Karl Vernes
Snr.Lecturer, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, School of Environmental and Rural Sciences
Contact
| Email: | kvernes@une.edu.au |
| Room: | W55 216 |
| Phone: | 02 6773 3255 (or +61 2 6773 3255 overseas) |
| Fax: | 02 6773 2769 |
After finishing my undergraduate degree in Zoology and Marine Biology at James Cook University, I pursued an M.Sc. in Zoology from James Cook University, completing it in 1994. In 1995 I worked as a consultant biologist for the Kinhill Group in Brisbane before returning to James Cook University to undertake a Ph.D. in Zoology and Tropical Ecology. I spent 1997 in Canada writing my Ph.D. at The University of British Columbia, returning to Australia in 1998 to work for the Rainforest CRC on feral pig management in lowland swamp forests. In 1999 I began a 3.5 year tenure as the McCain Postdoctoral Fellow in the Biology Department at Mount Allison University, New Brunswick, Canada. At Mount Allison I also taught courses in Mammalogy and Conservation Biology and supervised undergraduate research students. In the latter half of 2002 I returned again to Australia to lecture in the School of Tropical Ecology at James Cook University (Cairns). In January of 2003 I joined the Discipline of Ecosystem Management at UNE as Lecturer in Vertebrate Ecology, and was promoted to Senior Lecturer in January 2005.
Areas of Teaching
- RSNR110: Sustaining Our Rural Environments
- ECOL203/403: Ecology - Populations to Ecosystems
- ZOOL203: Vertebrate Zoology - Evolution and Diversity
- EM323/523: Wildlife Ecology and Management
- EM353/553: Conservation Biology
Qualifications
- B.Sc. in Zoology and Marine Biology (James Cook University, 1989)
- M.Sc. in Zoology (James Cook University, 1995)
- Ph.D. in Zoology and Tropical Ecology (James Cook University, 2000)
Publications
Submitted Manuscripts
Pope, L.C., Vernes, K., Goldizen, A.W., Johnson, C. N. Gene flow is limited through both mating system and dispersal in a restricted small mammal, Bettongia tropica. [Submitted].
Steeves, B.J., Vernes, K. and Stewart, J.M. Increase in relative mass of salivary glands of northern short-tailed shrews (Blarina brevicauda) during approach to winter. [Submitted].
Papers
35. Cooper. T. and Vernes, K. (in press). Mycophagy in the larger bodied skinks of the genera Tiliqua and Egernia: Are there implications for ecosystem health? Australian Zoologist
34. Cooper, C.E., Vernes, K. and Cooper, T. (2009). Fate of wild-caught Antechinus flavipes released after physiological experiments. Australian Mammalogy 31: 143-145.
33. Fenner, S. Körtner, G. and Vernes, K. (2009). Aerial baiting with 1080 to control wild dogs does not affect the populations of two common small mammal species. Wildlife Research 36: 528-532.
32. Vernes, K. and Pope, L.C. (2009). Reproduction in the northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus) in the Australian Wet Tropics. Australian Journal of Zoology 57: 105-109.
31. Vernes, K., Freeman, M. and Nesbitt, B. (2009). Estimating the density of free-ranging wild horses in rugged gorges using a photographic mark-recapture technique. Wildlife Research 36: 361-367.
30. Vernes, K. and McGrath, K. (2009). Are introduced black rats (Rattus rattus) a functional replacement for mycophagous native rodents in fragmented forest? Fungal Ecology 2: 145-148.
29. Ritchie, L.E., Betts, M.G., Forbes, G., Vernes, K. (2009). Effects of landscape composition and configuration on northern flying squirrels in a forest mosaic. Forest Ecology and Management 257: 1920-1929.
28. Vernes, K. and Dunn, L. (2009). Mammal mycophagy and fungal spore dispersal across a steep environmental gradient in eastern Australia. Austral Ecology 34: 69-76.
27. Sangay, T. and Vernes, K. (2008). Human-wildlife conflict in the Kingdom of Bhutan: patterns of livestock predation by large mammalian carnivores. Biological Conservation 141: 1272-1282.
26. Vernes, K. and Trappe, J.M. (2007). Hypogeous fungi in the diet of the red-legged pademelon (Thylogale stigmatica) from a rainforest-open forest interface in northeastern Australia. Australian Zoologist 34: 203-208.
25. Vernes K. and Cooper, T. (2007). Association of parma wallabies (Macropus parma) with sedge swamps in Gibraltar Range National Park. Australian Mammalogy 29: 111-113.
24. Vernes, K. and Poirier, N. (2007). Use of a robin's nest as a cache site for truffles by a red squirrel. Northeastern Naturalist 14:145-149.
23. Vernes K. and Pope L.C. (2006). Population density of the northern bettong Bettongia tropica in northeastern Queensland. Australian Mammalogy 28: 87-92.
22. Vernes, K., Green, S., Howes, A. and Dunn, L. (2006). Species richness and habitat associations of non-flying mammals in Gibraltar Range National Park. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 127: 93-105.
21. Caldwell, I.R., Vernes, K., Bärlocher, F. (2005). The northern flying squirrel as a vector for inoculation of red spruce (Picea rubens) seedlings with ectomycorrhizal fungi. Sydowia 57: 166-178.
20. Johnson, C.N. Vernes, K. and Payne, A. (2005). Demography in relation to population density in two herbivorous marsupials: testing for source-sink dynamics versus independent regulation of population size. Oecologia 143: 70-76.
19. Vernes, K., Pope, L.C., Hill, C.J. and F. Bärlocher. (2005). Seasonality, dung specificity and competition in an assemblage of dung beetles in the Australian Wet Tropics, northeastern Australia. Journal of Tropical Ecology 21: 1-8.
18. Vernes, K., Johnson, C.N. and Castellano, M.A. (2004). Fire-related changes in hypogeous sporocarp biomass at foraging points used by a tropical mycophagous marsupial, the northern bettong (Bettongia tropica). Mycological Research 108: 1438-1446.
17. Vernes, K. (2004). Breeding biology and seasonal capture success of northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) and red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in southern New Brunswick. Northeastern Naturalist 11: 123-137.
16. Vernes, K., Blois, S, and Bärlocher, F. (2004). Seasonal consumption of hypogeous fungi by northern flying squirrels (Glaucomys sabrinus) and red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in old-growth forest, New Brunswick. Canadian Journal of Zoology 82: 110-117.
Vernes, K. (2003). Fine-scale habitat preferences and habitat partitioning by three mycophagous mammals in tropical wet sclerophyll forest, northeastern Australia. Austral Ecology 28, 471-479.
14. Vernes, K. and Pope, L.C. (2002). Fecundity, pouch young survivorship and breeding season of the northern bettong (Bettongia tropica) in the wild. Australian Mammalogy 23: 95-100.
13. Vernes, K. and Haydon, D.T. (2001) Effects of fire on northern bettong (Bettongia tropica) foraging behaviour. Austral Ecology 26: 649-659.
12. Vernes, K. (2001). Gliding performance of the northern flying squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) in mature mixed forest, eastern Canada. Journal of Mammalogy 82: 1026-1033.
11. Vernes, K., Castellano, M. and Johnson, C.N. (2001). Effects of season and fire on the diversity of hypogeous fungi consumed by a tropical mycophagous marsupial. Journal of Animal Ecology 70: 945-954.
10. Vernes, K., Winter, J. and Dennis, A. (2001). Mammalian diet and broad hunting strategy of the dingo (Canis familiaris dingo) in the wet tropical rainforests of northeastern Australia. Biotropica 33: 339-345.
9. Vernes, K. and Pope, L.C. (2001). Stability of nest range, home range and movement of the northern bettong (Bettongia tropica) following moderately intense fire in tropical woodland, north-eastern Queensland. Wildlife Research 28: 141-150.
8. Vernes, K. (2000). Immediate effects of fire on the survivorship of an endangered marsupial: the northern bettong (Bettongia tropica). Biological Conservation 96: 305-309.
7. Vernes, K. (1999). Pellet counts to estimate density of a rainforest kangaroo. Wildlife Society Bulletin 27: 991-996.
6. Williams, S.E., Vernes, K. and Coughlan, J. (1999). The vertebrate fauna of Cannabullen Plateau: a mid-altitude rainforest in the Australian Wet Tropics. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 43: 849-858.
5. Vernes, K. (1998). Observation of a long-range overland movement event by an adult common water rat, Hydromys chrysogaster. Australian Mammalogy 20: 409-410.
4. Vernes, K., Marsh, H. and Winter, J. (1995). Home-range characteristics and movement patterns of the red-legged pademelon (Thylogale stigmatica) in a fragmented tropical rainforest. Wildlife Research 22: 699-708.
3. Vernes, K. (1995). The diet of the red-legged pademelon Thylogale stigmatica (Gould) (Marsupialia: Macropodidae) in fragmented tropical rainforest, north Queensland, Australia. Mammalia 59: 517-525.
2. Johnson, P.M. and Vernes, K.A. (1994). Reproduction of the red-legged pademelon, Thylogale stigmatica Gould (Marsupialia: Macropodidae) in captivity, with age estimation of the pouch young. Wildlife Research 21: 553-558.
1. Vernes, K. (1993) A drive fence for capturing small forest-dwelling macropods. Wildlife Research 20: 189-191.
Sections in Books
Vernes, K. (in press). Mycophagy in a community of macropodoid species. In: ‘Macropods: the biology of kangaroos, wallabies and rat-kangaroos' (Edited by G.M. Coulson and M.D.B. Eldridge) CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
Johnson, P.M. and Vernes, K. (2008) ‘The red-legged pademelon, Thylogale stigmatica' pp 397-400 in Van Dyck, S.M. (ed) ‘The Mammals of Australia'. 3rd Edition. New Holland, Sydney.
Winter, J., Johnson, P.M. and Vernes, K. (2008) ‘The northern bettong, Bettongia tropica' pp 293-294 in Van Dyck, S.M. (ed) ‘The Mammals of Australia'. 3rd Edition. New Holland, Sydney.
Jarman, P. and Vernes, K. (2006). Chapter 4: ‘Wildlife' Pp. 44-56 in "High Lean Country: Land, People and Memories in New England". Ed by A. Atkinson, J.S. Ryan, I. Davidson and A. Piper. Allen and Unwin, Crows Nest, NSW.
Johnson, P.M. and Vernes, K.A. (1995), The Red-legged Pademelon, Thylogale stigmatica. pp 397-399 In Strahan, R. (Ed.) ‘The Mammals of Australia'. 2nd Edition (Reed Books: Sydney).
Patents
Stewart, J.M., Steeves, B. and Vernes, K. (2009). Paralytic peptide for use in neuromuscular therapy. United States Patent 7485622. Issued 03 February 2009.
Stewart, J.M., Steeves, B. and Vernes, K. (2007). Paralytic peptide for use in neuromuscular therapy. United States Patent 7273850. Issued 25 January 2007.
Stewart, J.M., Steeves, B. and Vernes, K. (2006). Paralytic peptide for use in neuromuscular therapy. United States Patent 7119168. Issued 28 September 2006.
Vernes, K., Steeves, B. and Stewart, J.M. (2004). Shrew paralytic peptide for use in neuromuscular therapy. Canadian Patent CA2544467. Issued 3 June 2004.
Other Articles
Vernes, K. (2008). Tigers above 4,000m in Bhutan. Oryx 42: 327-328.
Vernes, K. (2007). Are diverse mammal communities important for maintaining plant-fungal associations and ecosystem health? Australasian Plant Conservation 15: 16 - 18.
Vernes, K. and Johnson, P.M. (1995) Life on the Edge. Wildlife Australia pp 24-25. Winter Edition.