Dr Brenton von Takach
Meet Brenton, the 2022 recipient of the President’s ECR Award
What is your job?
I am primarily a Research Associate and Forrest Prospect Fellow at Curtin University, but also do a touch of part-time work with the WA Government as a Research Scientist in the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
Tell us about your history
I’ve always had the mind of a scientist. Much of my formative years were spent wandering the edges of Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park in northern Sydney, and by the end of my undergraduate degree in 2008 I had learned the names of probably all species of plant and (vertebrate) animal one could hope to encounter in the bushland of that area – including far too many pea flowers (Pultenaea, anyone?). After some travel, another degree (MConBio), some time as a bush-regenerator, and a bit of research assistant work at UNSW (under the auspices of the knowledgeable Mike Letnic), I took a job at an environmental consultancy as a botanist/ecologist. Here, I rapidly soaked up more knowledge about the plants, animals and ecosystems that once dominated NSW, working with some of the region’s most wonderful and expert ecologists. As many do, I rapidly tired of the consulting industry, and moved to Canberra to start a PhD (in 2015) at the Fenner School with Sam Banks and David Lindenmayer. And so I spent three wonderful years touring the mountain ash forests of Victoria and Tasmania, measuring bits, collecting bobs, and trying to wrap my head around linear regression and population genetics. Towards the end of my project, Sam took a Professorship at Charles Darwin University, so I moved up to Darwin to write my thesis amongst the tropical birdlife. Six months turned into three years, mostly working as a postdoc at CDU, but also doing a bit of helicoptering around Kakadu National Park with the Flora and Fauna Division of the NT Government. Eventually, the climate got the better of me, and in 2020 I moved down to Perth with a 4WD full of hopes, dreams, and some other junk. I was awarded a Forrest Prospect Fellowship in 2021, and thankfully have been able to keep working on native species ecology and population genetics.
What interesting research/projects have you worked on?
My research broadly investigates the ecological and genomic impacts that anthropogenic systems and disturbances have on biodiversity and wildlife, covering a range of taxa from flowering plants, birds, mammals, frogs and reptiles. More generally, I have been involved in many aspects of ecological monitoring and research for about 15 years, studying best practices for management of ecosystem processes and species conservation. During this time, I have collaborated with many universities and government agencies, conducting a range of ecological research projects and wildlife surveys. As a specialist ecological consultant, I have written impact assessments and informed the management strategies for more than 50 development projects of varying sizes, in over 40 different ecological communities. Some of the most interesting projects I’ve been involved with include:
- Assessing and monitoring the impacts that large wind farms have on birds and bats
- Investigating the impacts of the dingo barrier fence on mammal populations
- Studying the reproductive development of obligate seeding eucalypts
- Conducting vertebrate monitoring on long-term plots in Kakadu and Nitmiluk national parks
- Catching and banding woodland birds, including regent honeyeaters, in NSW
- Quantifying the distribution and structuring of genomic diversity in mammals of northern Australia
- Investigating the influence of toxic cane toads on the population genetic diversity of northern quolls
What are your current projects?
My current research focuses on the biogeography of declining Australian wildlife and the importance of understanding the spatial distribution of genomic diversity for conservation. The primary aim of my Fellowship is to understand the environmental, geographic, and genomic processes involved in the decline and extinction of native species and ecosystems. While focussing predominantly on the declining mammal fauna of northern Australia (the Kimberley and Top End regions, including the occasional dolphin), this work extends to projects in southern Australia, including mulgara (Dasycercus spp.) and chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii), as well as various reptile taxa, such as the highly threatened Arnhem Land Gorges Skink (Bellatorias obiri) and the snake fauna (23 species!) of the Darwin region. I also currently lead a large monitoring and research program in the Great Victoria Desert, which involves long field trips into some of the remotest areas of the country to survey mammals and reptiles.
What do you consider are some of your best achievements?
Being at the beginning of my research career, I feel that many achievements are still to come, and I’m only scratching the surface of what I’d like to achieve. I am extremely grateful for the many opportunities I’ve had and the many collaborations that I’ve forged over the past 10 years, including working with some of Australia’s most experienced and hard-working ecologists. I like to think I’ve contributed meaningfully to practical conservation efforts through work in consulting and collaborations with land management agencies (e.g. Territory Natural Resource Management, NT Government, WA Government, and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy). I also hope that my published research does more than simply collect citations, helping us to understand and better manage our unique wildlife.
What is your favourite activity in mammalogy?
Spotlighting, for sure. So much easier than flipping rocks for reptiles or wading through swamps to identify frogs. Almost as easy as birding!
Do you have an interesting “mammal anecdote”?
I was once doing a quiet bird survey on a peaceful riverside monitoring plot in Kakadu National Park. Without warning, half a dozen agile wallabies bolted through my plot, being chased by a dingo at full pelt. The wallabies split up and headed off in two different directions, but I stood and watched as one of them went to ground under a shrub not three metres from my feet. The dingo came to a stop, maybe 10 metres away, as it decided which wallaby to follow, and looked around a little. I was sure it was going to see me and charge in its agitated state. I briefly wondered whether it would be better to take my chances with a hungry dingo or jump into the nearby crocodile-filled river. Nevertheless, there was a quiet moment of contemplative thought for all three of us: this wallaby, dingo and I, as we all stayed motionless amongst the riparian grass tussocks. Thankfully, the dingo didn’t seem to notice either the hidden wallaby or myself, and chased off after one of the still-bounding wallabies. Soon their combined crashing through the grass and shrubs faded, and the wallaby at my feet decided it was safe to move again. Ignoring me completely, it headed back in the direction from whence it had come, away from the predator it had narrowly avoided.
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