Associate Professor Duncan Mackay

Academic Status and Web Supervisor

College of Science and Engineering

+61 8 82012723

duncan.mackay@flinders.edu.au

Biological Sciences (011A/008)

GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001, South Australia

I completed an Honours degree at Sydney University studying the homing behaviour of limpets and then took an abiding interest in movement and foraging behaviours to the University of Texas at Austin where I did my PhD on the searching behaviours of ovipositing checkerspot butterflies. On returning to Australia, I continued my research on butterflies during a postdoc with CSIRO before commencing as an academic at Flinders. My current research interests are centred around the biology and conservation of insect-plant interactions, including pollination, herbivory and seed dispersal.

Teaching interests

I coordinate, with Dr. Molly Whalen, the BSc in Biodiversity and Conservation degree.

Topic coordinator

BIOD3001 Biodiversity & Conservation 3

BIOL3152 Conservation Biology and Restoration Ecology

Topic lecturer

BIOL3151 Plant Evolution and Ecology

BIOD1102 Biodiversity & Conservation 1

BIOL2162 Functional Biology and Experimental Design

Supervisory interests

Biodiversity and conservation

Higher degree by research supervision

Current

Principal supervisor: Spider ecology; Fire ecology; Landscape conservation biology (1)

Associate supervisor: Viticulture; Beneficial insects; Pest control (Univ of Adelaide) (1), Plant systematics (1), Restoration ecology; Plant conservation biology; Landscape ecology (1)

Completion

Principal supervisor: Population genetics of aquatic invertebrates (1), Ecology of invasive weeds; Species distribution modelling (1), Ant-plant interactions; Fire ecology; Seed dispersal (1), Butterfly ecology; Conservation biology; Population genetics (1), Conservation biology; Plant ecology (1), Ecology of invasive ants (1)

Associate supervisor: Conservation biology; Ant ecology (1), Marine biology (1), Ecology of invasive weeds; Species distribution modelling (1), Conservation biology; Plant-pollinator interactions (1), Avian ecology (1), Palaeontology (1), Plant systematics (1), Invertebrate conservation biology (1), Reptile ecology (1)

Professional engagement

I am interested in involving the community in conservation activities and I am currently working with other researchers at Flinders to develop interpretive material to stimulate interest and activity by members of the public in conserving plant-animal interactions.

Expert for media contact

Animals

Behaviour

Insects

Statistics

Animal Behaviours

Biostatistics

Conservation Biology

Insect-Plant Interactions

Available for contact via

+61 8 82012723

duncan.mackay@flinders.edu.au