Dr Melanie Massaro

Melanie is an associate professor in ecology and ornithology at Charles Sturt University, Albury/Wodonga. Her research has mainly focused on how bird species adapt to changed environmental conditions. Previously, she has studied the consequences of a population bottleneck in the endangered Chatham Island black robin and the eco-physiology of Adélie penguins in the light of climate variability.

As part of her latest research, Melanie studies the Lord Howe currawong and how the recent rodent eradication program has changed this species’ distribution, breeding success and foraging behaviour. During this expedition, she’ll investigate bird abundance and species distributions, while sharing her broad ornithological knowledge.