Dr David Newell
Qualifications
B App Sci (Hons)
PhD
Expertise
Ecology, Conservation Biology, Zoology, Herpetology, Australian Frogs, Wildlife diseases, Mark-Recapture, Calling Phenology, Biogeography, Climate Change, GIS
Research Interests and Background
My research focuses on the conservation, ecology and management of Australian forest fauna. I undertake applied research that allows improved management outcomes. I have worked extensively with endangered herpetofauna and use capture mark recapture frameworks to describe population demographics. My primary focus is on understanding the ecology of frogs and the factors that have caused declines, in particular the amphibian chytrid fungus.
I supervise postgraduate students within the Forest Research Centre and these projects include calling phenology of endangered frogs and using bioclimatic modelling to understand future distributions under climate change. More recently, I have been applying these modelling techniques to endangered molluscs and am interested in understanding distributional patterns in rainforest molluscs.
Awards and Distinctions
Taylor and Francis Achievement Award - Best Early Career publication
List of Recent Publications
LF Grogan, J Robert, L Berger, LF Skerratt, BC Scheele, JG Castley, ... (2018); Review of the amphibian immune response to chytridiomycosis, and future directions; Frontiers in Immunology 9, 2536
D Newell (2018); An update on frog declines from the forests of subtropical eastern Australia; in H Heatwole & J Rowley (eds), Status of Conservation and Decline of Amphibians, CSIRO Publishing, pp. 29-37. ISBN: 9781486308385
RL Goldingay, DA Newell (2017); Small‐scale field experiments provide important insights to restore the rock habitat of Australia's most endangered snake; Restoration Ecology 25 (2), 243-252
BC Scheele, LF Skerratt, LF Grogan, DA Hunter, N Clemann,… (2017); After the epidemic: ongoing declines, stabilizations and recoveries in amphibians afflicted by chytridiomycosis; Biological Conservation 206, 37-46
RL Goldingay, J Parkyn, DA Newell (2017); No evidence of protracted population decline across 17 years in an unmanaged population of the green and golden bell frog in north-eastern New South Wales; Australian Journal of Zoology
L Skerratt, L Berger, N Clemann, D Hunter, G Marantelli, D Newell (2016); Priorities for management of chytridiomycosis in Australia: saving frogs from extinction; Wildlife Research 43 (2), 105-120
G Quick, RL Goldingay, J Parkyn, DA Newell (2015); Population stability in the endangered Fleay’s barred frog (Mixophyes fleayi) and a program for long-term monitoring; Australian Journal of Zoology 63 (3), 214-219
RJ Willacy, M Mahony, DA Newell (2015); If a frog calls in the forest: Bioacoustic monitoring reveals the breeding phenology of the endangered Richmond Range mountain frog (Philoria richmondensis); Austral Ecology 40 (6), 625-633
SL Koehler, DC Gilmore, DA Newell (2015); Translocation of the threatened Growling Grass Frog Litoria raniformis: a case study; Australian Zoologist 37 (3), 321-336
R Knowles, K Thumm, M Mahony, H Hines, D Newell, M Cunningham (2015); Oviposition and egg mass morphology in barred frogs (Anura: Myobatrachidae: Mixophyes Günther, 1864), its phylogenetic significance and implications for conservation management; Australian Zoologist 37 (3), 381-402
J Parkyn, A Challisthianagara, L Brooks, A Specht, S McMullan-Fisher, ... (2015); The natural diet of the endangered camaenid land snail Thersites mitchellae (Cox, 1864) in northern New South Wales, Australia; Australian Zoologist 37 (3), 343-349