Valentina Mella

Valentina's research aims to implement practical solutions to achieve effective long‐term conservation management actions to help threatened species. She currently leads a project examining the behaviour and health of koalas in the Liverpool Plains, NSW, in relation to water availability in the environment. The study provides the first practical management solution to help wild koalas through climate change driven heatwaves and droughts. The project plays a pivotal role for the conservation of koala populations. In the past, Valentina has investigated the effectiveness of wildlife rehabilitation programs in the Sydney metropolitan region, as a mitigation measure against negative human-wildlife interactions in urban areas. In addition, she has helped pioneer the work on personality and problem solving in Australian marsupials and its application to ecology and wildlife management. The remainder of her research is focused on developing solutions to conservation problems using novel twists on behavioural and ecological principles, such as integrating behavioural and physiological responses of native prey to reduce impacts of introduced predators in Australia.