Megan O'Shea

Megan is a lecturer with the College of Sport, Health & Engineering, teaching into the Environmental Management stream of the Bachelor of Science (Specialisation) course.

Following on from her honours and doctoral work, Megan’s research interests continue to focus on the biology and ecology of the threatened Striped Legless Lizard. Recently, Megan undertook an 18 month secondment to the Department of Environment and Primary Industries to develop a project that was aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of translocation as a conservation tool for Striped Legless Lizards.

Megan’s interests extend to the conservation and restoration of temperate grasslands in Victoria. In 2011 she participated in the Theo Murphy Think Tank on Melbourne’s Peri-urban Grasslands. Currently she supervises a doctoral research student who is studying factors that affect the recruitment of the threatened Spiny Rice-flower. Through her interests in Striped Legless Lizard and grassland ecology she has established industry and community relationships with:

• the Department of Environment and Primary Industries
• the Striped Legless Lizard Working Group
• Zoos Victoria
• the Victorian National Parks Association
• Western Melbourne Catchments Network
• Brimbank City Council
• Cairnlea Conservation Reserves Committee of Management
• Friends of Iramoo.

Recent publications

Reports

O’Shea, M. (2013) Evaluating the Effectiveness of Salvage and Translocation of Striped Legless Lizards.  Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research Technical Report Series No. 243, Department of Sustainability and Environment, Heidelberg.

O’Shea, M. (2012) Legging it for Lizards: Community Monitoring of the Striped Legless Lizard at Iramoo Wildlife Reserve, Victoria 2010.  NatureWatch Monitoring Report No. 3, Victorian National Parks Association, Carlton.

O’Shea, M. (2013) An Assessment of the Striped Legless Lizard Delma impar Population at Denton Avenue Grassland Reserve, St Albans, Victoria.  A report to Brimbank City Council, Victoria.

O’Shea, M., Bryant, D. and Brown, G. (2013) Mapping Environmental Attributes of the Grasslands of the Werribee Plains Hinterland, for the Melbourne Strategic Assessment.  Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Department of Environment and Primary Industries, Heidelberg.

Conference presentations

O’Shea, M., Turner, V. and Bryant, D. (2012) “Is Translocation and Effective Conservation Tool for Striped Legless Lizards?”, presented at the Ecological Society of Australia (ESA) 2012 Annual Conference, Melbourne.

Teaching responsibilities

• RBF2640 Australian Animals
• RBF3620 Conservation and Sustainability
• RBF3210 Environmental Rehabilitation

Coordination

• RBF3620 Conservation and Sustainability

Postgraduate research students students and fellows

• Primary supervisor of one PhD student

Research grants

• Research grant from Pimelea spinescens Recovery Team in 2009, 2010 and 2011, totalling $21,000
• Research grant from Victorian National Parks Association in 2011, totalling $3,000
• Research grant from Department of Environment and Primary Industries in 2013, totalling $30,215
• Research grant form Public Transport Victoria in 2014, totalling $109,283

Professional memberships

• Ecological Society of Australia (ESA)
• Striped Legless Lizard Working Group
• Victorian Field Naturalists Club

Industry experience

2012-2013: Eighteen month secondment to the Department of Environment and Primary Industries - Evaluating the Effectiveness of Salvage and Translocation of Striped Legless Lizards.