Areas of expertise
- Comparative Physiology 060604
- Animal Behaviour 060801
- Terrestrial Ecology 060208
- Landscape Ecology 050104
- Ecological Impacts Of Climate Change 050101
- Conservation And Biodiversity 050202
- Wildlife And Habitat Management 050211
- Animal Physiological Ecology 060806
Research interests
My main interests are in plant-animal interactions. I investigate how the physiology of herbivores and the chemistry of plants affect factors such as herbivore feeding behaviour, habitat quality, and their potential responses to climate change.
Researcher's projects
Current projects:
Restoring the nutritional landscape for eucalypt folivores
Effect of regeneration forestry on koala habitat on the NSW North Coast
Monitoring rescued and wild koalas in post-fire habitat on the NSW southern tablelands
Available student projects
Effect of plant secondary metabolites on feeding by greater gliders
Impact of fire on habitat quality for eucalypt folivores
Effect of ambient temperature on physiology and feeding behaviour of herbivores
Effect of elevation on sodium content of eucalypt leaves
Current student projects
Madison Fink, PhD student: The role of psyllids in eucalypt dieback
Jenna Ridley, PhD student: Refuge requirements and recommendations for post-fire management of greater gliders (Petauroides volans) in Victoria
Murraya Lane, PhD student: The effects of fire on eucalypt browse quality and landscape use by the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)
Past student projects
Phillipa Beale, PhD: Effects of ambient temperature on feeding by herbivorous marsupials
Lauren Morgan, Honours: The application of NIRS to investigate koala physiological characteristics from scat
Sarah Martin, Honours: Please pass the salt: Investigating the availability and importance of sodium in the diet of marsupial folivores
Sarah Buchan, Honours: Temperature dependent feeding by brushtail possums in response to plant secondary metabolites
Wufeng Zhou, Honours: The effect of pro-oxidant tannins on an insect folivore Paropsis atomaria
Hannah Wigley, Honours: The nutritional composition of Monocalyptus and its role in feeding by folivorous marsupials
Jessie Au, Honours: The protein cost of plant secondary metabolite detoxification in the common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)
Publications
- Youngentob, K, Lindenmayer, D, Ford, K et al. 2021, 'Food intake: an overlooked driver of climate change casualties?', Trends in Ecology and Evolution, vol. 36, no. 8, pp. 676-678.
- Ford, K, Blyton, M, Foley, W et al. 2021, 'Fundamental dietary specialisation explains differential use of resources within a koala population', Oecologia, vol. 196, pp. 795-803.
- Morgan, L, Ford, K, Tolleson, D et al. 2021, 'The application of NIRS to determine animal physiological traits for wildlife management and conservation', Remote Sensing, vol. 13, no. 18, pp. 14pp.
- Ford, K, Wallis, I, Kulheim, C et al. 2020, 'New approaches to tannin analysis of leaves can be used to explain in vitro biological activities associated with herbivore defence', New Phytologist, vol. 225, no. 1, pp. 488-498.
- Martin, S, Youngentob, K, Clark, R et al. 2020, 'The distribution and abundance of an unusual resource for koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) in a sodium-poor environment', PLOS ONE (Public Library of Science), vol. 15, no. 6, pp. e0234515.
- Ford, K, Saraf, I, Hocart, C et al. 2019, 'Occurrence and distribution of unsubstituted B-ring flavanones in Eucalyptus foliage', Phytochemistry, vol. 160, pp. 31-39.
- Blyton, M, Soo, R, Whisson, D et al. 2019, 'Faecal inoculations alter the gastrointestinal microbiome and allow dietary expansion in a wild specialist herbivore, the koala', Animal Microbiome, vol. 1, no. 6, pp. 1-18.
- Au, J, Clark, R, Allen, C et al. 2019, 'A nutritional mechanism underpinning folivore occurrence in disturbed forests', Forest Ecology and Management, vol. 453, pp. 1-8.
- Beale, P, Ford, K, Foley, W et al. 2018, 'A hot lunch for herbivores: Physiological effects of elevated temperatures on mammalian feeding ecology', Biological Reviews, vol. 93, no. 1, pp. 674-692pp.
- Ford, K, Ward, J, Wallis, I et al. 2018, 'Intraspecific Variation in Nutritional Composition Affects the Leaf Age Preferences of a Mammalian Herbivore', Journal of Chemical Ecology, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 62-71pp.
- Ford, K, Kulheim, C, Blomberg, S et al. 2017, 'Genus-wide variation in foliar polyphenolics in eucalypts', Phytochemistry, vol. 144, pp. 197-207.
- Saraf, I, Ford, K, Vir, S et al. 2017, 'Quantitative Analysis of Various B-ring Unsubstituted and Substituted Flavonoids in Ten Australian Species of Eucalyptus', Natural Product Communications, vol. 12, no. 11, pp. 1695-1699pp.
- Ford, K, Zhou, W, Wigley, H et al. 2017, 'Oxidizable Phenolic Concentrations DO Not Affect Development AND Survival OF Paropsis Atomaria Larvae Eating Eucalyptus Foliage', Journal of Chemical Ecology, vol. 43, no. 4, pp. 411-421.
- Windley, H, Wigley, H, Ruscoe, W et al. 2016, 'The Use of Polyethylene Glycol in Mammalian Herbivore Diet Studies: What Are We Measuring?', Journal of Chemical Ecology, vol. 42, no. 6, pp. 523-532.
- Moore, B, Wiggins, N, Ford, K et al. 2015, 'Translating physiological signals to changes in feeding behaviour in mammals and the future effects of global climate change', Animal production science, vol. 55, no. 3, pp. 272-283.
- Ford, K, Yin, B, Singh, I et al. 2015, 'From Leaf Metabolome to In Vivo Testing: Identifying Antifeedant Compounds for Ecological Studies of Marsupial Diets', Journal of Chemical Ecology, vol. 41, no. 6, pp. 513-519.
- Saraf, I, Choudhary, A, Sharma, R et al. 2015, 'Extraction of pinocembrin from leaves of different species of eucalyptus and its quantitative analysis by qNMR and HPTLC', Natural Product Communications, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 379-382.
- Ford, K, Moore, B, Wallis, I et al. 2014, 'Feeding rates of a mammalian browser confirm the predictions of a 'foodscape' model of its habitat', Oecologia, vol. 174, no. 3, pp. 873-882.
- Starrs, L, Wallis, I, Ford, K et al. 2014, 'Four species of arboreal folivore show differential tolerance to a secondary metabolite', Oecologia, vol. 176, no. 1, pp. 251-258.
- Au, J, Ford, K, Wallis, I et al. 2013, 'Whole-body protein turnover reveals the cost of detoxification of secondary metabolites in a vertebrate browser', Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology, vol. 183, no. 7, pp. 993-1003.
- Ford, K, Moore, B, Wallis, I et al. 2013, 'Continuous monitoring of feeding by koalas highlights diurnal differences in tree preferences', Wildlife Research, vol. 40, no. 8, pp. 639-646.
- Wallis, I, Keszei, A, Henery, M et al. 2011, 'A chemical perspective on the evolution of variation in Eucalyptus globulus', Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 305-318.
- De Gabriel, J, Moore, B, Ford, K et al. 2010, 'The effect of plant secondary metabolites on the interplay between the internal and external environments of marsupial folivores', Chemoecology, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 97-108.
- Tucker, D, Wallis, I, Bolton, J et al. 2010, 'A Metabolomic Approach to Identifying Chemical Mediators of Mammal-Plant Interactions', Journal of Chemical Ecology, vol. 36, no. 7, pp. 727-735.
- Ford, K, Wallis, I & Foley, W 2007, 'Behavioural contributions to the regulated intake of plant secondary metabolites in koalas', Oecologia, vol. 154, pp. 283-290.
- Wiggins, N, Ford, K, Wallis, I et al. 2006, 'Sideroxylonal in Eucalyptus foliage influences foraging behaviour of an arboreal folivore', Oecologia, vol. 147, pp. 272-279.
- Ford, K, Wallis, I, Andrew, R et al. 2006, 'The Detoxification Limitation Hypothesis: Where Did it Come From and Where is it Going?', Journal of Chemical Ecology, vol. 32, pp. 1247-1266.
- Ford, K, Wallis, I, McLean, S et al. 2006, 'Conflicting demands on detoxification pathways influence how common brushtail possums choose their diets', Ecology, vol. 87, no. 8, pp. 2103-2112.
- Moore, B, Ford, K, Wallis, I et al. 2005, 'Taught by animals: how understanding diet selection leads to better zoo diets', International Zoo Yearbook, vol. 39, pp. 43-61.
- Ford, K, Wallis, I & Foley, W 2005, 'Detoxification rates constrain feeding in common brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula)', Ecology, vol. 86, no. 11, pp. 2946-2954.
- Foley, W, Lawler, I, Moore, B et al. 2004, 'Diet selection in marsupial folivores of Eucalyptus: the role of plant secondary metabolites', in Ross L. Goldingay and Stephen M. Jackson (ed.), The Biology of Australian Possums and Gliders, Surrey Beatty & Sons, Chipping Norton, NSW, pp. 207-221.
- Moore, B, Wallis, I, Ford, K et al. 2004, 'The role of nutrition in the conservation of the marsupial folivores of eucalypt forests', in Daniel Lunney (ed.), Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna (2nd ed), Royal Zoological Society of NSW, Sydney Australia, pp. 549-575.
- Ford, K, Wallis, I & Foley, W 2003, 'The effect of inactivating tannins on the intake of Eucalyptus foliage by a specialist Eucalyptus folivore (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) and a generalist herbivore (Trichosurus vulpecula)', Australian Journal of Zoology, vol. 51, pp. 31-42.
- Ford, K, Foley, W, Cowling, A et al. 2003, 'Differential susceptibility to Eucalyptus secondary compounds explains feeding by the common ringtail (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) and common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula)', Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology, vol. 173, no. 1, pp. 69-78.
Projects and Grants
Grants information is drawn from ARIES. To add or update Projects or Grants information please contact your College Research Office.
- Post-fire feeding by greater gliders (Primary Investigator)
- Assessment of the distribution of koalas, Kosciuszko National Park (Secondary Investigator)
- Restoring the nutritional landscape for eucalypt folivores (Secondary Investigator)
- Monitoring rescued and wild koalas in post-fire habitat on the NSW southern tablelands (Secondary Investigator)
- Determining the effects of regeneration harvesting on habitat nutritional quality for koalas (Primary Investigator)
- Assessing the impacts of global environmental change on the nutritional ecology of mammal and insect folivores (Primary Investigator)
