Dr Claire Foster
Areas of expertise
- Ecology 0602
- Terrestrial Ecology 060208
- Community Ecology (Excl. Invasive Species Ecology) 060202
- Conservation And Biodiversity 050202
Research interests
My research focuses on terrestrial conservation biology. I am particularly interested in ecological disturbances and species interactions, and how feedbacks between these processes affect ecosystem structure, function and composition.
Biography
I am a reserach fellow at the Fenner School of Environment and Society. I am currently working on an ARC Linkage Project investigating the role of animals in fire regimes.
I previously worked on the Jervis Bay Long-term Monitoring and Fire Response Study, looking at the effects of fire regimes on the structure and composition of fire-prone vegetation communities.
My PhD research investigated the interactive effects of prescribed fire and herbivory on the flora and fauna of a eucalypt forest understory.
Researcher's projects
ARC Linkage Project
‘Fauna, Fuel and FIre: Effects of native animals on fuel dynamics and bushfire risks' with David Lindenmayer, Geoff Cary, Paul Kardol, David Wardle.
Current student projects
Matt Chard (Fenner School, ANU)
PhD: Fauna, Fuel & Fire: Feedbacks of macropod herbivory on fire regimes (Primary Supervisor)
Publications
- Barton, P, Westgate, M, Foster, C et al 2020, 'Using ecological niche theory to avoid uninformative biodiversity surrogates', Ecological Indicators, vol. 108, pp. 1-7.
- Baker, C, Bode, M, Dexter, N et al. 2019, 'A novel approach to assessing the ecosystem-wide impacts of reintroductions', Ecological Applications, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 1-12.
- Barton, P, Evans, M, Sato, C et al 2019, 'Higher-taxon and functional group responses of ant and bird assemblages to livestock grazing: A test of an explicit surrogate concept', Ecological Indicators, vol. 96, pp. 458-465.
- Foster, C, O'Loughlin, L, Sato, C et al 2019, 'How practitioners integrate decision triggers with existing metrics in conservation monitoring', Journal of Environmental Management, vol. 230, pp. 94-101.
- Scheele, B, Pasmans, F, Skerratt, L et al 2019, 'Amphibian fungal panzootic causes catastrophic and ongoing loss of biodiversity', Science, vol. 363, no. 6434, pp. 1459-1463pp.
- Barton, P, Evans, M, Foster, C et al 2019, 'Towards Quantifying Carrion Biomass in Ecosystems', Trends in Ecology and Evolution, vol. 34, no. 10, pp. 950-961.
- Lindenmayer, D, Wood, J, MacGregor, C et al 2018, 'Conservation conundrums and the challenges of managing unexplained declines of multiple species', Biological Conservation, vol. 221, pp. 279-292pp.
- Lindenmayer, D, Lane, P, Westgate, M et al 2018, 'Tests of predictions associated with temporal changes in Australian bird populations', Biological Conservation, vol. 222, pp. 212-221pp.
- O'Loughlin, L, Lindenmayer, D, Smith, M et al 2018, 'Surrogates Underpin Ecological Understanding and Practice', BioScience, vol. 68, no. 9, pp. 640-642pp.
- Scheele, B, Foster, C, Banks, S et al 2017, 'The Role of Biotic Interactions in the Niche Reduction Hypothesis: A Reply to Doherty and Driscoll', Trends in Ecology and Evolution, vol. 33, no. 3, pp. 148-149pp.
- Scheele, B, Foster, C, Banks, S et al 2017, 'Niche Contractions in Declining Species: Mechanisms and Consequences', Trends in Ecology and Evolution, vol. 32, no. 5, pp. 346-355.
- Foster, C, Barton, P, MacGregor, C et al 2017, 'Effects of fire regime on plant species richness and composition differ among forest,woodland and heath vegetation', Applied Vegetation Science, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 132-143.
- Foster, C, Barton, P, Robinson, N et al. 2017, 'Effects of a large wildfire on vegetation structure in a variable fire mosaic', Ecological Applications, vol. 27, no. 8, pp. 2369-2381pp.
- Barton, P, Evans, M, Foster, C et al 2017, 'Environmental and spatial drivers of spider diversity at contrasting microhabitats', Austral Ecology, vol. 42, no. 6, pp. 700-710.
- Lindenmayer, D, MacGregor, C, Wood, J et al 2016, 'Bombs, fire and biodiversity: Vertebrate fauna occurrence in areas subject to military training', Biological Conservation, vol. 204, no. 1, pp. 276-283.
- Foster, C, Sato, C, Lindenmayer, D et al 2016, 'Integrating theory into disturbance interaction experiments to better inform ecosystem management', Global Change Biology, 22, 1325-1335.
- Foster, C, Barton, P, Sato, C et al 2016, 'Herbivory and fire interact to affect forest understory habitat, but not its use by small vertebrates', Animal Conservation, 19, 15-25.
- Foster, C, Barton, P, Sato, C et al 2015, 'Synergistic interactions between fire and browsing drive plant diversity in a forest understorey', Journal of Vegetation Science, vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 1112-1123.
- Foster, C, Barton, P, Wood, J et al 2015, 'Interactive effects of fire and large herbivores on web-building spiders', Oecologia, vol. 179, no. 1, pp. 237-248.
- Foster, C, Barton, P & Lindenmayer, D 2014, 'Effects of large native herbivores on other animals', Journal of Applied Ecology, vol. 51, no. 4, pp. 929-938.
