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Coming Up...

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Drs Ellen Cottingham and Stephen Frankenberg

"Developing genetic biocontrols to

control invasive amphibians in Australia"

3rd October 2024,
Elgin Inn Hawthorn

​Australia is unfortunately home to dozens of invasive animal species. Some are relatively newly arrived like the Smooth Newt, while others like the Cane Toad are well established across large parts of the country. Drs Stephen Frankenberg and Ellen Cottingham will present their research on developing genetic biocontrols to control these invasive amphibians in Australia.


Ellen is a postdoctoral researcher in the School of BioSciences at the University of Melbourne, working to develop new tools to help control Australia’s invasive species, including genetic biocontrols for the Cane Toad and Smooth Newt, and virally delivered immunocontraception. Stephen leads the group as a research fellow in the School, with most of his current research focussing on applying genetic engineering to solving problems in conservation and biodiversity, including genetic biocontrol for invasive pests, Cane Toad toxin resistance in northern quolls, and transgenic immunity to the amphibian chytrid fungus.

All are welcome in the audience - no RSVP/registration necessary

Evening starts at 6 pm for dinner and drinks (available for purchase), talk starts at 7:30 pm

The Elgin Inn 75 Burwood Road, Hawthorn VIC 3122

Above: Smooth Newt by Kristian Peters

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Dr Kirsten Parris is a Professor of Urban Ecology at the University of Melbourne and previously led the NESP Hub for Clean Air and Urban Landscapes. She loves all things frogs and is passionate about making cities more frog-friendly. In addition to her academic work, she writes both fiction and creative non-fiction pieces about ecology.

​This talk explored the diverse impacts of sensory pollutants – including noise, light and chemical pollution – on urban frogs.


We have no video from this event.

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Professor Ben Phillips, from the University of Melbourne's School of Biosciences provides a quick tour of work his group has been conducting across northern Australia in the last five years. We will be pondering Cane Toads and how to stop their spread across the landscape, as well as quolls and how to prevent them being poisoned by toads. There will be tales from the field and lab as we ponder the idea of targeted gene flow for conservation.



Join Craig Cleeland, self-confessed Southern Toadlet groupie who has been studying the species for over 20 years, for an immersion into this rapidly declining frog, with particular reference to Greater Melbourne. Craig will explore the dynamics of a population of Southern Toadlets in an effort to understand more about their breeding biology and life history. He will also report on at the results of toadlet occupancy surveys in the Shire of Nillumbik in 2018, along with data from four years of intensive surveys of the last remaining populations in the outer urban areas of Melbourne.

Spoiler alert: we're warned the ending's not great and not to expect too many answers!



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