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The G-cat

Dive head-first into the science of conservation, ecology, evolution and genetics

Oz Animal Cards

A combination of fun facts and photography by yours truly, these collectible cards provide a gateway to understanding some of Australia’s fantastical fauna.

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The G-CAT on Insta

Although we might often think of urban landscapes as being unkind to native wildlife, plenty of species can thrive (or at least persist) in them, like these Buchanan's snake-eyed skinks. They're found all throughout Perth: my Masters student Dan is using genomic tools to better understand how they move across the landscape and use remnant bushland. Despite my general inactivity on here this year, I've actually had a busy year of teaching and research! I thought I'd give a brief highlight reel of some of the things that have been happening, and what's in store for next year. Out today: my article in @theconversationdotcom describing our community-driven and collaborative captive breeding and reintroduction program for a threatened freshwater fish in Bendigo, Victoria! Our research highlights how collaborations between local government, environmental managers, community groups, fish hobbyists, a private aquarium business and geneticists can lead to great conservation outcomes. Super proud of this work and glad to see the story getting some attention! Last week, I had the great fun of helping out with trapping and monitoring of the quenda population in Craigie Bushland for @city_of_joondalup. First established in 2013 from almost 50 individuals, longer-term monitoring of the population allows us to check their health and collect ear clips for genetic analysis. I'll be using genomic approaches to look at whether the translocated population has been maintaining genetic diversity and avoiding inbreeding over the last 10+ years, helping to guide further management actions for these in-quenda-ble critters. Last week, I chatted with @abcperth Great Southern about my @uwaresearch Masters student Grace's research into climate change vulnerability of Critically Endangered western ringtail #possum using genomics. Her results highlights how some areas will be more challenging for possums to adapt to in the near future, and how these approaches can inform conservation efforts. Check out the link in my story for more info! Last week, I had a great time joining in for some local bird banding at Shenton Bushland here in Perth: some highlights included these gorgeous western spinebills, showing off just how fabulous male birds can be (and their impressive sexual dimorphism)! You might have noticed that I haven't been active on here so far this year - and that's because I have a new job! I'm delighted to say I'm now a Lecturer at @edithcowanuniversity: although still early days, I'm excited to be able to continue teaching and researching on all the critters I love. With that in mind, here's a couple of my favourite 2023 snaps: you can check out more of them on my blog. Out now: our latest research paper, describing the collaborative effort to reintroduce the locally extinct southern pygmy perch to Bendigo, Victoria! Driven by local community groups, in collaboration with regional councils, environmental managers, a private aquarium business and a genetics research lab (that's me!), we set up a captive breeding program, restored three wetlands, and released 600 fish in the area. Our genetic analyses showed that we maintained genetic diversity and avoided inbreeding, giving the now booming populations the best chance of survival. I had an absolute blast at the International Conservation Translocation Conference in Fremantle this week! With more than 100 talks from a huge range of species, places and topics, it was a great experience: I'm also glad that genetics was featured predominantly in the conference, including my own presentation! If you want to learn more about my work, check out my blog as well.

The G-CAT on Bluesky

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    December 2, 2025
    One of my favourite parts about the Noongar season of Birak: it's also tick-tock season! My fave noisy bug(ger)s!
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    November 22, 2025
    Had a bit of a wander on campus yesterday (because who wants to mark exams?) for Bug Hunt Aus and […]
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    November 19, 2025
    Very proud of our PhD student @nirjana-dewan.bsky.social for delivering an excellent talk at #AOC2025 on her white-tailed black cockatoo genomics […]
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    October 30, 2025
    Ending a conference with a mild panic attack because I left my laptop in a lecture theatre for a couple […]

Recent Posts

  • The Absolution of De-Extinction April 22, 2025
  • How destabilization of climate threatens aquatic life in a biodiversity hotspot June 28, 2024
  • Fishy friends making the news May 17, 2024
  • Reviving rivers: a community-led tale of fish conservation January 12, 2024
  • Validating vulnerability: ground-truthing projections from genomic offsets December 8, 2023
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