Current postgraduate projects
Our 50+ PhD and Masters students are working across northern Australia, in Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Nepal, Ecuador and other locations.
Project topics range from the life history of mouth brooding fish, to food security, carbon farming, climate change and more.
Project supervisors are world-renown in their fields and welcome interest from new students. If you are inspired by these projects CDU is keen to accommodate your needs and link you with funding opportunities.
Masters Projects
Can mine site rehabilitation restore First Nations cultural values? | Student: Will Kemp Supervisor: Sean Bellairs |
| To what extent does prescribed burning leverage unburnt habitat in subsequent years in central Australian ecosystems? | Student: Rachel Murphy Supervisor: Stephen Garnett |
PhD Projects
Biodiversity Conservation | |
Using landscape genetics and other tools to understand how spatial patterns of fire affect the dispersal and persistence of mammals on the Tiwi islands | Student: Alex Carey Supervisor: Sam Banks |
The biology and ecology of exploited sharks in the Northern Territory, Australia | Student: Amy Kirke Supervisor: David Crooke |
Attitudinal and behavioural changes in audiences caused by the experience of environmental art | Student: Anthony Albrecht Supervisor: Stephen Garnett |
Management for the conservation of the Northern Quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) at Weipa | Student: Gavin Trewella Supervisor: Brett Murphy |
Investigating the interactions of threatening processes that drive mammal population trends on the Tiwi Islands | Student: Georgina Neave Supervisor: Brett Murphy |
The conservation ecology of the Greater Bilby (Macrotis lagotis) | Student: Hayley Geyle Supervisor: Sam Banks |
Ecophysiological Specialisation of Short-Range and Widespread Gehyra Species | Student: Kade Nukha Skelton Supervisor: Keith Christian |
Individual-based movement ecology and fine-scale genetics in birds | Student: Mara Franziska Muller Supervisor: Hamish Campbell |
Smoke and Mirrors: The effect of urbanisation and fire on the bird assemblages of the Darwin region | Student: Sarah Fischer Supervisor: Andrew Edwards |
Student: Shandala Loving Supervisor: Hamish Campbell | |
Student: Sydney Collett Supervisor: Hamish Campbell | |
The habitat use and genetics of green turtles in the Northern Territory | Student: Natalie Robson Supervisor: Sam Banks |
Movement ecology and natural mortality of threatened river sharks: informing conservation planning | Student: Julia Constance Supervisor: Peter Kyne |
Communities and Livelihoods | |
Ecological processes compromising the consumption of Long-necked turtles (Chelodina oblonga) in the Finniss River floodplain, Northern Territory, Australia | Student: Isabel Ely Supervisor: Stephen Garnett |
Student: Jenny House Supervisor: Natasha Stacey | |
The role and contribution of mangroves to gendered food and nutrition security and livelihoods in the Indo-Pacific region. | Student: Lulu Middleton Supervisor: Natasha Stacey |
Understanding the opportunities, limitations and cultural considerations of integrating unmanned aerial vehicles into the remote healthcare delivery model of the Northern Territory | Student: Vanya Bosiocic Supervisor: Hamish Campbell |
Savanna and arid ecology | |
Simulating long term erosion equilibrium of a rehabilitated mine landform | Student: Devika Nair Supervisor: Sean Bellairs |
Hollows, termites and long-term fire regimes in tropical savannas | Student: Ellen Rochelmeyer Supervisor: Brett Murphy |
Does Buffel Grass (Cenchrus ciliaris) invasion impact plant-animal interactions in an arid system? | Student: Ellen Ryan-colton Supervisor: Christine Schlesinger |
Responses of ant communities to environmental stress and disturbance in Australian tropical savannas: Are the hypogaeic and epigaeic strata decoupled? | Student: Francois Brassard Supervisor: Alan Andersen |
Environmental and disturbance regime constraints on savanna carbon storage in northern Australia | Student: Linda Luck Supervisor: Lindsay Hutley |
Water and Catchments | |
Assessing fish communities in Darwin Harbor utilising Baited Remote Underwater Videos (BRUVs) | Student: Amanda Billotti Supervisor: Osmar Luiz |
Understanding the efficiency and efficacy of underwater video cameras for surveying and monitoring freshwater fishes in tropical wetlands | Student: Bryan Baker Supervisor: Brett Murphy |
Critical flow related trophic ecology of river predators in the Roper River | Student: Colton Perna Supervisor: Keller Kopf |
Student: Kyle Tyler Supervisor: David Crooke | |
Buffering the rising tide: Mangrove sediment response to accelerating sea level rise in Australia | Student: Madeline Goddard Supervisor: Lindsay Hutley |
Removing the 'forever chemicals' (PFAS) from water | Student: Maria Ali Supervisor: Vinuthaa Murthy |
Understanding the impacts of large feral animals on culturally important plant resources in the seasonal wetlands of Arafura Swamp and Bulgul | Student: Sarah Sutcliffe Supervisor: Keith Christian |
The ecology and behaviour of terrestrial avifauna associated with long-lasting waterholes of central Australia. | Student: Simon Votto Supervisor: Jenny Davis |
Understanding the impact of climate change on freshwater floodplain wetlands, with special focus on aquatic invertebrates and larval fish | Student: Tegan Dedman Supervisor: Keller Kopf |
Student: Vanessa Solano Supervisor: Lindsay Hutley | |
Exploring continental-scale groundwater-related processes using Australia-wide hydrogeochemical data | Student: Stephen Lee Supervisor: Dylan Irvine |
Available postgraduate projects
Are you interested in doing a research project? If so, find out what projects we have available. If you’d rather bring your own idea, simply contact a supervisor working in that area.
What's on offer