding behaviour in Chestnut-crowned babblers in the outback.

I aspire to make the world a better place by living harmoniously with nature and working towards improving conservation awareness and outcomes. I am at my best in the field, doing data collection alongside wildlife.

Kiara L’Herpiniere

(She/her)

(PhD Candidate)

BSc (Hons) Forensic science

MSc Biodiversity and conservation

MRes Biology

PhD (in submission) Wildlife biology

I’m a wildlife biologist with a keen interest in animal behaviour. My PhD focussed on avian trait expression across Australia songbirds at a continental scale, with a particular interest on why they lay such astonishingly colourful eggs. I hope to work more on including behavioural ecology in the care and husbandry of wild fauna. I’m an avid skier, scuba diver, birder and occasional sky diver. I am also a mental health and diversity ally.

Michael Kelly

(He/him)

(PhD Candidate)

BSc Zoology, Graduated with Distinction (2016); Master of Research (Biological Sciences) (2018); PhD candidate, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.

My interests include predator/prey interactions, animal defences (such as mimicry), phylogenetics and evolutionary biology. My current research aims to explore the evolution of mimicry with a focus on the widespread prevalence of inaccurate mimicry. I am using a phylogenetic approach, known as ultraconserved elements (or UCEs), to reconstruct the evolutionary history of spider groups known for both accurate and inaccurate forms of ant-mimicry to observe trends in the evolution of mimetic traits. My research also includes investigating the neural tissue (“brain”) of accurate ant-mimicking spiders to determine if there is a trade-off between accurate ant-like morphology and neural tissue mass. Additionally, I am conducting experiments using ant specialised predators to determine if any particular ant-like trait possessed by an ant-mimic is salient enough to deceive predators into incorrectly assessing a spider as an ant.

Georgina E Binns

(She/her)

(PhD Candidate)

BZool- Animal Ecology (2014) UNE, NSW; MConsBiol- Wildlife Management (2017), MRes (2019), PhD Candidate, Macquarie University, NSW, Australia

I am interested in many areas – Entomology, Conservation, Animal Behaviour, Evolutionary Biology, Taxonomy and Systematics. My current research traverses several areas which include understanding the biotic and abiotic effects on the variation in warning signals, chemical defence ecology, and confirming the taxonomy of Amata tiger moths in eastern Australia. I have a professional background in wildlife management (specifically in Macropods) and conservation biology (Chiroptera). In my past life I was a bartender and sang in a punk band.

I founded the Macquarie University Climate Action Society (MQCAS) in 2021 and am the current President.

Chathuranga Dharmarathne

(He/him)

(PhD candidate)

(BSc (2014), MPhil in Zoology (2018), USJP, Sri Lanka, PhD candidate, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia)

I am interested in studying Animal Behaviour and Evolutionary biology. My current research aims to understand the Morphological and Behavioral limitations to sperm delivery in Australian spiders. We are working on describing the ultrastructure of sperm and the reproductive morphology of Australian Argiope species using SEM and Micro CT studies and develop fluid dynamic models of sperm transfer in Australian spiders.

Sanni Silvasti

(She/her)

(PhD Candidate)

(Bachelor of Health Care in Optometry (2014), Helsinki Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, Finland; BSc (2018) and MSc (2020) in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Jyväskylä, Finland; PhD candidate, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia)

My fields of interest are visual ecology and evolutionary biology, which I pursue to study using, for example, spectrophotometry, video analysis, and behavioural experiments. In my PhD, I concentrate on dynamicity in visual signals and visual events (i.e., visual motion, variation in signal properties etc.), and try to understand how these are perceived by animals in real life. I am especially interested in the evolutionary consequences of dynamicity in visual signals and cues. For example, flashing ornaments in sexual displays and colourations in animals that could work as delusive antipredator mechanisms in motion are right up my alley. My PhD is a part of Associate Professor Darrell Kemp’s project ‘Animating the Study of Visual Communication’.

Shatabdi Paul

(She/her)

(PhD Candidate)

I completed my BSc (2016), MS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2018) from Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh. Then, I achieved MRes degree (2022) in Biological Sciences, from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.

I enjoy studying Odonata parasitism. My current research aims to understand the causes and consequences of ectoparasitism in Australian damselflies. We are working to understand the geographical variation of parasitism, and its impact on the damselflies fitness. We are also investigating spatial and temporal variation in the immunity, color, body condition, behavior, and reproductive fitness of Australian damselflies.

Vanessa Penna Gonçalves

(She/her)

(PhD Candidate)

BSc Biological Science (Brazil)

Public Health Expert

MPhil Science

PhD (candidate) Neuroscience and Ecology Behavior

I'm an arachnologist with an interest in neurobiology and ecology in animal behaviour, with a particular interest in spiders. My PhD is focused on ecological factors such as sociality, metabolism, pesticides and morphology that influences the brain in spiders. I also have an interest in Data Science. I'm a spider lover and like to collect toys and stuff about spiders. I have an Instagram account @van.spidergirl where I share my experience during my activities in the lab and in the field and also about to be an international student in Australia.

Md Tangigul Haque (Tonmoy)

(He/him)

(PhD Candidate)

I am interested in Animal behaviour, Evolutionary Biology, and Climate Change. Currently, I am observing impact of climate change on Odonates (damselfly and dragonfly) traits in my Master of Research thesis. Besides, I am from Bangladesh and love to play indoor games, visit to new places, and meet with new people.

Marilia Fernandes Erickson

(PhD Candidate)

I have a master in psychobiology (2019) and a bachelor in biological sciences (2017) both from The Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil. Currently I am a PhD candidate in Natural Sciences at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.

I am interested in animal behaviour and animal communication, mostly in invertebrates (insects and fiddler crabs). I also have a little crush on botany, so I really enjoy insect-plant interactions. Currently my research is on the prevalence of aposematism in Lepidoptera communities. Specifically, I am working on figuring out how common aposematism is, and what limits the appearance and maintenance of warning coloration.

Hansani Sathsara

(Mres Candidate)

Hi,

I’m Hansani, my undergraduate studies were done in the Department of Zoology, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka where I graduated with a first class honors majoring zoology. I was awarded Prof. F.P. Amerasinghe Gold Medal, University Award, and University Cash Prize for undergraduate excellence in zoology. Then I worked as a teaching assistant, temporary lecturer, and journal assistant at the University of Perdaeniya and as a graduate science teacher attached to education department, Sri Lanka.

My project is really interesting in which my study organisms are amazing, cute butterflies. In my Mres project, I am developing appropriate methods to estimate the predation pressure on butterflies, which would be further developed in the PhD project to determine the influence of predation pressure on warning color expression of butterflies.

Chris Irving

(He/him)

(Mres Candidate)

My interests include animal behavior, entomology, invasive ecology and ecological interactions and relationships. I am still figuring out my specialized research area, however I am looking forward to working in and with the lab and finding my niche.

I finished a Bachelor of Science - Global Challenges (2021) and am currently studying a Bachelor of Philosophy/Masters of Research, all with Macquarie University. My research focus for next year will most likely be studying warning coloration in a local moth species, Amata nigriceps, and finding out why they have two separate coloured patterns. This species displays both spots on its wings and bright bands on its body, and I am keen to know why and how these colors aid in protection against predators.