Dr Iliana Medina
I am a behavioural ecologist and evolutionary biologist and I am fascinated by the evolution of animal behaviour. I am originally from Colombia and did my PhD at ANU (2012-2016) and now have a group based at University of Melbourne. We explore the drivers of variation in behaviours and the consequences that behavioural interactions have at a broad scale. My work focuses mainly on two topics: the evolution of warning colourations and the evolution of bird traits, such as colour and nest design.
Dr Claire Taylor
Claire is an incredible field biologist that has worked with birds over the last decade. She is interested in parental investment, evolution of nest building and costs of nest building and a lot of her work has involved superb-fairy wrens. Link to Claire’s website.
Silvia Colombo
Silvia is a PhD student (2021-2025) working on the evolution of nest structure, specifically the evolution of domed nests and the drivers of variation in nest design. Her work combines field, museum and macroevolutionary approaches. Silvia’s CV can be found here.
Amy Carboon
Amy is a MSc student (2023-2025) co-supervised by Prof. Devi Stuart-Fox. Amy’s work explores the links between courtship behaviours and visual effects in bird feathers. She collates detailed measures of iridescence on museum feathers from many different species and will relate these measures to mating behaviours.
Fabian Salgado
Fabian is a PhD student (2020-2024) at University of Melbourne and he loves spiders and is a great naturalist, and works with colourful spiders in both Australia and Colombia. His research explores the evolution and consequences of colour polymorphism.
Kei-Lin Ooi
Kei-Lin is a PhD student (2021-2025) co-supervised by Prof. Devi Stuart-Fox. Kei-Lin explores the drivers and consequences of having warning signals in butterflies and insects, from a macroevolutionary approach. Kei-Lin’s CV can be found here.
Tarani Jindal
Tarani is an international MSc student from India (2024-2026), co-supervised by Dr. Damien Esquerre. She is Interested in behavioural and evolutionary biology. Her research will focus on studying sex-biased dispersal in Harlequin bugs. Having worked with birds, fish and snakes in India, she is keen to explore the incredible fauna in Australia, both marine and terrestrial. Outside of research, Tarani enjoys performing arts (such as theatre and dance).
Alexis Goh
Alexis is a PhD student (2024-2028) from Singapore, co-supervised by Prof. Devi Stuart-Fox and Prof. Megan Head. She has a keen interest in conservation, entomology, and behavioural ecology. Alexis will be investigating how native leaf beetles can deter predators, using their colourful appearances, behaviours, and toxic defenses.
Previous students
Justin Cally (MSc student): Links between sexual selection and speciation in birds.
Wen-Yun Liao (MPhil student): Near-infrared reflectance as an adaptation in bird eggs.
Oliver Wardle (MSc student): Nesting preferences in red-tail black cockatoos.
Emmet Mulcahy (Honours): Variation within species in near-infrared reflectance.
Sophie Roberts (Honours): The evolution of warning signals in frogs.