- Position:
- PhD Student
- Phone:
- (+61 8) 9480 3614
- Fax:
- (+61 8) 9480 3641
- Email:
- This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
RESEARCH INTERESTS:
- Habitat selection
- Landscape ecology
- Dispersal
- Pollination ecology
- Pollination restoration
- Conservation genetics
ACADEMIC BACKGROUND:
2000-2003 Bachelor of Science (BSc.) Marine Science Program, (Majors: Zoology and Marine Biology), University of Western Australia.
2006-2008 Master of Science in Ecology and Evolution, (MSc. Ecology and Evolution), University of Bern, Switzerland. Thesis title: ‘Ecological requirements of the threatened Ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana in temperate Europe (Swiss Alps) and in the Mediterranean (Catalonia)’. Supervisor: Prof. Raphaël Arlettaz.
CURRENT PROJECT:
Title: Landscape ecology and conservation genetics of a rare, sexually deceptive orchid and its obligate pollinator
University: School of Plant Biology, University of Western Australia
Supervisors: Prof. Kingsley Dixon, Prof. Rod Peakall (ANU), and Prof. Raphael Didham (UWA)
Project description: Conservation of complex ecosystems and threatened species requires a detailed understanding of their ecology. Since it is often difficult in highly endemic floras with large numbers of threatened species, such as the Southwest Australian Floristic Region (SWAFR), to research conservation of all threatened species, one approach is to concentrate effort on a model species. Here, we use Drakaea elastica, a nationally threatened, sexually deceptive orchid endemic to the Swan Coastal Plain, Western Australia. The aim of this project is to determine the multi-scale habitat requirements of D. elastica, along with that of its obligate thynnid wasp pollinator, Zaspilothynnus gilesi. This will be complimented by an investigation of population genetics of D. elastica. In addition, a mark-recapture study on Z. gilesi will yield information on movements and vital rates of the wasp, which in turn can affect gene-flow of D. elastica. This research will allow the compilation of a habitat suitability model to guide conservation, such as the designation of protected areas.
PUBLICATIONS:
8. Menz MHM & Arlettaz R (2012) The precipitous decline of the ortolan bunting: time to build on scientific evidence to inform conservation management. Oryx 46:122-129.
7. Menz MHM, Phillips RD, Winfree R, Kremen C, Aizen MA, Johnson SD & Dixon KW (2011) Reconnecting plants and pollinators: challenges in the restoration of pollination mutualisms. Trends in Plant Science 16, 4-12.
6. Menz MHM, Brotons L & Arlettaz R (2009) Habitat selection by Ortolan Buntings Emberiza hortulana in post-fire succession in Catalonia: implications for the conservation of farmland populations. Ibis 151, 752-761.
5. Menz MHM, Mosimann-Kampe P & Arlettaz R (2009) Foraging habitat selection in the last Ortolan Bunting Emberiza hortulana population in Switzerland: final lessons before extinction. Ardea 97, 323-333.
4. Menz MHM (2009) New records of Hypolimnas bolina nerina (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) from the Pilbara region, Western Australia. Australian Entomologist 36, 49-50.
3. Reichlin TS, Schaub M, Menz MHM, Mermod M, Portner P, Arlettaz R & Jenni L (2009) Migration patterns of Hoopoe (Upupa epops) and Wryneck (Jynx torquilla): an analysis of European ring recoveries. Journal of Ornithology 150, 393-400.
2. Menz MHM & Barnett BC (2007) Lechenaultia divaricata (Goodeniaceae) from the Great Victoria Desert, a new species record for Western Australia. Western Australian Naturalist 25, 255-257.
1. Menz MHM & Cullen PP (2006) Occurrence of the Barking Gecko Underwoodisaurus milii (Bory 1825) (Gekkonidae) in the Pilbara Region, Western Australia. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 89, 89-90.
Unrefereed article:
1. Menz M (2011) The importance of pollinators in ecological restoration: its about the birds and the bees. For People and Plants 75:24-25.