Iris Bleach (Research Assistant)

 

I am currently working as a part-time research assistant with WildLab. In 2012 I completed my honours with Rick Shine at the University of Sydney. My project investigated the impact of invasive cane toads on the retreat-site use and calling behaviour of several species of native frogs in Northern Australia.  

 

After my honours year I embarked upon a six month internship with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC). Roaming around remote regions of the Northern Territory and the Kimberley, we conducted extensive fauna and flora surveys to gauge the impacts of introduced herbivores and fire regimes on biodiversity. Earlier this year I worked with AWC as a wildlife ecologist in the Tanami desert, leading small teams on fauna and flora surveys.

 

A herpetologist at heart, my interest in amphibians and reptiles has led me all over the country on volunteer trips; from freshwater crocodile research in the Kimberley to biodiversity surveys in the Simpson Desert and frogging all over.

 

Publications

Bleach I, Beckmann C, Brown GP and Shine R (2014) Effects of an invasive species on refuge-site selection by native fauna: The impact of cane toads on native frogs in the Australian tropics. Austral Ecol 39:50–59. doi: 10.1111/aec.12044

(Under review)

 

Bleach I, Beckmann C, Both C, Brown GP and Shine R. Noisy neighbours at the frog pond: effects of invasive cane toads on the calling behaviour of native Australian frogs (submitted to Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology)