Professor Gordon Sanson
Nutritional Ecology, Functional Morphology
Telephone: 9905 5655
Email: gordon.sanson@sci.monash.edu.au
My research interests are concerned with the nutritional ecology of mammals and insects. My main interest focuses on the interaction between the physical and chemical properties of food and the adaptations animals have for processing that food. These adaptations include hard parts for physical processing (teeth and jaws) and gut structures for chemical processing. Physical processing prepares the food for chemical digestion and so there must be an interaction between the two processes. These major nutrient acquiring processes and the distribution in space and time of the physico-chemical structure of the food affects the behaviour and ecology of animals.
Projects which focus on these issues relate to measuring the physico-chemical properties of food and the functional morphology of animal feeding structures. I am particularly interested in the interaction between the seasonal change in diet and tooth and mandibular wear during the life of the animal and between seasons. Projects are available on herbivorous mammals and insects.
