Email jo.monks@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 27 408 3337
Teaching
- ECOL 111 Ecology and Conservation of Diversity
- ECOL 212 Ecological Applications
- ECOL 314 Pacific Field Ecology
- WILM 401 Principles of Wildlife Management
- WILM 402 Techniques of Wildlife Management
- WILM 501 Wildlife Management Research Placement
Research Interests
I'm a conservation biologist working on a range of applied ecological issues. My background is in herpetology (the study of reptiles and amphibians) and behavioural ecology, but I now work on a range of terrestrial fauna, including bats, birds and invertebrates.
My major projects at present involve:
- Research to support conservation management in alpine ecosystems (birds, lizards and invertebrates)
- Understanding the impacts of invasive predators, particularly mice and wasps, on native lizards and large-bodied invertebrates and how to sustainably suppress these predators to benefit terrestrial biodiversity
- Understanding the impacts of climate change on native terrestrial fauna to inform conservation strategy
- Developing and validating monitoring techniques for cryptic taxa
Current Students
- Aaron Bertoia, PhD: The influence of introduced mammalian predators on alpine invertebrate communities
- Scott Bourke, MSc: Predicting distribution of lizards in Tū Te Rakiwhānoa Drylands
- Carey Knox, PhD: Developing and testing drones for surveying lizards in inaccessible terrain
- Zohara Rafi, PhD: Novel bioacoustic tools for conservation
- Brodie Abel, MSc: Impacts of vespulid wasps on forest ringlet butterflies
- Pearl Barry, MSc: Ecology and translocation of green skinks
- Finn Brittenden, MSc: Impacts of invasive mice on native invertebrates
- Lachlan Davidge, MSc: Evaluating the efficacy of drones as a survey tool for alpine lizards
- Katie Gray, MSc: Ecology and movement patterns of banded dotterels and black-fronted terns in Tū Te Rakiwhānoa Drylands
- Clare Gunton, MSc: Ecology of alpine weka and interactions with translocated Sinbad skinks
- Shar Mathias, MSc: Mouse impacts on alpine invertebrate communities
- Manaia Pearmain-Fenton, MSc: Conservation ecology of kakaruai – the role of sanctuaries
- Tōrea Scott-Fyfe, MSc: Microhabitat use by terrestrial invertebrates and lizards in the New Zealand alpine zone
- Oscar Thomas, MSc: Movement patterns and genetics of southern New Zealand dotterels
- Harriet Wills, MSc: Ecology and habitat use of northern striped geckos
- Arti Wilmshurst, MSc: The impacts of invasive vespulid wasps on native geckos
- Anna Zrinyi-Morgan, MSc: Distribution and microhabitat use of alpine lizards in Kahurangi National Park
Former Students
- Samuel Purdie, MSc: Understanding habitat use and optimising monitoring methods for alpine geckos in New Zealand