PhD

My primary research interests lie in conservation biology and evolutionary ecology of vertebrates, with a non-exclusive focus on birds. Students and post-docs in my research group focus on practical research aimed at saving endangered bird species from extinction (see Difficult Bird Research Group), the ecology of African mammals, and behavioural ecology including social behavour, cooperative breeding, and tool use. Major long term projects to date include the behavioural ecology of lions in the Serengeti, and white-winged choughs in the Canberra region, Eclectus parrots, palm cockatoos and green pythons on Cape York Peninsula, and the conservation and behaviour of swift parrots, regent honeyeaters, and Norfolk Island green parrots. Increasingly, my research focusses at the landscape level as I seek to identify the broad-scale processes shaping conservation problems. The bird species I choose to work with are wide-ranging, and make excellent tools for investigations of habitat use over large areas. I have a special fondness for parrots, the bird order with the highest proportion of endangered species. I find this research particularly stimulating because it combines my strong background in behavioural and evolutionary ecology with my more recent passion for conservation biology. My students conduct projects in many parts of Australia (e.g Tasmania, Cape York, Norfolk Island) and New Guinea, and also Africa (e.g. lions, baboons, elephants) and South America (e.g. macaws).

For further details of the activities of my group see https://robheinsohn.weebly.com/ and https://www.difficultbirds.com/about-us

Current major research projects include:

1.  Tool use and conservation biology of palm cockatoos

2.   Evolutonary/conservation impacts of extreme predation on female swift parrots

3.   Conservation of regent honeyeaters, 40 spotted pardalotes, orange-bellied parrots, and Norfolk Island green parrots