Dylan Westaway

@dylanwestaway.bsky.social

Wildlife ecologist @ Australian Wildlife Conservancy. Interested in ecological modelling, reptiles and understanding the effects of large disturbances like land clearing, invasive species, fire and climate change on wildlife. Views are my own.

🚨 New research 🦉 Using citizen science data, we created a regional SDM for the cryptic sooty owl (Tyto tenebricosa). We then used field surveys and occupancy modelling to validate the SDM. 🌳 We discuss factors driving habitat suitability and conservation implications for this apex predator

Developing a regional species distribution model and validating with independent survey data: a case study of an avian apex predator, the greater sooty owl (Tyto tenebricosa)

Context Comprehensive understanding of the distribution and habitat requirements of wildlife species is crucial for the development of effective conservation strategies. For cryptic predators, such as...

publish.csiro.au

Some pics from helping Josh Fastuca, set up field sites for his honours research. Josh will be using a variety of methods to assess the effect of cats, foxes and rabbits on herpetofauna. Carrying around tin and tiles brought back repressed memories from my PhD 😆 Excited to see what Josh finds!

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“South Australian scientists have demonstrated a clear link between the proximity of native vegetation (which attracts pollinators) and higher crop yields, showing why widespread clearance of native vegetation is not a good idea.” theaimn.net/dont-clear-n...

Don’t clear native vegetation if you want high crop yields

South Australian ecologists have provided irrevocable proof why native vegetation is critical for healthy crop yield.

theaimn.net

Accused by a whistleblower of covering up an oil spill that killed dolphins and sea snakes, Santos get fined just $10k 🤯 Santos spends up to $US3.3m per year on a private jet for their executives so I don’t think AUD10k is going to hurt them. www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01...

Gas giant Santos fined $10,000 for 25,000-litre oil spill off Pilbara coast

The energy giant has pleaded guilty to causing an oil spill in 2022, that leaked 25,000 litres of oil off WA's north-west coast. Santos will pay a $10,000 fine and $9,700 in court costs for failing to...

abc.net.au

I've recently been trialling some thermal binoculars to help with creature tracking. Pretty impressed so far, picking up lots of things that are often tough to get eye shine out of, like this chuditch (western quoll) #WildOz

Hey All, plz repost, and share with grads, post-docs and disease folks! We are hiring a post-doc to work on mechanisms of immune responses of frog hosts to Bd infections. Deadline is February 1, 2025. Details for the position can be found at the link below. 🐸🐸🐸 zamudiolab.org/2024/12/17/p...

Post-Doc position in the KZLab! Immune responses to pathogen infections in frogs

We are looking for an NSF-funded post-doc in our lab in the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of Texas at Austin. The work will examine immune mechanisms that potentially underlie…

zamudiolab.org

Some holiday herping in Bali: - Sunda king cobra (Ophiophagus bungarus) - White-lipped put viper (Trimeresurus albolabris) - Mangrove cat snake (Boiga dendrophila) - Oriental vine snake (Ahaetulla prasina)

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