Honours supervisors and projects

Dr Tim Cavagnaro

Functional Plant Biology

Telephone: 9905 5606
Email: tim.cavagnaro@sci.monash.edu.au

Potential Honours Topics

Doing honours in my lab

The honours year is an exciting one. It provides an opportunity to undertake your own research project in an active research environment. The skills you learn will be invaluable to your future career as an independent scientist. As a supervisor it is my job to help guide you though this important year. I do this by encouraging an intellectually stimulating work environment and providing access to diverse range of techniques. It is my aim to ensure that students in my lab. achieve their full potential. A number of potential research projects are provided below. I’m also open suggestions within the scope of my research interests in soil/plant ecology, plant-microbe interactions and climate change impacts. If you want to see what we are currently doing in the Soil Ecology lab follow this link

Restoration ecology and soils

The health of Australia’s water courses, and ultimately the quality of Australia’s water resource, is intimately linked to the condition of the riparian zone. Protecting and restoring these sites is of high conservation priority and National importance. There is a need to understand the magnitude, rate and timing of ecosystem recovery, once restoration activities have commenced. This project will explore changes in vegetation and soil ecology, along a range of restored, remnant and degraded sites in the Goulburn-Broken Catchment. Understanding these processes is an important step in minimizing contamination of our waterways. This research would be undertaken in conjunction with the River Restoration Project led by Prof. Sam Lake and Dr Paul Reich. More information on the River Restoration project can be found at: http://www.mdbc.gov.au/subs/rip-res-ex/RRE.html

Impacts of plant invasions on soil in restored and natural ecosystems

Invasive plants rapidly colonize newly exposed and disturbed ecosystems, typically leading to a significant reduction in native biodiversity and ecosystem services. While the extent of such invasions has been studied, the mechanisms underlying these invasions and their impacts upon ecosystems and ecosystem services have not. The aim of this research is to generate new knowledge on the interactions between and invasive grass and native species. This project will provide land managers with new knowledge to help manage plant invasions, and help enhance the quality of ecosystems. A range of techniques from plant ecology, soil ecology, plant ecophysiology and restoration ecology could be used.

Soil ecology in forest ecosystems

Forests are important ecosystems providing valuable goods and ecosystem services. The ways in which forests are managed can significantly impact catchment water yield, biodiversity, carbon sequestration and wood production. In the face of climate change and drought there are many important questions about forest ecosystems and their management that remain to be explored. In this project, to be jointly supervised by Dr Patrick Baker, the impact of different forest management practices on tree and understory plant growth and ecophysiology, soil biological activity, nutrient cycling, and water will be studied using a range of techniques. Potential field sites may include the Central Highlands or East Gippsland.

Plant mutants as model systems to study plant-microbe interactions

Approximately 80% of terrestrial plant species form symbiotic associations with mycorrhizal (soil) fungi. These associations can result in enhanced plant growth, nutrient uptake, and competitive ability. This project will use a pair of tomato genotypes, a mutant that is unable to for mycorrhizal associations and a second that is able to form mycorrhizal associations, to explore the importance of belowground processes on plant growth, nutrition and ecophysiology. Methods used may include plant growth analysis, plant nutrient uptake and assimilation (Inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy), and other measures of plant physiological processes. I have strong interests in the role of mycorrhizas in improving plant zinc nutrition. Zinc is especially interesting as it is one the three most common human nutrient deficiencies, but it can also be present in high concentrations making it an important environmental contaminant in some settings. Another interest I have is in the role of mycorrhizas in carbon and nitrogen cycling