Damien P Cancilla
PhD Student, Ecology of the threatened Heath Mouse (Pseudomys shortridgei),

Centre for Phytophthora Science and Management.
School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology,
Murdoch University,
Western Australia, 6150

PhD Research Topic

I am currently conducting a research project looking at the ecology of the Heath Mouse (Pseudomys shortridgei). This threatened rodent was only recently rediscovered in Western Australia after being presumed extinct in this state. Currently it is only found in in a few national parks in western Victoria and in a few nature reserves in southern Western Australia. Little is known about the population found in Western Australia and because of this the Heath mouse is the only native rodent in WA that does not have a recovery plan.

I aim to identify the ecological factors that are associated with the decline in the Western Australian populations of Heath mice (Pseudomys shortridgei). My project will:

• Identify where remnant populations occur.
• Measure the ecological (food & habitat) requirements of the species.
• Measure the home range and movement capabilities of the species to determine the size of animal territories and population densities in preferred habitat
• Identify population trends to determine if the species naturally occurs in low densities, or whether other factors are causing this trend.
• Identify threats, such as modified fire regime, predation and habitat destruction by Phytophthora cinnamomi, and develop Population Viability Analysis (PVA) models for the Western Australian populations.
• Refine GIS models of distribution and the use of satellite imagery and aerial photography in identifying possible P. shortridgei habitat.
• Predict total population at various sites to determine relative importance of each site in terms of conservation importance.
• Identify the feasibility of translocation and if so, identify any possible translocation sites.
• Provide Natural Resource Mangers with the tools (PVA plus GIS) to manage identified threats to local populations and develop landscape rehabilitation protocols to manage remnant populations.

My project is a collaboration between State conservation management (Dr Keith Morris/Brent Johnson; Department Conservation and Land Management;), and researchers (Professor Giles Hardy; Murdoch University, et al).

Education:

• BSc. (Conservation Biology/Environmental Science).
• Hons. (Biological Science) 2002. Murdoch University

Honours Project:

My Honours project was titled; "Biological aspects of Gonipterus scutellatus, an important pest of Eucalyptus globulus plantation". This involved looking at the occurrence of diapause in the eucalypt insect pest Gonipterus scutellatus as well as looking at sexual size dimorphism in the species and the potential for spread of this pest from eucalypt plantations to the surrounding native forest .This was an interesting time in my education that allowed me to realise that there is always a silver lining no matter how dark the cloud looks.

Interests and Hobbies:

One of my main hobbies is breeding Australian grass finches, specifically Gouldian finches. I have been doing this for the past three years and I enjoy all of its aspects, from the building of the aviaries to the daily maintenance of the birds. I hope to be able to continue this hobby and sometime in the future I would like to become involved in the breeding of endangered bird species to aid in their recovery.

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