Prof Jennifer Davis - Researcher Profile

Jennifer Davis

Address

School of Biological Sciences
Building 18, Clayton

Biography

Jenny works in the School of Biological Sciences at Monash University as a Professor

Jenny’s research areas of interest are:

•Freshwater ecology encompassing standing (wetlands) and flowing (streams and rivers) waters
•Aquatic community ecology
•Aquatic bioassessment and biomonitoring
•Aquatic ecosystem resilience, non-linear dynamics, feedback mechanisms and regime change
•Impacts of multiple stressors, including climate change, on inland waters

 

My research interests cover a range of topics within wetland and stream ecology. These include community ecology, bioassessment and biomonitoring, ecosystem resilience, non-linear dynamics, feedback mechanisms, regime change and the impacts of multiple stressors on shallow aquatic ecosystems. I have worked on the ecology, conservation and management of wetlands, streams and rivers in Western Australia, central Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and Sarawak. I have established a long term (25+years) dataset for wetlands on the Swan Coastal Plain, WA, that provides insight into the temporal and spatial change occurring in wetlands experiencing a drying climate. A combination of research and photographic interests has resulted in the collection of a large number of wetland images, including aerial photography. These can be viewed at www.wetlandimages.com.
Together with various co-authors, I have published over 160 works, including four books, 75 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and conference proceedings, 83 technical reports and other articles, and 3 CDs. I have supervised, or co-supervised, 78 research students (Honours, Masters and PhDs). I received the Vice-Chancellors Award for Excellence in Postgraduate Supervision at Murdoch University in 2004. I was awarded the Limnology Medal, by the Australian Society for Limnology, in 2006.
I am a member of the Editorial Board of Freshwater Biology, the Chair of the Research Sub-Committee of the Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS), an independent scientist on the Steering Committee for the National Water Commission Framework for Assessing River and Wetland Health (FARWH) and a member of the Technical Expert Group for Queensland wetlands condition and risk assessment. I am a past President and past Newsletter Editor of the Australian Society for Limnology and a member of INTECOL’s International Wetlands Conference Committee. I was an independent scientist on the WA Wetlands Coordinating Committee for ten years and completed two terms (6 years) on the WA Conservation Commission (the advisory body to the Department of Conservation and Land Management).

 

Keywords

Freshwater ecology, Aquatic ecology, Aquatic ecosystems, Climate change

Qualifications

PHD
Institution: University of Tasmainia
Year awarded: 1983
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE WITH HONORS
Institution: Univerisity of Tasmainia
Year awarded: 1976

Publications

Book Chapters

Sim, L., Davis, J.A., Chambers, J., 2009, Development of conceptual models for ecological regime change in temporary Australian wetlands, in New Models for Ecosystem Dynamics and Restoration, eds Richard J Hobbs and Katharine N Suding, Island Press, Washington USA, pp. 259-279.

Chambers, J., Davis, J.A., McComb, A., 2009, Inland aquatic environments I - wetland diversity and physical and chemical processes, in Environmental Biology, eds Mike Calver, Alan Lymbery, Jennifer McComb, Mike Bamford, Cambridge University Press, UK, pp. 452-480.

Chambers, J., Davis, J.A., McComb, J., 2009, Inland aquatic environments II - the ecology of lentic and lotic waters, in Environmental Biology, eds Mike Calver, Alan Lymbery, Jennifer McComb, Mike Bamford, Cambridge University Press, UK, pp. 481-500.

Giles, J., Kuchling, G., Davis, J., 2008, Populations of the snake-necked turtle Chelodina oblonga in three suburban lakes of Perth, Western Australia, in Urban Herpetology, eds J.C. Mitchell, R.E. Jung Brown, and B Bartholomew, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, USA, pp. 275-284.

Strehlow, K., Bradley, J.S., Davis, J., Friend, G.R., 2004, Seasonal invertebrate communities in multiple use jarrah forests. Implications for conservation and management, in Conservation of Australia's Forest Fauna, eds Daniel Lunney, Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales, Mosman, NSW, pp. 830-844.

Journal Articles

Davis, J.A., Kidd, I.M., 2012, Identifying major stressors: the essential precursor to restoring cultural ecosystem services in a degraded estuary, Estuaries and Coasts [P], vol 35, issue 4, Springer, New York NY USA, pp. 1007-1017.

Klamt, M., Thompson, R., Davis, J., 2011, Early response of the platypus to climate warming, Global Change Biology [P], vol 17, issue 10, Wiley-Blackwell, Malden USA, pp. 3011-3018.

Turak, E., Marchant, R., Barmuta, L., Davis, J., Choy, S., Metzeling, L., 2011, River conservation in a changing world: invertebrate diversity and spatial prioritisation in south-eastern coastal Australia, Marine and Freshwater Research [P], vol 62, issue 3, CSIRO, Collingwood Australia, pp. 300-311.

Finlayson, C., Davis, J., Gell, P., Kingsford, R., Parton, K., 2011, The status of wetlands and the predicted effects of global climate change: the situation in Australia, Aquatic Sciences [P], vol e, Birkhaeuser Verlag AG, Switzerland, pp. 1-21.

Davis, J.A., Sim, L., Chambers, J.M., 2010, Multiple stressors and regime shifts in shallow aquatic ecosystems in antipodean landscapes, Freshwater Biology [P], vol 55, Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Inc, Malden Massachusetts USA, pp. 5-18.

Emma, L., Chambers, J., Kobryn, H., Davis, J.A., 2009, Determining the extent and condition of riparian zones in drinking water supply catchments in Sarawak, Malaysia, Water Science and Technology: Water Supply [P], vol 9, IWA Publishing, UK, pp. 517-531.

Likens, G.E., Walker, K.F., Davies, P.E., Brookes, J., Olley, J., Young, W.J., Thoms, M.C., Lake, P.S., Gawne, B., Davis, J., Arthington, A., Thompson, R., Oliver, R.L., 2009, Ecosystem science: toward a new paradigm for managing Australia's inland aquatic ecosystems, Marine and Freshwater Research [P], vol 60, CSIRO, Australia, pp. 271-279.

Stewart, B., Strehlow, K., Davis, J.A., 2009, Impacts of deep open drains on water quality and biodiversity of receiving waterways in the wheatbelt of Western Australia, Hydrobiologia [P], vol 619, Springer, Netherlands, pp. 103-118.

Giles, J., Davis, J.A., McCauley, R., Kuchling, G., 2009, Voice of the turtle: The underwater acoustic repertoire of the long-necked freshwater turtle, Chelodina oblonga, Journal Of The Acoustical Society Of America [P], vol 126, Acoustical Society of America, USA, pp. 434-443.

Horwitz, P., Rogan, R., Halse, S., Davis, J.A., Sommer, B., 2009, Wetland invertebrate richness and endemism on the Swan Coastal Plain, Western Australia, Marine and Freshwater Research [P], vol 60, CSIRO, Australia, pp. 1006-1020.

Box, J.B., Duguid, A., Read, R., Kimber, G.G., Knapton, A., Davis, J.A., Bowland, A.E., 2008, Central Australian waterbodies: The importance of permanence in a desert landscape, Journal Of Arid Environments [P], vol 72, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 1395-1413.

Davis, J.A., Brock, M., 2008, Detecting unacceptable change in the ecological character of Ramsar wetlands, Ecological Management and Restoration [P], vol 9, issue 1, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, England, pp. 26-32.

Bonada, N., Rieradevall, M., Dallas, H., Davis, J.A., Day, J., Figueroa, R., Resh, V.H., Prat, N., 2008, Multi-scale assessment of macroinvertebrate richness and composition in Mediterranean-climate rivers, Freshwater Biology [P], vol 53, issue 4, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, England, pp. 772-788.

McComb, A.J., Qiu, S., Bell, R.W., Davis, J.A., 2007, Catchment litter: a phosphorus source mobilized during seasonal rainfall, Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems [P], vol 77, Springer Netherlands, Netherlands, pp. 179-186.

Davis, J.A., Horwitz, P., Norris, R., Chessman, B.C., McGuire, M., Sommer, B., 2006, Are river bioassessment methods using macroinvertebrates applicable to wetlands?, Hydrobiologia [P], vol 572, issue 1, Springer, Netherlands, pp. 115-128.

Sim, L., Chambers, J., Davis, J.A., 2006, Ecological regime shifts in salinised wetland systems. I. Salinity thresholds for the loss of submerged macrophytes, Hydrobiologia [P], vol 573, issue 1, Springer, Netherlands, pp. 89-107.

Sim, L., Davis, J.A., Chambers, J., 2006, Ecological regime shifts in salinised wetland systems. II. Factors affecting the dominance of benthic microbial communities, Hydrobiologia [P], vol 573, issue 1, Springer, Netherlands, pp. 109-131.

Sim, L., Davis, J.A., Chambers, J., Strehlow, K., 2006, What evidence exists for alternative ecological regimes in salinising wetlands?, Freshwater Biology [P], vol 51, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford, UK, pp. 1229-1248.

Qiu, S., McComb, A.J., Bell, R.W., Davis, J.A., 2005, Estimating production of gilvin from catchment leaf litter during seasonal rains, Marine and Freshwater Research [P], vol 56, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, pp. 843-849.

Qiu, S., McComb, A.J., Bell, R.W., Davis, J.A., 2005, Response of soil microbial activity to temperature, moisture, and litter leaching on a wetland transect during seasonal refilling, Wetlands Ecology and Management [E], vol 13, issue 1, Springer, Netherlands, pp. 43-54.

Strehlow, K., Davis, J.A., Sim, L., Chambers, J., Halse, S., Hamilton, D., Horwitz, P., McComb, A.J., Froend, R.H., 2005, Temporal Changes between Ecological Regimes in a Range of Primary and Secondary Salinised Wetlands, Hydrogeology Journal [P], vol 552, issue 1, Springer, Netherlands, pp. 17-31.

Davis, J.A., 2005, Valleys of salt, channels of water, pools of life: environmental aspects of salinity engineering, Australian Journal of Water Resources [P], vol 9, issue 2, Institution of Engineers, Australia, pp. 177-182.

Qiu, S., McComb, A.J., Bell, R.W., Davis, J.A., 2004, Partitioning processes controlling water column phosphorus concentrations in a shallow wetland, Freshwater Biology [P], vol 49, Blackwell Publishing/Wiley Blackwell, UK, pp. 563-575.

Qiu, S., McComb, A.J., Bell, R.W., Davis, J.A., 2004, Phosphorus dynamics from vegetated catchment to lakebed during seasonal refilling, Wetlands [P], vol 24, issue 4, The Society of Wetlands Scientists/Springer, The Netherlands, pp. 828-836.

Qiu, S., McComb, A.J., Bell, R.W., Davis, J.A., 2003, Nutrient response to soil and litter metabolic activity in a transect across a seasonal wetland, Marine and Freshwater Research [P], vol 54, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, pp. 243-252.

Davis, J.A., McGuire, M., Halse, S., Hamilton, D., Horwitz, P., McComb, A.J., Froend, R.H., Lyons, M., Sim, L., 2003, What happens when you add salt: predicting impacts of secondary salinisation on shallow aquatic ecosystems by using an alternative-states model, Australian Journal of Botany [P], vol 51, CSIRO, Melbourne, pp. 715-724.

Conference Proceedings

Davis, J.A., Lake, P.S., Thompson, R., 2010, Freshwater biodiversity and climate change, Managing Climate Change: Papers from the Greenhouse 2009 Conference, 23-26 March 2009, CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood Vic Australia, pp. 73-83.

Heath, M., Ladd, P., Davis, J., 2007, The effect of prescribed burning on the leaf litter invertebrates of the jarrah forest, with special reference to Apocrita (Insecta: Hymenoptera), Proceedings of the MEDECOS XI Conference, 2/9/2007 to 5/9/2007, Kings Park & Botanic Garden, W.A., pp. 115-116.

Giles, J., Davis, J., McCauley, R., Kuchling, G., 2005, The ambient sound field in three freshwater environments, Proceedings of ACOUSTICS 2005, 9-11 November, Australian Acoustical Society, Castlemaine, Vic, pp. 383-389.

McComb, A.J., Qiu, S., Bell, R.W., Davis, J., 2003, Biological processing of organics: the fate of leaf litter in the natural environment, ORBIT 2003 Organic Recovery and Biological Treatment. Proceedings of the Fourth International Conference of ORBIT Assoc., on Biological Processing or Organics: Advances for a Sustainable Society, 30 April 2003 to 2 May 2003, Orbit Association.

Other

Davis, J.A., Carling, P.A., 2012, Playa Lake Chains: The example of the Yenyening Lakes of the upper Avon River catchment of Western Australia, Encyclopedia of Lakes and Reservoirs, vol encyclopedia, Springer, New York United Kingdom, pp. 608-616.

Postgraduate Research Supervisions

Current Supervision

Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Allelopathic effects of freshwater submerged macrophytes on microalgae.
Supervisors:
Davis, J (Main), Sim, L (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Dispersal and gene flow of aquatic macroinvertebrates in arid zone wetlands..
Supervisors:
Davis, J (Main), Sunnucks, P (Joint).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Evolutionary Histories and Futures of Australian Arid Zone Wetland Communities.
Supervisors:
Davis, J (Joint), Sunnucks, P (Joint-co).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Influences of multiple stressors on biodiversity and ecosystem function in urban wetlands.
Supervisors:
Davis, J (Joint-co), Thompson, R (Joint).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
Oviposition choice and larval survival of aedes (stegomyia) albopictus (skuse) diptera: Culicidae in wet and dry seasons: Field studies in a rural community in Timor-Leste - implications for small-scale control strategies..
Supervisors:
Burd, M (Joint), Davis, J (Joint-co).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
The ecological role of the platypus in running water: food web and ecosystem function.
Supervisors:
Davis, J (Main), Thompson, R (Associate).
Program of Study:
(DOCTORATE BY RESEARCH).
Thesis Title:
The landscape ecology of food webs.
Supervisors:
Davis, J (Joint-co), Thompson, R (Joint).