Prospective Students
We are always looking for the right students to join the Ecosystem Change Ecology team. We have a variety of engagement options available across the full range of our research interests. We look forward to hearing from you to explore how we can be a part of your future career development.
If you are interested in joining the team as a Cadet, Honours, Masters, PhD or Postdoctoral student, please explore the options available below and then contact us. If you do decide to get in touch, please provide a brief description of your research interests and relevant experience, along with a short description as to why you think our team is the right place to advance your career. Thank you for your interest!
Why join our team?
We’re a diverse team of around 20 people based in Perth, Western Australia. Please read our team factsheet for further information on what we do and how we do it. Please also see these statements by our past students.
All of our Hons, MSc and PhD students are CSIRO students as well as being enrolled at their respective universities. This gives all of our students the best of both worlds, with access to a wide range of facilities and expertise at both locations. While we have a strong collaborative relationship with the University of Western Australia, we have students enrolled at other universities across the state, country and also overseas.
How to join our team
There are a range of scholarships and employment opportunities available to join the team, depending on where you are at in your career.
• CSIRO Early Research Career (CERC) Postdoctoral Fellowships
• Research Training Program Scholarships (Australian & International students)
• CSIRO Graduate & Postgraduate Scholarships
• CSIRO Indigenous Scholarships
• Forrest Research Foundation Scholarships (for study at a WA university)
• Destination Australia Scholarships (Australian & International students; in development)
• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships
We generally expect that our PhD students will have a Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship, or equivalent.
MSc and PhD projects available
While the following projects are high priorities for the Ecosystem Change Ecology team, we remain open to suggestion on other ideas. Please contact us if you would like further information on the opportunities listed below.
Home and away: generating management solutions for plant species that are both rare natives and threatening invasives. Understanding the ecological, evolutionary and societal processes that allow some plant species that are rare and endangered in their native range to become threatening invasives when introduced to novel environments.
Identifying vulnerabilities to improve the management of threatening weeds. Improvements in weed management can be achieved through a greater understanding of plant ecophysiology and plant-ecosystem interactions. Multiple projects are available, depending on the interests of the applicant, including fieldwork in the Kimberley, Pilbara and overseas.
How do plant-insect interactions differ between native and introduced ranges? When plant species are introduced to new environments, this often disrupts its ecological interactions. A project is available examining the insect communities associated with threatening weeds in Australia, both in their native and introduced range, including fieldwork in the Kimberley and Pilbara.
Detecting the floral fingerprint of biocultural dispersal. Ancient anthropogenic influences are often not well considered in studies on biogeography and community ecology, yet ancient dispersal events may well have left a significant and detectable influence on present day community assemblages. This project will examine potential ancient human-mediated species dispersal into and around northern Australia.
Understanding the ecology of Mesquite to manage its impacts in the Pilbara. Mesquite (Prosopis sp.) is regarded as one of Australia’s most threatening invasive species due to its current and potential future economic and environmental impacts. This project will make use of an unparalleled dataset documenting the precise location of over a million individual Mesquite trees monitored over multiple years in the Pilbara to better understand what drives population dynamics in the region and what management interventions are most effective for controlling this threatening invasive.