RESEARCH   Conservation Genetics of Australian quolls Australia has suffered unprecedented losses to biodiversity, including the extinction of many mammalian species. A variety of integrated factors have played a role in species extinctions, which have been more prevalent since European settlement. They include habitat degradation, changed fire regimes, disease, the introduction of feral animals that predate and compete with our native fauna, and more recently, climate change. Quolls are the second largest members of the Family Dasyuridae. As carnivorous marsupials, they play an important role as indicator species in all the ecosystems they inhabit. All four Australian species of quoll have suffered reductions to their numbers and geographical distributions and are thus all currently listed on the IUCN threatened species list (www.iucnredlist.org).    My project is funded by an ARC linkage grant, with links to industry partners (see below) who are currently monitoring quoll populations as part of conservation efforts to mitigate threats to their continued survival. In this project, we are looking to use molecular genetics as a tool for inclusion in conservation management strategies of quoll species. Population genetics can provide us with useful information about the genetic diversity, population structure and rates of migration and dispersal between local populations. Such data, when combined with long-term ecological data can help us better understand the dynamics of populations in order to make more informed decisions about conservation management.    I completed a Bachelor of Science with majors in Zoology and Immunology and an Honours degree in Microbiology at Monash University in Victoria. I worked for 6 years in laboratories specializing in Immunology, molecular biology and animal infectious disease diagnosis before undertaking my current degree by research in Conservation Biology. I believe that it is important, if not crucial, to work towards an all-inclusive and integrated framework in the fields of biodiversity recovery and wildlife management. This can only be achieved by facilitating multidisciplinary and collaborative links between organizations working towards a common goal.     INDUSTRY PARTNERS Department of Environment and Conservation WA (DEC) -  www.dec.wa.gov.au Department of Natural Resources, Environment and the Arts (NRETA) - www.nt.gov.au/nreta Department of Primary Industries and Water (DPIW) - www.dpiw.tas.gov.au Department of Environment and Conservation NSW (DEC) - www.epa.nsw.gov.au Department of Sustainability and Environment Victoria (DSE) - www.dse.vic.gov.au; Environment ACT - www.environment.act.gov.au

• Awarded the Wildlife Preservation Society of NSW (www.wpsa.org.au) 2006 student research grant.
• Awarded prize for best student presentation at the Wildlife Disease Association (www.wda-aust.org) conference held in Naracoorte, South Australia, 4-29th September 2006.
• Awarded prize for honourable mention in the running for best student presentation at the Australasian Wildlife Management Society (www.awms.org.nz) conference held in Auckland, New Zealand, 3-7th December 2006.

Glen, AS, Cardoso, MJ., Firestone, KB and Dickman, CR (in preparation). Who's your daddy? Promiscuous mating and multiple paternity in the carnivorous marsupial Dasyurus maculatus.

 

Cardoso, M.J., Eldridge, M.D.B., Oakwood, M., Rankmore, B., Firestone, K.B. and Sherwin, W.B. (in preparation). Genetic variation in translocated northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) island populations - Implications for management.

 

Spencer, P. B., Cardoso, M. J., How, R. A., Williams, J., Bunce, M. and Schmitt, L. H. (2007). Cross-species amplification at microsatellite loci in Australian quolls including the description of five new markers from the Chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii). Molecular Ecology Notes. Published article online. doi:10.1111/j.1471-8286.2007.01791.x

 

Cardoso, M.J., Hyatt, A., Selleck, P., Lowther, S., Prakash, V., Pain, D., Cunningham, A. and Boyle, D.B. (2005). Phylogenetic analysis of the DNA polymerase gene of a novel Alphaherpesvirus isolated from an Indian Gyps vulture. Virus Genes 30 (3): 369-79.

 

Boyle, D.B, Trevor, T. and Cardoso, M.J. (2004). Implementation of molecular diagnostic techniques for the rapid detection of Foot and Mouth Disease virus in Australia. Australian Veterinary Journal 82 (7): 421-5.

 

Villadangos, J.A, Cardoso, M.J., Steptoe, R.J, Van Berkel, D., Pooley, J., Carbone, F.R. and Shortman, K.(2001). MHC ClassII Expression is regulated in Dendritic Cells Independently of Invariant Chain Degradation. Immunity 14, 739-749.

Molecular Ecology and Conservation Biology Research Group

Ph: (02) 93858276
Email: maria.cardosostudent.unsw.edu.au