Urban ecology is a global area of research that focusses on biodiversity and how it is impacted by the expanding urban landscapes of the world. With the majority of the world’s population now living in cities, fauna and flora in these regions is under increasing threat and there are many management challenges in sustaining natural populations. Rob has investigated bird dispersal capacity in suburban Perth and the impact of habitat loss and fragmentation on birds on the Swan Coastal Plain. He also has a long-running relationship with the Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority at Kings Park and has been monitoring the recovery of the reptile community there for five years following a wildfire in 2009. We are also interested in the impact of urbanisation and fragmentation on fauna population genetics.

Key publications:

• Davis, R.A. and Douglas, T.D. (2019). Feathered jewels: birds of the Yule Brook Region, pp. 285-295 In Lambers, H. (Ed). A jewel in the crown of a global biodiversity hotspot. Kwongan Foundation and Naturalists Club Inc, Perth. 444pp.
• Davis, R.A. and Doherty, T.S. (2015). Rapid recovery of an urban remnant reptile community following summer wildfire. PLOS ONE, 10(5): e0127925. [Open Access]
• Krawiec, J., Krauss, S.L., Davis, R.A., Spencer, B.S. (2015). Weak genetic structuring suggests historically high genetic connectivity among recently fragmented urban populations of the scincid lizard Ctenotus fallens. Australian Journal of Zoology, 63(4): 279-286.
• Davis, R.A. and Wilcox, J.A. (2013). Adapting to suburbia: bird ecology on an urban-bushland interface in Perth, Western Australia. Pacific Conservation Biology, 19: 110-120.
• Davis, R.A., Gole, C. and Roberts, J.D. (2013). Impacts of urbanisation on the native avifauna of Perth, Western Australia. Urban Ecosystems, 16: 427-452. DOI 10.1007/s11252-012-0275-y