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  • Kirrily Hastings

    Kirrily Hastings

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Kirrily Hastings

Overview of thesis

My research is a case study of the effects and interactions between habitat quality and human use of beaches on the breeding territory occupancy of the Western Hooded Plover Thinornis cucullatus tregallasi. This priority 4 resident shorebird is experiencing population decline and is highly faithful to breeding sites, with monogamous pairs returning to the same beach each year to breed. The study area of Cape Naturaliste to Cape Leeuwin in WA is an important breeding area for the species, but the northern portions of this region have an unexplained history of breeding abandonment.

The research seeks to investigate whether abandoned breeding territories differ in some way from those that are occupied. Are food resources poorer? Or is human use more intense on abandoned territories? Are there fewer options for shelter? Or has the physical environment of those territories changed in some way historically? Conversely, if these breeding territories provide equivalent habitat quality to those that continue to be occupied, do these abandonments imply a shift in the regional population stability of this species?

Qualifications

  • Master of Science, University of Western Australia (2012)
  • Bachelor of Environmental Science, Murdoch University (1996)

Research

Research Interests

  • Conservation of shorebirds and seabirds
  • Habitat connectivity and trophic interactions
  • Marine, coastal, and wetland ecosystems and management
  • Understanding and mitigating anthropogenic impacts on coastal ecosystems

Past Research employment history

  • 2016 - 2019: Senior Environmental Officer, Department of Water and Environmental Regulation
  • 2014 - 2014: Ngari-Capes Marine Park Community Education Officer, Department of Fisheries WA (DPIRD)
  • 1998 - 2020: Involvement in the Environmental Consulting Industry (Naturaliste Environmental Services and Ottelia Ecology)
  • 1996 Marine and Freshwater Research Laboratory, Murdoch University, Research Assistant

Scholarships and Awards

  • 2024 - John Glover Research Grant, Royal Society of Western Australia
  • 2024 – Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment, Ecological Society of Australia
  • 2023 - Professor Alan Keast Research Award, Stuart Leslie Foundation, Birdlife Australia

Supervisors

  • Dr Robert Davis (CBRC)
  • Dr Sora Marin-Estrella (CMER)
  • Professor Mike Weston (Deakin University)

Contact

Kirrily Hastings
PhD student
Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research
Conservation and Biodiversity Research Centre
School of Science
Email: k.hastings@ecu.edu.au
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