PhD in Waterbird Ecology — University of Melbourne
Connectedness of Brolga populations in the southern Murray Darling Basin: breeding, movement ecology and responses to water in the environment
We are seeking an enthusiastic PhD candidate to join the Water, Environment and Agriculture Program, Department of Infrastructure Engineering (https://infrastructure.eng.unimelb.edu.au/) at The University of Melbourne. The successful candidate will undertake ecological research aligned with the Flow-MER program (https://flow-mer.org.au/), which is the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder (CEWH)’s on-ground science program that assesses the impact of environmental watering actions in the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB).
Through monitoring, evaluation and research (MER) activities, Flow-MER aims to demonstrate environmental outcomes and inform management of Commonwealth Environmental Water to improve river health and biodiversity. The current Flow-MER Program runs from July 2024 until June 2029 with MER activities across a range of themes including Cultural Outcomes (led by First Nations groups), Native vegetation, Waterbirds,
Native fish, Invertebrates, River metabolism and Physical form.
This project will contribute to the Flow-MER research program in wetlands of north-central Victoria by studying how water in the landscape affects the abundance, distribution and breeding success of Brolga, an iconic and culturally significant Australian waterbird.
The successful applicant will enjoy a range of advantages, including:
- Generous funding scheme (see below).
- Research training at the leading university in Australia.
- Working as an integral part of the Goulburn River and Northern Victorian Tributaries project team, with members from three universities, two consulting companies, two environmental management agencies, and multiple First Nations organisations.
- Studying with a cohort of PhD students embedded in the same program at similar stages of candidacy.
- Collaboration with networks of freshwater researchers, managers, policy makers, and community and First Nations groups across Victoria and the Murray Darling Basin.
Application process
Prospective candidates must be eligible to apply for an Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship at the University of Melbourne and be highly competitive for that award. We will select the candidate who is most competitive for an RTP award and support them through to the University of Melbourne PhD program application stage.
To be clear, selection at the EOI stage does not guarantee a PhD position at the University of Melbourne, but we will not support applicants who are unlikely to succeed in their scholarship application. For guidance, to be competitive for an RPT scholarship students based outside Australia should have a Weighted Average Mark on previous degrees of ~85% or higher. Local students (including overseas students who have studied in Australia) require ~82%.
Please email your expression of interest to Prof Angus Webb & Dr Wim Bovill (contact details below). The EOI should include:
- Cover letter explaining why you believe that you would be a suitable candidate for the position, including details of experience conducting relevant work (fieldwork experience is highly desirable)
- CV
- Full statement of academic results for undergraduate and any postgraduate study
- Research statement of up to 300 words detailing your initial ideas about how research would proceed.
EOIs due: As soon as possible.
Applications for RTP are held in several rounds each year. If a competitive candidate is identified in time for the July round (below), we will support their application. Otherwise, we will consider EOIs for RTP application in the October round. Applicants wishing to be considered for the July round should submit EOIs by July 7, 2025.
RTP Applications due: July 31, 2025 (outcomes notified September 26, 2025). Commence: September 2025 – January 2026
Stipend: Research Training Program Scholarship or Melbourne Research Scholarship
$38,500 p.a. tax-free (2025 rate; indexed in later years) up to 3.5 yrs. Top-up stipend: $10,000 p.a. tax-free industry top-up. Operational budget: Up to $30,000 over the life of the project to cover operational costs. Tuition: Covered by the University of Melbourne scholarship
Further Information: Enquiries may be made by email to the addresses below.
Project Supervisors
Prof J Angus Webb
Professor In Hydrology and Water Resources
The University of Melbourne, Department of Infrastructure Engineering
Level 6, Melbourne Connect, 700 Swanston St, Carlton
The University of Melbourne, 3010, Victoria, Australia
p: +61 425 884 959
e: angus.webb@unimelb.edu.au
Dr Inka Veltheim
Senior Ornithologist
Arthur Rylah Institute of Research, Department of Energy, Environment and
Climate Action
123 Brown St, Heidelberg, 3084, Victoria, Australia
e: inka.veltheim@deeca.vic.gov.au
Dr Wim Bovill
Research Fellow – Applied Freshwater Ecology
The University of Melbourne, Department of Infrastructure Engineering
Level 6, Melbourne Connect, 700 Swanston St, Carlton
The University of Melbourne, 3010, Victoria, Australia
e: wbovill@unimelb.edu.au.
Project description
The Brolga (Grus rubicunda) is a culturally significant species of crane that is endangered in Victoria because of removal and modification of the shallow, seasonally inundated freshwater wetlands in which it breeds. Today, most of Victoria’s Brolgas are found in the state’s south-west, but there is a small and potentially isolated population on the floodplains of northern Victoria that is estimated to number just 50–100 individual birds. This project will investigate the status of the northern Victorian Brolga population, its connections to (or isolation from) Brolga populations elsewhere, and priorities for conservation.
Improving successful breeding is critical in the conservation of Brolga. Adaptive management of water for the environment may play a central role in this by providing and improving breeding habitat at important breeding sites and at times of year when it is needed. On the Broken Creek Floodplain, Moodie Swamp receives Commonwealth environmental water that could be managed adaptively to support Brolga breeding. In 2026
the Commonwealth Environmental Water Holder’s Flow-MER program will fit GPS tracking devices to 5 Brolgas at Moodie Swamp to track their movements and gain valuable insights into habitat use, breeding attempts and movements of Brolga in the region. These insights can inform management of wetland habitats.
This PhD project will have an applied conservation management focus, to understand how environmental water allocations can best be managed to support this species. To address this main aim the successful applicant will analyse the movement data from tagged birds and will develop a program of complementary research to collect additional information on wetland occupancy and breeding success of tagged and untagged Brolgas. These additional components may include coordinated population censuses (including recruitment data), analyses of complementary tracking movement data (including available tracking data from
other tagged Brolga in Victoria), detailed observational fieldwork, genetic analyses, and potential surveys of other waterbird species that may compete for nesting habitat.
Specific research questions will be codeveloped with the successful candidate, but may include:
- What is the current size of the northern Victorian population, and how connected is it to other populations within (or outside) the Murray-Darling Basin?
- How connected are populations of Brolgas that use different wetland complexes and what are the landscape-scale relationships between breeding and non-breeding habitat in northern Victoria?
- What is the annual breeding success, survival and recruitment of Brolgas in the northern Victorian population?
- What are the hydrological conditions and other factors associated with attempted and successful breeding?
- What is the role of water for the environment for supporting successful breeding of Brolga?
- Are there undocumented breeding and non-breeding locations that play a role in supporting this population?
- What are the likely recommendations for maintaining and managing habitat at these locations?
Key competencies:
This project will require data collection in the field (rural and semi-remote areas). Tagging will involve handling large birds in compliance with Animal Ethics requirements (training will be provided). The successful applicant must hold or obtain a valid Victorian Drivers Licence and be able to work away from home for days at a time. A strong background in ecology/biology and experience conducting fieldwork is desired.