Overview
Background
I am an ARC Future Fellow with 13 years as an active researcher (2 years academic interruption). My research seeks to bring significant fundamental advances about how animals adapt to changing environments and see its translation into industry and government as a critical aspect of my academic career. A critical part of my research has been the development of innovative genomic tools to enhance the conservation of Australian animals, including the development and validation of [1] non-invasive molecular disease diagnostics tools, [2] next generation sequencing for improved genotyping of DNA extracted from faecal samples , [3] metagenomics as tool for the identification of meta-populations, and most recently [4] airborne eDNA as a tool to monitor threatened species (e.g. koalas and its surrounding mammalian community). I am also a passionate advocate for women in STEM and was named Queensland Tall Poppy Scientist of the Year in 2020 and SuperStar of STEM Science and Technology Australia (2017).
Availability
- Associate Professor Celine Frere is:
- Available for supervision
Qualifications
- Bachelor of Science, The University of Queensland
- Bachelor (Honours) of Science (Advanced), The University of Queensland
- Doctor of Philosophy, University of New South Wales
Research interests
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Urban evolutionary ecology
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Social evolution
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Behavioural adaptation
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Conservation
Works
Search Professor Celine Frere’s works on UQ eSpace
2021
Other Outputs
The epidemiology and genomics of a virulent emerging fungal pathogen in an Australian reptile
Class, B., Powell, D., Terraube, J., Albery, G., Delmé, C., Bansal, S. and Frère, C.H. (2021). The epidemiology and genomics of a virulent emerging fungal pathogen in an Australian reptile. doi: 10.1101/2021.10.22.465237
2021
Journal Article
Maternal effects and fitness consequences of individual variation in bottlenose dolphins' ecological niche
Strickland, Kasha, Mann, Janet, Foroughirad, Vivienne, Levengood, Alexis L. and Frère, Céline H. (2021). Maternal effects and fitness consequences of individual variation in bottlenose dolphins' ecological niche. Journal of Animal Ecology, 90 (8) 1365-2656.13513, 1-13. doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.13513
2021
Other Outputs
Immediate and long-term genetic consequences of linear transport infrastructure: can fauna crossing mitigate its cost?
Frere, Celine, O'Reilly, Gabe, Strickland, Kasha, Schultz, Anthony , Hohwieler, K., Hanger, J., de Villiers, D., Cristescu, R., Powell, D. and Sherwin, W. (2021). Immediate and long-term genetic consequences of linear transport infrastructure: can fauna crossing mitigate its cost?. doi: 10.22541/au.164787523.38878185/v1
2021
Journal Article
Genome sequence of the fungus Nannizziopsis barbatae, an emerging reptile pathogen
Powell, Daniel, Jones, Ashley, Kent, Nicola, Kaur, Parwinder, Bar, Ido, Schwessinger, Benjamin and Frère, Céline H. (2021). Genome sequence of the fungus Nannizziopsis barbatae, an emerging reptile pathogen. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 10 (1) e0121320. doi: 10.1128/mra.01213-20
2021
Journal Article
Difficulties of assessing the impacts of the 2019–2020 bushfires on koalas
Cristescu, Romane H., Gardiner, Riana, Terraube, Julien, McDonald, Kye, Powell, Dan, Levengood, Alexis L. and Frère, Céline H. (2021). Difficulties of assessing the impacts of the 2019–2020 bushfires on koalas. Austral Ecology, 48 (1), 12-18. doi: 10.1111/aec.13120
2020
Journal Article
Cross-continental emergence of Nannizziopsis barbatae disease may threaten wild Australian lizards
Peterson, Nicola R., Rose, Karrie, Shaw, Stephanie, Hyndman, Tim H., Sigler, Lynne, Kurtböke, D. İpek, Llinas, Josh, Littleford-Colquhoun, Bethan L., Cristescu, Romane and Frère, Celine (2020). Cross-continental emergence of Nannizziopsis barbatae disease may threaten wild Australian lizards. Scientific Reports, 10 (1) 20976, 1-12. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-77865-7
2020
Other Outputs
Drones, detection dogs, poo spotting: what’s the best way to conduct Australia’s Great Koala Count?
Cristescu, Romane H., Frere, Celine and Whisson, Desley (2020, 11 26). Drones, detection dogs, poo spotting: what’s the best way to conduct Australia’s Great Koala Count? The conversation
2020
Journal Article
Shrinking into the big city: influence of genetic and environmental factors on urban dragon lizard morphology and performance capacity
Baxter-Gilbert, James, Riley, Julia L., Frère, Celine H. and Whiting, Martin J. (2020). Shrinking into the big city: influence of genetic and environmental factors on urban dragon lizard morphology and performance capacity. Urban Ecosystems, 24 (4), 661-674. doi: 10.1007/s11252-020-01065-4
2020
Other Outputs
Does landscape connectivity translate into genetic connectivity of koalas?
Hohwieler, Katrin, Chudleigh, Sally, Frere, Celine and Cristescu, Romane (2020). Does landscape connectivity translate into genetic connectivity of koalas?. Interim Report Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia: Noosa Biosphere.
2020
Journal Article
Juvenile social dynamics reflect adult reproductive strategies in bottlenose dolphins
Galezo, Allison A., Foroughirad, Vivienne, Krzyszczyk, Ewa, Frère, Céline H. and Mann, Janet (2020). Juvenile social dynamics reflect adult reproductive strategies in bottlenose dolphins. Behavioral Ecology, 31 (5), 1159-1171. doi: 10.1093/beheco/araa068
2020
Other Outputs
Cool Country Koala Project 2019-2020: Northern Tablelands Koala Habitat and Pilot Genetic Project
Schultz, Anthony, Hohwieler, Katrin, Frere, Celine and Cristescu, Romane (2020). Cool Country Koala Project 2019-2020: Northern Tablelands Koala Habitat and Pilot Genetic Project. https://www.lls.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/1466546/Cool-Country-Koala-Project-2019-2020-Northern-Tablelands-Koala-Habitat-and-Pilot-Genetic-Project-.pdf: NSW government.
2020
Journal Article
Fitness benefits of male dominance behaviours depend on the degree of individual inbreeding in a polyandrous lizard
Piza-Roca, Carmen, Schoeman, David and Frere, Celine (2020). Fitness benefits of male dominance behaviours depend on the degree of individual inbreeding in a polyandrous lizard. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 287 (1927) 20200097, 20200097. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0097
2020
Other Outputs
Scientists find burnt, starving koalas weeks after the bushfires
Cristescu, Romane H. and Frere, Celine (2020, 03 16). Scientists find burnt, starving koalas weeks after the bushfires The Conversation
2020
Journal Article
Sniffing out solutions to enhance conservation: How detection dogs can maximise research and management outcomes, through the example of koalas
Cristescu, Romane H., Miller, Russell L. and Frère, Céline H. (2020). Sniffing out solutions to enhance conservation: How detection dogs can maximise research and management outcomes, through the example of koalas. Australian Zoologist, 40 (3), 416-432. doi: 10.7882/az.2019.030
2019
Journal Article
Quantifying koala locomotion strategies: implications for the evolution of arborealism in marsupials
Gaschk, Joshua L., Frère, Celine H. and Clemente, Christofer J. (2019). Quantifying koala locomotion strategies: implications for the evolution of arborealism in marsupials. Journal of Experimental Biology, 222 (24) jeb207506. doi: 10.1242/jeb.207506
2019
Other Outputs
Koala-detecting dogs sniff out flaws in Australia’s threatened species protection
Cristescu, Romane H., Schultz, Anthony, Frere, Celine, Schoeman, David and Scales, Kylie (2019, 08 05). Koala-detecting dogs sniff out flaws in Australia’s threatened species protection The Conversation
2019
Journal Article
Robust science underpinning legislation can create better outcomes for threatened species impacted by infrastructure projects : robust science is critical for EIAs
Cristescu, R. H., Scales, K. L., Schultz, A. J., Miller, R. L., Schoeman, D. S., Dique, D. and Frère, C. H. (2019). Robust science underpinning legislation can create better outcomes for threatened species impacted by infrastructure projects : robust science is critical for EIAs. Animal Conservation, 22 (4), 328-330. doi: 10.1111/acv.12528
2019
Journal Article
Environmental impact assessments can misrepresent species distributions: a case study of koalas in Queensland, Australia
Cristescu, R. H., Scales, K. L., Schultz, A. J., Miller, R. L., Schoeman, D. S., Dique, D. and Frère, C. H. (2019). Environmental impact assessments can misrepresent species distributions: a case study of koalas in Queensland, Australia. Animal Conservation, 22 (4), 314-323. doi: 10.1111/acv.12455
2019
Journal Article
Applying network analysis to birdsong research
Potvin, Dominique A., Strickland, Kasha, MacDougall-Shackleton, Elizabeth A., Slade, Joel W.G. and Frère, Celine H. (2019). Applying network analysis to birdsong research. Animal Behaviour, 154, 95-109. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.06.012
2019
Other Outputs
Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) Koala Monitoring: Progress Report
Cristescu, Romane, Gardiner, Riana and Frere, Céline (2019). Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) Koala Monitoring: Progress Report. Redland City Council website: Redland City Council.
Funding
Current funding
Supervision
Availability
- Associate Professor Celine Frere is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
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Threatened species conservation
I have PhD projects available which focus on developing new and innovative tools for the conservation of threatened species. These include airborne eDNA and microbiome analyses. Contact me if you are interested in applying genomic tools to advance conservation of animals.
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Social Evolution
I have PhD projects available to study the evolution of sociality using long-term datasets on individuals which include, but not limited to, species like eastern water dragons, dolphins, koalas and many others. I seek PhD students which are keen to work across species using publically available datasets to answer important questions about the evolution of the sharing of relationships.
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Urban Evolution and Emerging Infectious Diseases
I have PhD projects investigating links between urbanisation, animals' immunity and emerging fungal diseases.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Urbanisation and the emergence of wildlife fungal diseases
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Rebecca Cramp, Professor Craig Franklin
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Doctor Philosophy
Koalas Poop Plenty: Harnessing the Scat Microbiome as a Conservation Tool
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Craig Franklin
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Doctor Philosophy
airborne eDNA for the management of terrestrial biodiversity
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Nicola Jackson
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Doctor Philosophy
Estimating disease susceptibility to fungal pathogen in animals
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Katrina McGuigan
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Doctor Philosophy
Social behaviour and emerging fungal diseases in eastern water dragons.
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Rebecca Cramp
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Doctor Philosophy
Mechanisms of disease avoidance in eastern water dragons.
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Nicola Jackson
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Doctor Philosophy
the role of urbanisation on the emergence of reptile fungal pathogens in Australia
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Nicola Jackson
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Doctor Philosophy
Social plasticity and maternal effects in dolphins
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Rebecca Dunlop
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Doctor Philosophy
Behavioural and physiological responses of a large ectotherm to environmental conditions
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Craig Franklin
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Doctor Philosophy
Understanding fungal infections in wild reptiles
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Viviana Gonzalez Astudillo, Dr Laura Grogan
Completed supervision
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
Using spatial ecology to reveal sociality: The movement ecology, behaviour, and social structure of the estuarine crocodile, Crocodylus porosus
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Craig Franklin
Media
Enquiries
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