The scholarship is funded by the Premier’s Science Fellowship program; a joint initiative between Curtin University and The WA State government. It is to work on a project developing new analytical tools to support the control and eradication of new pest species that arrive in Western Australia.

Early intervention of biological invasions can be improved by predicting the source and spread locations of invasive species. To model the connectivity and movement of an invading species across a landscape, we can sample tissue from many individuals spread across geographic or environmental space, and use genetic data to construct resistance surfaces to dispersal. These resistance surfaces are made by overlaying high-resolution spatial layers of environmental attributes (e.g. topography, rainfall, vegetation cover) and anthropogenic activity (e.g. urbanisation, traffic density), and building models that identify how each predictor layer influences genetic relatedness. Doing this for a range of species with differing life-history and dispersal strategies will help us better understand how different species are likely to spread when invading areas such as the Swan Coastal Plain on which Perth is built.

• Future Students

• Faculty of Science & Engineering
  • Science courses

• Higher Degree by Research

• Australian Citizen
• Australian Permanent Resident
• New Zealand Citizen
• Permanent Humanitarian Visa
• International Student

• Merit Based

The scholarship provides a living stipend of $35,000 per year, pro rata indexed, based on full time studies for 3.5 years. An additional $7,000 per year top-up is also available, contingent on candidate performance.

1

Any applicable PhD courses 

• A strong track record in undergraduate studies;
• Honours or Masters by research
• A background or keen interest in ecology, evolution, genetics, statistics, or related discipline.

Please contact us via the EOI form. Upload a copy of your academic transcript, your CV, and a one-page cover letter explaining your interest in the project.

Satisfactory progress throughout the PhD program, including meeting all internal milestone deadlines.

Dr Brenton von Takach: brenton.vontakach@curtin.edu.au