Matthew Rees

I’m a PhD candidate with the QAECO lab at the University of Melbourne. I use quantitative methods to assist land managers with conservation problems centred around threatened and invasive species. Mammalian predators are inherently difficult to monitor and manage (also fairly interesting), and so, make up a large component of my research. More broadly, my work tends to fall into three core themes: (1) estimating population dynamics and density, (2) modelling species interactions, and (3) integrating multiple types of data and models. I try to conduct this research at finescales and the individual-level where possible. My PhD thesis details the interactions between introduced foxes, feral cats and threatened prey, set against a backdrop of intensive fox control and prescribed fire.
Interests. Predator ecology; Invasive animals; Fire; Camera-trapping; Spatial capture-recapture, occupancy-detection, generalised additive and integrated population models.

Publications

Peer-reviewed

Reptiles as food: predation of Australian reptiles by introduced red foxes compounds and complements predation by cats, Wildlife Research. A Stobo-Wilson… MW Rees…
Variation in feral cat density between two large adjacent islands in Australia’s monsoon tropics, Pacific Conservation Biology. H Davies, Tiwi Land Rangers, MW Rees, D Stokeld, A Miller, G Gillespie and B Murphy (2021)
Rapidly assessing cobenefits to advance threat‐management alliances, Conservation Biology. MW Rees, J Carwardine, A Reeson & J Firn (2020)
Unexpectedly high densities of feral cats in a rugged temperate forest, Biological Conservation. [code] MW Rees, JH Pascoe, BA Wintle, M Le Pla, EK Birnbaum & BA Hradsky (2019)

In review

Genetic sampling and an activity index indicate contrasting lethal control outcomes,
. M Le Pla, EK Birnbaum, MW Rees, BA Hradsky, AR Weeks, A Van Rooyen and JH Pascoe
Sharing meals: predation on Australian mammals by the introduced European red fox compounds and complements predation by feral cats,
. A Stobo-Wilson… MW Rees…
Compounding and complementary carnivores: Australian bird species eaten by the introduced European red fox Vulpes vulpes and domestic cat Felis catus,
. A Stobo-Wilson… MW Rees…
Counting the bodies: the numbers of, and spatial variation in, Australian reptiles, birds and mammals killed by two introduced predators.,
. A Stobo-Wilson… MW Rees…

Reports

Monitoring and managing critical weight range mammals in the Indigenous protected areas of the world heritage Budj Bim cultural landscape,
A report prepared for the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning. MW Rees