Dr Melodie McGeoch - Researcher Profile

Melodie McGeoch

Address

Monash University
Wellington Road, Clayton

Biography

I graduated with a PhD in Entomology from Pretoria University (UP) in 1995, after completing undergraduate training at the University of Kwazulu-Natal. After a Postdoctotal Fellowship at Sheffield University (1996) I returned to a lecturing position at UP, moving to Stellenbosch University in 2001. I spent four years outside of University (2008-2012) establishing and heading the Cape Research Centre for South African National Parks. During this time I was appointed Honorary Professor in the Department of Botany and Zoology at Stellenbosch University (2008-2013), and was also a Core Team Member of the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Invasion Biology (2004-2012). I joined the School of Biological Sciences at Monash University in July 2012. 

My main research programmes to date include (i) spatial ecology and the value of occupancy data in ecology (ongoing); (ii) the impact of climate change on sub-Antarctic biodiversity; (iii) the development of bioindication systems, including those for monitoring the success of biodiversity policy implementation (ongoing); and most recently (iv) the consequences of global change for protected areas and their performance. At Monash I plan to integrate the use of spatial ecology and the modelling of species occupancy and abundance distributions into approaches for monitoring biodiversity and biodiversity policy, using invasive alien species as a model problem. This research falls within the emerging field of Conservation Scaling, i.e. creating explicit linkages between high level policy and local conservation action by ensuring matching of ecological, management, monitoring and policy scales (McGeoch et al. 2006, 2010; Butchart et al. 2010).

Related Links:

  • Google Scholar Profile McGeoch
  • School of Biological Sciences Staff Page McGeoch

Keywords

Spatial ecology, bioindication, environmental change, biological invasions, protected areas

Qualifications

PHD ENTOMOLOGY
Institution: University of Pretoria
Year awarded: 1995
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (HONOURS)
Institution: University of Natal
Year awarded: 1990