Our long-term interests are in the biology of intimate interactions, including parasitic and symbiotic relationships.
We also study how environmental factors such as quality of substrate and density can influence life history traits and resistance to infection.
Our approach of eco-immunology is multidisciplinary combining aspects of immunology with biology, physiology, ecology and evolution.
Links and relationships between resistance to infection and the nutritional environment
Involvement of the gut microbiota in resistance to bacterial infection with a transgenerational approach
Development of new control methods for bees main diseases such as probiotics and novel trapping methods for small hive beetles
We are interested in how the environment (Pesticides and temperature) affects different aspects of insect biology (oviposition, reproduction, survival)
School of Natural Sciences
205b Culloden Road
Macquarie University, Wallumattagal Campus
Sydney, Australia
Phone : (02) 9850 1313
Email : fleur.ponton@mq.edu.au
Life on land is the foundation for our survival.
Protecting and restoring ecosystems is not just an environmental issue, but also a matter of human health and well-being.
Our team comes from different countries (e.g., France, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Australia and England) and represent different career stages (e.g., Undergraduate, Masters, PhD, Post-Doctorate and Senior Lecturer). One or more of the team self-identifies as a member of the LGBTQI+ community, underrepresented ethnic minority in science, or living with disability. While citing references scientifically relevant for our work, we actively work to promote gender balance in our reference list. We work to ensure sex balance in the selection of non-human subjects and cell lines. One or more of the team receives support from a program designed to increase minority representation in science. The author list of our papers includes contributors from the location where the research was conducted who participated in the data collection, design, analysis, and/or interpretation of the work.