Melbourne School of Land and Environment Department of Forest and Ecosystem Science

• BSc Hons (Biological Science) 2006, La Trobe University, Victoria.  Thesis title: ‘Fire mosaics: The influence of variations in fire severity on initial post-fire biotic responses after the 2005 wildfire at Wilsons Promontory

• Elective research project, 2004, Department of Zoology (Palaeontology), La Trobe University, Victoria.  Preparation, diagnosis, description and naming of a new genus of Australian Early Triassic trematosauroid. (Publication) 

• Primarily involved in the multi-disciplinary Department of Sustainability and Environment, Parks Victoria and Bushfire CRC project: Effects of Fire on Ecosystem Processes and Biodiversity: to determine appropriate ecological fire regimes to manage biodiversity in the heathy woodlands of southwest Victoria; an adaptive management approach. 

Includes research on the response of invertebrate and small mammal communities and habitats to an altered fire regime with particular focus on time since last fire and fire frequency.

Currently researching the effect of fire history on the species richness and community composition of the beetle fauna in heathy woodlands (manuscript in preparation).

Currently involved in the collation of sporocarp survey data investigating changes in the above ground fungal community of the Wombat State Forest across long-term prescribed burning treatments.

• Previously involved in research on the response of invertebrate communities to prescribed fire treatments from the Bulls Ground Study, NSW.

Publications

Nield, C.M., Damiani, R. & Warren, A. (2006)  A short-snouted trematosauroid (Tetrapoda, Temnospondyli) from the Early Triassic of Australia: the oldest known trematosaurine.  Alcheringa 30, 263 - 271