Fields of Research

Animal protection (incl. pests and pathogens)
Animal management
Animal reproduction and breeding
Soil physics
Animal production
Agricultural systems analysis and modelling
Animal welfare
Animal growth and development
Horticultural crop protection (incl. pests, diseases and weeds)
Veterinary parasitology
Microbiology
Biosecurity science and invasive species ecology
Sustainable agricultural development
Climate change processes
Environmental management
Human impacts of climate change and human adaptation
Agricultural production systems simulation
Natural resource management
Pattern recognition
Crop and pasture protection (incl. pests, diseases and weeds)
Crop and pasture production

Research Objectives

Sheep for wool
Sheep for meat
Soils
Beef cattle
Climate change adaptation measures (excl. ecosystem)
Climatological hazards (e.g. extreme temperatures, drought and wildfires)
Raw wool
Berry fruit (excl. kiwifruit)
Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
Poultry
Control of pests, diseases and exotic species in terrestrial environments
Evaluation, allocation, and impacts of land use
Non-cereal crops (non-cereal crops for hay/silage/green feed)
Environmentally sustainable plant production
Social impacts of climate change and variability
Other environmental policy, climate change and natural hazards

Career Best Publications

A method of using a genetic algorithm to examine the optimum structure of the Australian sheep breeding industry: open nucleus breeding systems, MOET and AI; Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
Causes of preweaning mortality on a large intensive piggery; Australian Veterinary Journal
Estimating the incidence of fly myiases in Australian sheep flocks: develpment of a weather-driven regression model; Medical and Veterinary Entomology
Modelling pesticide residues on greasy wool: experimental studies; Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
Repeated estimation of liver cholesterol synthesis in vivo using the inhibitor AY-9944; Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta: International Journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics
The role of ascorbic acid in the regulation of cholesterol metabolism and in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis; Atherosclerosis

Research Publications

). Proposal to amend the Australian standards for edible fats and oils; Food Technology Australia
A case study on the use of virtual fencing to intensively graze Angus heifers using moving front and back-fences; Frontiers in Animal Science
A comparison of deterministic and stochastic models for predicting the impacts of different sheep body lice (Bovicola ovis) management practices; Animal Production Science
A method for estimating the economic value of changes in the risk of breech strike; Animal Production Science
A method of using a genetic algorithm to examine the optimum structure of the Australian sheep breeding industry: open nucleus breeding systems, MOET and AI; Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
A regional model of sheep lice management practices for predicting the impact of treatment for lice when no lice are detected; Animal Production Science
A regional model of sheep lice management practices to examine the impact of managing straying sheep combined with other management choices; Animal Production Science
A regional model of sheep lice to study the effect on lice prevalence and costs for Australian farms using a range of treatment efficacy in combination with other lice control strategies; Animal Production Science
A selection index for carpet wool sheep incorporating fleece weight, wool quality, liveweight and reproduction; Australian Association of Animal Production
A weighted coefficient model for estimation of Australian daily soil temperature at depths of 5 cm to 100 cm based on air temperature and rainfall; Australian Journal of Soil Research
Abnormal cholesterol uptake, storage and synthesis in the livers of 2-acetylaminofluorene-fed rats; Cancer Research
Biochemistry of natural and amprolium induced polioencephalomalacia in sheep; Australian Veterinary Journal
Biochemistry of natural and amprolium induced polioencephalomalacia in sheep; Australian. Biochemistry Society
Blowfly succession from possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) carrion in a sheep farming zone; Medical & Veterinary Entomology
Breeding and management for specialty carpet wool production; Australian Association of Animal Production
Causes of preweaning mortality on a large intensive piggery; Aust. Adv. Vet. Sci
Causes of preweaning mortality on a large intensive piggery; Australian Veterinary Journal
Cholesterol synthesis in the liver, ileum and lung of the guinea pig; Australian. Biochemistry Society
Cholesterol synthesis in the liver, intestine and lung of the guinea pig; Lipids
Cholesterol uptake, storage and synthesis in livers of carcinogen-treated rats; Australian. Biochemistry Society
Co-developing and improving digital tools for increased drought resilience with, and for Tasmanian farmers : Project update
Comparative costs, chemical treatments and flystrike rates in mulesed and unmulesed sheep flocks as predicted by a weather-driven model; Animal Production Science
Control of cholesterol synthesis in hepatomas: Absence of diurnal rhythm in Morris hepatomas 7794A and 9618A; European Journal of Cancer
Control of lipid synthesis in cancerous and precancerous liver; 10th International Cancer Congress, Houston
Control of the diurnal rhythm of mammalian cholesterogenesis; Australian. Biochemistry Society
Dag scores and mean crutching period for mulesed and unmulesed weaners; International Journal of Sheep and Wool Science
Defective control of liver cholesterogenesis in rats fed the carcinogen N-2-fluorenylacetamide, measured in vivo using the inhibitor AY-9944; Australian. Biochemistry Society
Development of a model based on Bayesian networks to estimate the probability of sheep lice presence at shearing; Animal Production Science
Development of a Simple Method to Assess the Number of Lucilia cuprina Caught in Lucitrap(R) Fly Traps; Wool Technology and Sheep Breeding
Differences between experimental pesticide treatments and actual farm practice; Australian Sheep Veterinary Conference
Diurnal variation in the feed intake of guinea pigs; Chronobiologia
Diurnal variation in the feeding pattern of guinea pigs; N M C D: (Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases)
Diurnal variation in the feeding pattern of rabbits; Life Sciences
Effect of adrenalectomy on the diurnal variation of hepatic cholesterogenesis in the rat; Journal of Lipid Research
Effects of long wool insecticide treatment on lice members and wool damage on sheep; Animal Production Science
Erythrocyte pyruvate kinase deficiency in Basenji dogs; New Zealand Veterinary Journal
Estimating the incidence of fly myiases in Australian sheep flocks: develpment of a weather-driven regression model; Medical and Veterinary Entomology
Estimation of lamb deaths within 5 days of birth associated with cold weather; Animal Production Science
Estimation of risk factors associated with difficult birth in ewes; Animal Production Science
Evaluation of tests for diagnosis of lead exposure in sheep; Australian Veterinary Journal
Factors limiting the value of AI and MOET in a three-tiered sheep breeding system; Australian Association of Animal Breeding Genetics
FlyBoss Tools: Product Display; R&D Insights Forum
FlyBoss: a flystrike information and decision support system; Animal Production Science
FlyBoss: a new blowfly strike management website; World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology
Flytrapping in Tasmania: effective use of traps in a cool temperate climate; FLICS Conference
Flytrapping in Tasmania: use of traps for flystrike control and monitoring fly populations; FLICS Conference
Gene frequencies and body weights of feral cats,Felis catus (L.), from five Australian localities and from Macquarie Island; Australian Journal of Zoology
Genetic values for Elliottdale carpet wool sheep; Proceedings of the Australian Association Animal Breeding Genetics
Guidelines for treatment of lice in sheep with long wool based on a model of the development of wool damage; Australian Veterinary Journal
Haplotypes, supratypes and ancestral haplotype; 7th International Congress of Immunology
Industry benefits from using genomic information in two- and three-tier sheep breeding systems; Animal Production Science
Influence of the carcinogen 2-acetylaminofluorene on rat feeding behaviour; Journal of Interdisciplinary Cycle Research
Influence of the carcinogen N-2-fluorenylacetamide on rat feeding behaviour; Australian Society Expt. Path.
Inherited erythrocyte pyruvate kinase deficiency in Australian Basenji dogs; Australian. Biochemistry Society
Inherited pyruvate kinase deficiency and normal haematological values in Australian Basenji dogs; Australian Veterinary Journal
Key factors affecting mortality of adult ewes in extensive Australian conditions: Applications for welfare assessment; Small Ruminant Research
Lack of tumour incidence in mice prone to liver and mammary cancer; Australian Society of Medical
LiceBoss update
LiceBoss: A decision support website for control of sheep lice (Bovicola ovis Schrank); Fourth Internation Congress on the Phiraptera
LiceBoss: A lice decision support system; Australian Sheep Veterinarians 2007 Conference
LiceBoss: A sheep lice control decision support system; New Zealand Parasitological Society
Loss of control of cholesterol synthesis in precancerous liver; Australian. Biochemistry Society
Loss of control of cholesterol synthesis in precancerous liver; Australian Society of Medical
Loss of feedback control of rat liver cholesterol synthesis, as measured in vivo, during the early stages of hepatocarcinogenesis; Australian Society of Medical
Measurement of an indicator of sheep temperament based on recording movement within a commercial weighing crate; International Journal of Sheep and Wool Science
Metabolic controls in precancerous liver: defective control of cholesterol synthesis in rats fed N-2-fluorenylacetamide; European Journal of Cancer
Metabolic controls in precancerous liver: II. Loss of feedback control of cholesterol synthesis measured repeatedly in vivo, during treatment with the carcinogens N-2-fluorenylacetamide and aflatoxin; European Journal of Cancer
Metabolic controls in precancerous liver: III. Further studies on control of lipid synthesis during N-2-Fluorenylacetamide feeding; European Journal of Cancer
Metabolic controls in precancerous liver: IV. Loss of feedback control of cholesterol synthesis and impaired cholesterol uptake in ethionine-fed rats; European Journal of Cancer
Metabolic controls in precancerous liver: V. Loss of control of cholesterol synthesis during feeding of the hepatocarcinogen 3-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene; European Journal of Cancer
Metabolism of cholesterol in the guinea pig; Australian. Biochemistry Society
Metabolism of plant steroids and cholesterol in sheep; IV International Symposium of Ruminant Physiology
Modelling of breech strike risk and protective efficacy of mulesing in adult Merino sheep; Animal Production Science
Modelling pesticide residues on greasy wool: Comparison of alternative models of pesticide breakdown; Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
Modelling pesticide residues on greasy wool: experimental studies; Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
Modelling pesticide residues on greasy wool: surveys of the insect growth regulators triflumuron and diflubenzuron; Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
Modelling pesticide residues on greasy wool: use of farm records at the time of treatment to predict residues; Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
Modelling pesticide residues on greasy wool: using organophosphate and synthetic pyrethroid survey data; Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
Modelling the breakdown of diazinon residues on wool to estimate withholding periods; Australian Sheep Veterinary Conference
Models for estimation of hourly soil temperature at 5 cm depth and for degree-day accumulation from minimum and maximum soil temperature; Soil Research
Mulesed and unmulesed weaners: Dag scores and time taken to crutch. ; Australian Sheep Veterinarians 2007 Conference
Neonatal mortality study; Australian Pig Production and Marketing. Review Conference,
Optimal structure for a three-tiered co-operative sheep breeding system using AI and MOET; Australian Association of Animal Breeding Genetics
Optimizing sheep breeding programs with genomic selection; 19th Biennial Conference of the Association for the Advancement of Animal Breeding Genetics
Organophosphorus residues in wool grease resulting from specified on-farm lice and flystrike control treatments; Australian Veterinary Journal
Pesticide treatments for louse and fly control to meet future market requirements; Australian Sheep Veterinary Conference
Population dynamics and production effects of sheep lice (Bovicola ovis Schrank) in extensively grazed flocks; Animal Production Science
Practical outputs of the Australian flystrike model; World Association for the Advancement of Veterinary Parasitology
Prevalence of sheep lice and trends in control practices across Australia – Australian sheep parasite control surveys from 2003 to 2019; Veterinary Parasitology: Regional Studies and Reports
Production and heterosis by the Merino, Polwarth and their reciprocal crosses; Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture
Production of chemical-free wool in Tasmania; Wool Technology and Sheep Breeding
Rapid uptake of dietary cholesterol by hyperplastic liver nodules and primary hepatomas; Cancer Research
Rapid uptake of dietary cholesterol by hyperplastic liver nodules and primary hepatomas; American Association of Cancer Research
Regulation of cholesterol metabolism in precancerous liver; Clinical Oncological Society of Australia, Expert Oncology Group
Repeated estimation of liver cholesterol synthesis in vivo using the inhibitor AY-9944; Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta: International Journal of Biochemistry and Biophysics
Serological typing of lymphoblastoid cell lines: DR4 and DR9; In: Immunobiology of HLA. Vol 1: Immunogenetics and Histocompatibility
Sheep CRC extension activities and FlyBoss; AWI National R&D Technical Update
Sheep death and loss of production associated with flystrike in mature Merino and crossbred ewes; Animal Production Science
Sheep lice population dynamics and production effects in the Queensland pastoral zone; ASP & ARC/NHMRC Research Network for Parasitology
Shifting phase analysis correlation in the determination of the reproducibility of biological rhythms: Its use in the study of patterns of rabbit and rat feeding; Journal of Interdisciplinary Cycle Research
Spontaneous tumours in C3H-Avy and C3H-AvyfB mice: High incidence in the United States, low incidence in Australia; National Cancer Institute. Journal
Strategic early treatment for control of sheep flystrike: potential economic benefits examined using a weather-driven model of flystrike risk; Animal Production Science
Studies on polioencephalomalacia in sheep; Victorian Veterinary Proceedings
Subclinical thiamine deficiency in sheep; 12th International Congress of Biochemistry
Suitability of monoclonal antibodies for micro EIA serology; 10th International Histocompatibility Workshop Newsletter
The effect of diet on the diurnal variation of cholesterol synthesis in rat liver; Life Sciences
The effect of flytrap site on catches in Lucitrap (R) flytraps in a cool temperate climate; Wool Technology and Sheep Breeding
The effect of flytrap site on catches in Lucitrap flytraps; Australian Sheep Veterinary Conference
The effects of non-sheep enterprises on flystrike management; Australian Sheep Veterinary Conference
The influence of lameness and individuality on movement patterns in sheep; Behavioural Processes
The role of ascorbic acid in the regulation of cholesterol metabolism and in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis; Atherosclerosis
The transfer of polycyclic hydrocarbons from diet to milk; Australian. Biochemistry Society
The use of bar coding to increase data integrity when selecting sheep by objective measurement; Wool Technology and Sheep Breeding
The use of declarations to provide wool with low pesticide residues; Wool Technology and Sheep Breeding
Transfer of polycyclic hydrocarbons from diet to milk in rats, rabbits and sheep; Life Sciences
Trauma - Overlay and savaging of baby pigs; Aust. Adv. Vet. Sci
Use of a flystrike model in Australia to optimise the timing and effectiveness of preventive treatment; ASP & ARC/NHMRC Research Network for Parasitology
Use of a threshold of flystrike risk as a method for treatment intervention in the management of flystrike in sheep; Animal Production Science
Using Radio-Frequency Identification Technology to Measure Synchronised Ranging of Free-Range Laying Hens; Animals
Validation of an algorithm for real-time measurement of sheep activity in confinement by recording movement within a commercial weighing crate; Applied Animal Behaviour Science
Which lice and flystrike control procedures lead to high pesticide residue concentrations in wool? Results of a Tasmanian survey; Australian Sheep Veterinary Conference
Wool residue breakdown model: An example of how wool blending models can be used to estimate sale lot maximum concentrations and wool harvesting intervals; FLICS Conference
WoolRes - a model to assist producers meet market requirements for low-residue wool; Wool Technology and Sheep Breeding

Research Projects

Contribution to ss1.3 and 4.1 of Sheep Operational Plan ; CRC for Sheep Industry Innovation (CRCSII)
Drought decision-support using the Farming Forecaster in Tasmania; Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment (DAWE)
Evaluation of the susceptibility of Tasmania's agricultural sector to insect pest species under a changing climate; Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPAC)
Improving the representation of soil productivity/constraints in existing decision support systems and modelling platforms; CRC for High Performance Soils Ltd (HPS CRC)
LiceBoss Update; Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI)
New On-farm Strategies for the Prevention and Control of Blueberry rust in Tasmania; Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania (NRE Tas)
Sheep CRC 2014-2019; CRC for Sheep Industry Innovation (CRCSII)
Tasmanian Wool SmartFarm; Australian Wool Innovation Limited (AWI)
Modelling management of sheep blowfly resistance to pesticides
LiceSense
Management of sheep blowfly resistance to pesticides
Sheep Blowfly Chemical Resistance Communication Strategy
Sheep Blowfly Resistance Working Group
StrikeTreat Decision Support
Transforming Sheep and their Management/Information Nucleus

Research Candidate Supervision