We are pleased to announce the following student prizes were presented at ESA2024.

“The quality of student presentations at ESA conferences is always high and this year was no exception,” said ESA Vice President Next Generation Dr Diana Kuchinke.

“Students are the future of ecological research and management and we congratulate every student who participated in the conference this year.”

“From hundreds of student presentations and posters, we are pleased to present these prizes to students who are already making positive contributions to the Australian ecological sector.”

The ESA all thanks all the judges who volunteered their time during the conference to assessing student presentations and posters.

Marilyn Fox Award for Best Inaugural Presentation

Tamika Farley-Lehmer, University of Melbourne – ‘Can winter burning help prevent shrub encroachment?’

ESA Student Prize for Outstanding Student Spoken Presentation 

1st – Danielle Wallace, University of Melbourne – ‘Lacklustre performance: fungal disease reduces male breeding colouration in a common Australian frog’

2nd – Brittany Mitchell, University of New South Wales/Australian Museum – ‘City slicker or city sicker? HowAustralian frogs and their immune systems are responding to urbanisation’

3rd – Colin Sobek, Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, SA – ‘Community composition and variation in the northern hairy-nosed wombat (Lasiorhinus krefftii) faecal microbiome’

ESA Student Prize for Outstanding Speed Talk Presentation 

1st – Andrew Bird, La Trobe University – ‘Sex and spider orchids: An experimental test of which floral traits influence pollinator behaviour’

2nd – Madeleine Holmes, Macquarie University – ‘Pop-up med spas: determining where to build hotspot shelters for frog conservation’

3rd – Jennifer Evans, ANU – ‘Genomic evidence for inbreeding depression in lifetime fitness of an endangered Australian bird’

ESA Student Prize for Outstanding Poster Presentation

1st – Grace Smith, University of the Sunshine Coast – ‘Biodiversity assessment of fire-adapted peatlands in Southeast Queensland using eDNA metabarcoding’

2nd – Jariya Chanachai, Macquarie University – ‘How well do we understand the geographic range size of Australia’s frog species?’

3rd – Daniel White, Deakin University – ‘Recruitment characteristics of threatened water-sensitive alpine plants’

ESA EMR Student Prize for Outstanding Spoken Presentation on Management or Restoration

Jaclyn Harris, Monash University – ‘The Role of Artificial Refuges in Supporting Reptile Communities in a Post-Fire Landscape’

ESA EMR Student Prize for Outstanding Poster Presentation on Management or Restoration

Angie Symon, Deakin University – ‘Foraging ecology of the eastern barred bandicoot across its translocated range’

AFF Student Prize for Outstanding Spoken Presentation on the Biology or Cultivation of an Australian Plant

Courtney Taylor, University of Melbourne – ‘Variability of plant-plant interaction networks ’

AFF Student Prize for Outstanding Poster Presentation on the Biology or Cultivation of an Australian Plant

Emily Tudor, University of Western Australia – ‘Inter- and intraspecific variation in hydrothermal germination niches of widespread and range-restricted triggerplants suggest differential responses to climate change’

Journal of Ecology Student Prize for Outstanding Student Poster Presentation on Studies of Plant Communities, Populations or Individual Species

Marcus Greenwood, UNSW – ‘Distribution shifts of plants with post-fire recruitment’

SCB Student Prize for Best Spoken Presentation on Conservation Biology

Kelsey Hannah, University of Queensland – ‘Understanding the flow of information and evidence in multilingual conservation citations’

Dr Jack Warcup Memorial Prize from the Australasian Mycological Society – Best Student Spoken Presentation in Mycology

Danielle Wallace, University of Melbourne – ‘Lacklustre performance: fungal disease reduces male breeding colouration in a common Australian frog’

Dr Jack Warcup Memorial Prize from the Australasian Mycological Society – Best Student Speed Talk Presentation in Mycology

Avila Naccarella, Deakin University – ‘Fungi – the missing puzzle piece: What role can mycophagous mammals play in restoring ecosystem function?’

ESA Plant Soil Ecology Special Interest Network (SIN) Student Prize – Best Student Spoken Presentation in Plant Soil Ecology Symposium

Shawn Peddle, Flinders University – ‘Soil translocation method impacts on the establishment of microbial communities’

ESA Plant Soil Ecology Special Interest Network (SIN) Student Prize – ‘Pushing the Boundaries Award’ for Student Spoken Presentation in Plant Soil Ecology Symposium

Meike Katharina Heuck, Western Sydney University – ‘Elevated CO2 concentrations play a major role in influencing the functionality of AM fungal communities in agroecosystems’

ESA Plant Soil Ecology Special Interest Network (SIN) Student Prize – Best Student Poster Presentation in ‘Microbes & Mycology’

Nataly Guevara, Deakin University – ‘Harnessing the Power of Microbes: Innovative Approaches to Saltmarsh Restoration’

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Open Awards:

The ESA also awards a number of non-student prizes each year at our conference. This year, these have been awarded to:

Bush Heritage Australia ‘Right Way Science’ Award

1st – Hayley Geyle (Charles Darwin University) and Helen Wilson (Central Land Council) – ‘Integrating systematic and targeted scat collection approaches to estimate the abundance of a culturally significant threatened species on Indigenous lands’

Highly Commended –

Clifford Sunfly, Ngururrpa Rangers – ‘Looking for and Looking after Kulkurru (Night Parrot)’

Jessica Sabatino, Laurie Nona, NabakoLaza, Harriet Holland, and Kathleen Pabai, The Torres Strait Regional Authority Rangers – ‘Biodiversity surveys on Badu Island, Torres Strait – combining Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Western science’

Eunice Woods (Tjakura Rangers) and Rachel Paltridge (Indigenous Desert Alliance) – ‘Mulyamiji March: a national monitoring program for a culturally significant reptile’

Bush Heritage Australia ‘Indigenous-led Science’ Award (Joint Winners)

Tahlia Robinson

AND

ESA Members’ Service Prize

Professor Don Driscoll, Deakin University