Project: Transmission and effectiveness of RHDV infection in
rabbit populations at different spatial scales.
The economic and environmental impacts of rabbits have been
reduced in recent years by the arrival of RHDV (rabbit haemorrhagic
disease virus), but they remain very significant, and the
management of rabbits presents an ongoing problem. Myxomatosis,
while still important as a control method, is not so effective as
it was in maintaining rabbit populations at a low level. RHDV has
been extremely effective in some areas, but is less effective in
others. Large-scale differences in the effectiveness of RHDV seem
to be linked to climate, but there are also more local-scale
variations in effectiveness, and the mechanisms behind these
differences in effectiveness at different scales are not fully
understood.
My PhD project builds on previous work to examine the importance
of different factors in determining the effectiveness of RHDV at
different scales. Variations at the landscape scale have been
examined by analysis of archival data from sites across Australia
to try and separate out the impacts of systematic and stochastic
heterogeneity in the environment, habitat and management actions.
Variations at the local scale have been addressed by fieldwork
directed at establishing the social organisation (ie. relative
numbers of warren-dwelling and surface-dwelling individuals) and
contact patterns of rabbits in geographically matched locations
exhibiting differing levels of effectiveness of RHDV.
Background:
Masters through Research (MRes) degree in Ecology and
Environmental Management (University of York).
I moved to York, UK, from my home country of Finland 9 years
ago, to study for a BSc degree in Biology with a year in
France. After my undergraduate degree (and a gap year in Peru
working on a project on bird diversity and conservation), I did my
Masters. I got to know Dr Piran White through one of my MRes
projects, which studied the ecology and management of roe deer in
North Yorkshire. Piran’s collaboration with the Vertebrate
Pest Research Unit at NSW DPI and AI CRC gave me the opportunity to
work towards this PhD.
