Welcome to my web page, a window into my ecological research and related activities. Here you’ll find a summary of current and past research projects, as well as a range of practical resources. Stay tuned for occasional updates about current research, opportunities for student projects or volunteer involvement.

 Tweets by @D0CT0R_Dave

For the past 20 years or so, I have been engaged in ecological research, both within Australia and in various parts of the Neotropics.  My current research interests fall into four broad areas: the biological consequences of habitat fragmentation‘ ecological interactions between plants and animals with an emphasis on parasitic plants, biodiversity conservation in agricultural landscapes, and biodiversity survey methods. Combining community-scale descriptive work with species-specific studies, most of my work is restricted to vertebrates, although I recognize the central role that arthropod and microbial assemblages play in these systems. I have complemented this community-level descriptive approach with a resource-based experimental approach, treating mistletoe and other parasitic plants as model systems. Some of my research has been conducted in national parks, travelling stock reserves and other public lands, but most of my field sites are on private land and I work closely with natural resource agencies, regional bodies and individual landholders to convert my findings into practical on-ground outcomes.

This is a personal webpage, created and maintained by David M Watson that is neither endorsed by nor affiliated with my employer, Charles Sturt University.  Except where otherwise noted, all images are taken by me—I encourage you to use and distribute the material contained here, but just check with me first.