Elizabeth A Brunton

University of the Sunshine Coast | USC · School of Science, Education and Engineering

Human population growth and the resultant expansion of urban landscapes are drivers of biodiversity loss globally. Impacts of urbanisation on wildlife are not well understood, although the importance of preserving biodiversity in urban areas is widely recognised. The eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), a common species of large macropod, ca...

Drones are often considered an unobtrusive method of monitoring terrestrial wildlife; however research into whether drones disturb wildlife is in its early stages. This research investigated the potential impacts of drone monitoring on a large terrestrial mammal, the eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), in urban and peri-urban environments....

Urbanization significantly impacts the health and viability of wildlife populations yet it is not well understood how urban landscapes differ from non‐urban landscapes with regard to their effects on wildlife. This study investigated the physiological response of eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) to land use at a landscape scale. Using fe...

Urban landscapes contain many barriers to wildlife movement and gene flow, particularly for large terrestrial mammals with extensive natural home ranges. Eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) are a large macropodid, whose biological range partially coincides with areas subjected to high rates of urban expansion, including the Southeast Queens...

As the number of threatened wildlife species increases globally, captive rehabilitation and release of wild caught animals plays an increasingly significant role in conservation efforts, particularly where poaching threatens wild populations. Sun bear Helarctos malayanus populations are decreasing globally, with habitat loss and fragmentation and p...

The increased severity and frequency of wildfires are a growing threat to biodiversity globally posing a complex challenge for the management of protected areas. K'gari, a World Heritage‐listed sand barrier island located off the coast of Australia, was extensively burnt in wildfires in 2019 and 2020. Banksia aemula low open woodland (BALOW) is a f...

Understanding the long-term influences that urbanisation and associated habitat fragmentation can have on wildlife species is increasingly important for biodiversity conservation. Habitat fragmentation and subsequent isolation of previously connected populations can lead to smaller populations that are more likely to experience loss of genetic dive...

The Carpentarian Pseudantechinus (Pseudantechinus mimulus, Dasyuridae) is a little-known, saxicolous dasyurid marsupial from the Mount Isa Inlier bioregion in Queensland (QLD) and the Gulf Coastal bioregion in the Northern Territory (NT), Australia. A paucity of targeted survey effort across broad swathes of potentially suitable habitat means that...

Context Urban landscapes present a diverse matrix of structures and habitats containing significant physical and behavioural barriers to terrestrial wildlife dispersal. As a result, large mammals, with large home ranges, may be negatively impacted as behavioural and physical barriers are created. However, our understanding of these barriers in the...

The Sunshine Coast area of South-East Queensland (SEQ) is an area of high biodiversity, yet effective landscape-level conservation of terrestrial mammal species is lacking, including those listed as least concerned, like the Eastern Grey Kangaroos (Macropus giganteus). Recent spatial genetic studies have identified kangaroo mobs within this region...

Despite questions about academic rigor, undergraduates use Wikipedia for opportunistic learning: self-regulated study to learn, relearn, or be introduced to concepts. STEM topics are potentially immune from some of Wikipedia’s criticism, as many are based on well-established facts. This article evaluates 28 articles from seven STEM disciplines on f...

This article discusses the development of an interactive online textbook for undergraduate teaching, in response to moving teaching online due to COVID-19. The development took place initially for a university with less than 5% of students studying online in 2019. The online textbook was incorporated into a large, diverse, multidisciplinary and pre...

Virtual wildlife fencing presents as a cost-effective measure for roadkill mitigation, which aids in reducing fragmentation of wildlife populations by facilitating safer movement of wildlife across the landscape. In this study, we conducted an audit of a virtual fence installation in south-east Queensland, Australia. We assessed its reliability in...

The spatial ecology of the European red fox in urban environments has not been widely studied in Australia. The spatial organisation and habitat selection of red foxes in coastal south-east Queensland was investigated using the GPS data from 17 collared foxes from seven putative fox families. Home range and core activity areas were calculated using...

Advances in drone technology have given rise to much interest in the use of drone-mounted thermal imagery in wildlife monitoring. This research tested the feasibility of monitoring large mammals in an urban environment and investigated the influence of drone flight parameters and environmental conditions on their successful detection using thermal...

Rapid increases in urban land use extent across the globe are creating challenges for many wildlife species. Urban landscapes present a novel environment for many species, yet our understanding of wildlife behavioural adaptations to urban environments is still poor. This study compared the vigilance behaviour of a large mammal in response to urbani...

Context: As urban landscapes proliferate globally, the need for research into urban wildlife interactions is magnified. The eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) is a widespread species commonly involved in wildlife-vehicle collisions in urban areas in Australia. Despite the many urban kangaroo populations and associated conflicts with human a...

Nuisance blooms of macroalgae are increasingly common in response to nutrient pollution of the coastal zone. In Queensland Hincksia sordida, a filamentous brown alga, have been increasing in the Noosa area in summer over the last two decades. Because the Noosa area is relatively unpolluted compared to other locations where blooms are common our stu...