about us · study sites · masters program · phd & research programs · scholarships · 
people · publications · collaborators · site map · contact · news · links
people · publications · collaborators · site map · contact · news · linksKoala and Kangaroo
Contraception Program
The Koala and Kangaroo Contraception Program is the outcome of a successful Australian Research Council Linkage Grant application (funded 2005-2009). We aim to test a commercially available long-acting contraceptive on large populations of kangaroos and koalas, and to devise efficient, economic and practical ways of delivering these contraceptives to the animals in the wild. The outcome will be a system of controlling the number of these animals which is economically realistic and ethically acceptable to national and international communities.
The Koala and Kangaroo Contraception Program is a cooperative venture involving three universities (the University of New South Wales; the University of Melbourne and the University of Western Australia), four Australian Wildlife Management Authorities (Parks Victoria; the Department of Sustainability and Environment, Victoria; the Department for Environment and Heritage, South Australia and the Department of Conservation and Land Management, Western Australia) and the biotech company Peptech Animal Health Ltd.
Click here for more information about the the Koala and Kangaroo Contraception Program.
About PhD Study
and Research Programs
ANZCoL in New Zealand is directed by Professor Charles Daugherty (School of Biological Sciences, VUW), and in Australia by Professor Des Cooper (BEES, UNSW). Both universities support a considerable number of students gaining post-graduate qualifications through research. These range from project components of coursework studies to PhDs by research. Details of current research programs can be found in the respective home pages for Biological Sciences in each university.
Emphasis and focus of ANZCoL
ANZCoL offer joint supervision of PhD projects which draw on or complement the expertise and existing research programs of the collaborating researchers. Particular emphasis is placed upon research projects which span both the New Zealand and Australian environments. Please see the people pages for more detailed information on current research interests of those involved in the ANZCoL collaboration.
We invite enquiries from prospective research students.
Example of joint research program: Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) studies of the Brush-tailed Possum and the Tuatara
Professor Daugherty and Professor Cooper are developing a joint PhD program which focuses on the evolution and biological significance of the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) in a marsupial, the Brushtailed Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), and the Tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus and S. guntheri). The Brushtailed Possum has been introduced to New Zealand where it is of major environmental and agricultural concern. The MHC has a basic role to play in response to pathogens. It is also now thought to influence mate preference, and it is this which is the immediate concern in the joint program. They aim to see how widely MHC influenced mate preference is in land vertebrates. Professor Daugherty and Professor Cooper also share a common interest in sex differentiation and are interested in developing joint work in this area.
Content Last Modified: Monday, 10th April 2006.
