Natalee is a PhD candidate under the supervision of Dr. Martine Maron and Dr. April Reside. Her research focuses on the Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala), a much-maligned native Australian bird with a knack for excluding smaller birds from favoured habitat, so much so that miners and their aggression are a Key Threatening Process under the EPBC Act. Natalee’s work specifically focuses on the ecological effects of Noisy Miners, and how their direct control can have a wider effect on the entire ecosystem, further informing miner management strategies and our understanding of interactions in subtropical woodlands.

 

Originally from Washington State in the U.S., Natalee is an avid birder with great interest in all things outdoors. She completed her Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Conservation at the University of Washington, with minors in Quantitative Science and Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, and led research for her Honours thesis on brown bear foraging behaviour and the factors that affect it in Bristol Bay, Alaska. She has since contributed to several research projects, from mesocarnivore genetics to marine parasite ecology, and recently graduated with her Master’s in Conservation Biology from the University of Queensland. She’s probably out looking for birds now, but she’s always happy to chat!