My post-graduate students, collectively referred to as the HERD (Heinsohn Ecological Research Division) work in a variety of areas including behavioural ecology, conservation biology and community ecology. Much of the research is carried out in remote regions such as Papua New Guinea, Cape York Peninsula, the Australian arid zone and southern Africa. Topics include bird migration, cooperative breeding and mating systems, animal personalities, biology of endangered species, human-wildlife conflict, and landscape ecology.​

Rachael Low​e
commenced in 2019

​Rachael is studying the threats to elephants in southern Africa, especially the impacts of climate change.

Janneke Webb​
commenced in 2018

​Janneke is studying the biology and threat to native birds from introduced rainbow lorikeets in Tasmania.

Fernanda Alves​
commenced in 2018

​Fernanda is studying the conservation biology of endangered forty-spotted pardalotes in Tasmania, with a view to re-establishing populations in their old range on the main island.

Adam Cisterne
commenced in 2018

​Adam is studying endangered masked owls in the forests of Tasmania.

Connie Leon
commenced in 2014

Connie is studying the impact of climate change on cooperatively breeding white-winged choughs.

Georgia Troup
commenced in 2016

Georgia is a PhD student studying human-elephant conflict (HEC) in Tsavo, Kenya. Human-elephant conflict, specifically crop-raiding, has become a significant conservation concern threatening the long-term survival of the African elephant (Loxodonta africana). Working in collaboration with Save the Elephants’ Elephants and Bees Project, Georgia’s study focuses on African elephants as a priority conflict species to advance our present understanding of ‘risky’ behaviour developed in mammals living in close proximity to human settlements. Specifically, her research investigates a) the social dynamics of crop-raiding elephants and b) the potential nutritional motivation for crop-raiding by elephants in this semi-arid area of East Africa. The results of her research will provide insight for the development of long-term, targeted management techniques aimed at reducing crop-raiding in the Taita Taveta wildlife corridor between Tsavo East and Tsavo West National Parks. Georgia is co-supervised by Dr. Lucy King from Save the Elephants.