Research Co-ordinator

Research Coordinator, Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change, JCU Townsville (2007- present) PhD – James Cook University (completed 2007) Laboratory manager- Molecular ecology and evolution Lab, JCU (2003-2007).

Research Interests

• Determinates of rarity

• Ecology and Distributions of Herpitofauna

• Climate change impacts on rainforest fauna

I am currently the Research Coordinator for the Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change. The core tasks for this position involve the coordination of staff and post-graduate students involved with the CTBCC with respect to support in field data collection, skills training, grant and report writing and organisation of meetings and conferences. The position also involves the coordination of, and participation in, field data collection, and collaboration with other team members in scientific publications. We aim to provide a supportive and multidisciplinary collaborative environment in which both established and young researchers alike are able to carry out complimentary and novel research.

My PhD research investigated ecological differences between rare and common species of Microhylid frogs in the Wet Tropic Biogeographic area in Queensland. This research looked at the diet, macro and micro habitat selection, dispersal and ecology of 11 different species of microhylid frogs to determine if these traits could explain differences seen in geographic range size of such closely related species. My research showed that no single ecological trait could explain differences in geographic distribution of rare and common species but that they all compensate in different ways to persist through time. I am currently working on four manuscripts from this research.

While my main research interests are in conservation biology and reducing anthropogenic impacts on biodiversity and our natural environment, I am also interested in project management and working with large groups of people.

Selected Publications

Williams Y.M, Williams S.E., Waycott M., Alford R. & Johnson C.J. 2006. Niche breadth and geographic range: ecological compensation for geographic rarity in rainforest frogs. Biology Letters 2: 532-535

Kutt, A.S., Kemp, J.E., McDonald, K.R, Williams, Y., Williams, S.E., Haines, H.B., Hero, J-M. and Torr, G. (2005). Vertebrate fauna survey of White Mountains National Park, Desert Uplands Bioregion, Queensland. Australian Zoologist 33: 17-38

Kutt, A.S., Kemp, J.E., McDonald, K.R, Williams, Y., Williams, S.E., Haines, H.B., Hero, J-M. and Torr, G. (2003). Vertebrate fauna survey of White Mountains National Park, Desert Uplands Bioregion, Queensland. White Mountain Scientific Study Report, Geography monograph Series No 9, The Royal Geographic Society of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

Russel B.M., Wang J., Williams Y, Hearnden M.N., Kay B.H., 2001. Laboratory evaluation of two native fishes from Tropical North Queensland as biological control agents of subterranean Aedes aegypti. Journal of American Mosquito Control Association. 17(2) June 2001 124-126

Contact Details

Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate Change

School of Marine and Tropical Biology

James Cook University

Phone: +61 7 47815552

Email: yvette.williams@jcu.edu.au