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Dr Lucy Commander

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Position:
Post Doc Research Scientist
Phone:
(+61 8) 9480 3969
Fax:
(+61 8) 9480 3641
Email:
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Research themes:

  • Seed Ecology
  • Seed Germination and Dormancy
  • Karrikinolide
  • Physiological Dormancy
  • Restoration Ecology
  • Mine Rehabilitation
  • Global arid-zone ecology

Academic background:

 

Lucy completed her undergraduate degree in Horticulture at the University of Western Australia and it was during her 4th year project in 2003 that she developed an interest in seed ecology and mine rehabilitation. After graduating with first class honours, Lucy worked as a research assistant with the Seed Science team in the Science Directorate at BGPA for 12 months. In January 2005 she commenced her PhD project with the Restoration Ecology and Seed Biology groups. The project combined her fascination with Australian seed germination and dormancy with her interest in applied research and desire to produce practical findings for improving restoration techniques. Lucy completed her PhD in 2008, and is now continuing her work with seed germination and dormancy for mine rehabilitation with Telfer Gold Mine and Rio Tinto Iron Ore in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Lucy is passionate about improving restoration through efficient seed use, including optimising seed quality and storage, and understanding germination and dormancy. Lucy is also interested in arid-zone ecology, seed ecology and seedling recruitment. Currently she is researching the interaction between loss of physiological dormancy and karrikinolide (an active component of smoke) and germination speed of arid zone seeds across temperature and water potential.

Projects:

2010-present - Delivering effective seed resource management for rehabilitation in the Pilbara.
Collaborators: Dr David Merritt, Dr Deanna Rokich, Dr Kingsley Dixon.
Industry Partner: Rio Tinto Iron Ore.

2008-present - Seed germination, dormancy and storage of key species at Telfer Mine in the eastern Pilbara for use in rehabilitation.
Collaborators: Dr David Merritt, Dr Deanna Rokich, Dr Kingsley Dixon, Peter Golos.
Industry Partner: Newcrest Mining Limited (Telfer Gold Mine)

2005-2008 - A program to research and develop integrated restoration of borrow pits for Shark Bay Salt (PhD project)
Supervisors: Dr Kingsley Dixon, Dr Deanna Rokich and Dr David Merritt
Industry Partner: Shark Bay Salt Pty Ltd

Students:

• Sarah Fairbrass (2011) ‘Seed biology of the fire ephemeral, Anthocercis littorea.’

• Clare Whyte (2010) ‘The effects of water stress, salinity, and temperature on germination, seedling emergence, and seedling biomass: implications for restoration in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area.’

 

Publications:

Refereed publications:


  • Flematti GR, Scaffidi A, Goddard-Borger ED, Heath CH, Nelson DC, Commander LE, Stick RV, Dixon KW, Smith SM, Ghisalberti EL (2010) Structure - activity relationship of karrikin germination stimulants. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 58, 8612-8617.
  • Commander LE, Merritt DJ, Rokich DP, Dixon KW (2009) The role of after ripening in promoting germination of arid zone seeds: a study on six Australian species. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 161, 411-421.
  • Commander LE, Merritt DJ, Rokich DP, Dixon KW (2009) Seed biology of Australian arid zone species: Germination of 18 species used for rehabilitation. Journal of Arid Environments 73, 617-625.
  • Commander LE, Merritt DJ, Rokich DP, Flematti GR, Dixon KW (2008) Seed germination of Solanum spp. (Solanaceae) for use in rehabilitation and commercial industries. Australian Journal of Botany 56, 333-341.
  • Turner SR, Commander LE, Baskin JM, Baskin CC, Dixon KW (2009)
    Germination behaviour of Astroloma xerophyllum (Ericaceae), a species with woody indehiscent endocarps. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 160, 299-311.
  • Turner SR, Merritt DJ, Ridley E, Commander LE, Baskin JM, Baskin CC, Dixon KW (2006) Ecophysiology of seed dormancy in the Australian endemic species Acanthocarpus preissii (Dasypogonaceae). Annals of Botany 98, 1137-1144.

Unrefereed publications, reports and theses

  • Commander LE (2008)
    Seed biology and rehabilitation in the arid zone: a study in the Shark Bay World Heritage Area, Western Australia.
    PhD Thesis, School of Plant Biology, The University of Western Australia.
  • Commander LE, Merritt DJ, Rokich DP, Dixon KW (2007)
    Seed germination and dormancy of arid zone species of Australia.
    In 'Proceedings of the Seed Ecology II 2007 Conference, 9-13 September, Perth, Australia'. (Eds SR Turner, DJ Merritt, S Clarke, LE Commander and KW Dixon) p. 15. (Kings Park and Botanic Garden) Perth, Western Australia.
  • Commander LE, Merritt DJ, Turner SR, Rokich DP, Dixon KW (2005)
    Seed germination biology of arid zone species in Western Australia.
    In 'The World Conference on Ecological Restoration (17th Conference of the Society for Ecological Restoration International) 12-18th September, 2005' Zaragoza, Spain.
  • Commander LE, Plummer JA, Turner DW (2005)
    Terminalia canescens (Combretaceae), a tropical tree with physiologically dormant seed.
    In '8th International Workshop on Seeds, 8-13th May, 2005' Brisbane, Australia.
  • Merritt DJ, Turner SR, Commander LE, Dixon KW (2004)
    Integrated seed science for delivering a better restoration outcome.
    In 'Proceedings of the Fifth Australian Workshop on Native Seed Biology'. (Eds SW Adkins, PJ Ainsley, SM Bellairs, DJ Coates and LC Bell) pp. 69-76. (Australian Centre for Minerals Extension and Research) Brisbane, Australia.
  • Turner SR, Merritt DJ, Clarke S, Commander LE, Dixon KW (2007) (Eds)
    'Proceedings of the Seed Ecology II 2007 Conference, 9-13 September, Perth, Australia.' (Kings Park and Botanic Garden: Perth, Australia)
  • Commander LE (2003)
    The role of the wet season in germination of Terminalia canescens (DC.) Radlk, a tropical tree.
    Fourth Year Project Thesis, The University of Western Australia.