Adjunct Professor
Stuart Parsons
Faculty of Science,
School of Biology & Environmental Science
Biography
Professor Parsons' research is in the broad area of sensory ecology and animal behaviour, with a focus on bioacoustics. Past outputs have covered topics as diverse as auditory anatomy, biological sonar, mating systems, and habitat selection in natural and modified landscapes. Although much of his work has focused on bats, he has also worked with insects, birds and whales. Much of Prof. Parsons' work also has a strong applied focus, using his knowledge of acoustics and quantitative methods to develop detection and classification systems for vocalising animals. Systems developed have been used by conservation organisations to track birds in the wild, and state government to detect invasive species. He has also worked with federal and local government and multinational companies on large infrastructure development projects such as dams, roads, airports and quarries. His research is international with active collaborations in Australia, Europe, USA, Central America, South Africa, Taiwan, China, and Thailand. Prof Parsons' research is also multi-disciplinary with active collaborations with physicists (acoustic arrays), engineers (bio-engineering – measure respiration from free-flying animals) and computer scientists/bioinformaticians (acoustic informatics). Stuart's lab web page can be found at Walkingbats.com.Personal details
Positions
- Adjunct Professor
Faculty of Science,
School of Biology & Environmental Science
Keywords
Animal Behaviour, Bioacoustics, Wildlife Biology, Conservation Biology, Ecology, Bats, Chiroptera, Human-Wildlife Conflict
Research field
Zoology, Ecological applications, Other biological sciences
Field of Research code, Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC), 2020
Qualifications
- PhD (University of Otago)
Professional memberships and associations
Teaching
Outcomes for Prof. Parsons' students are excellent, with many quickly finding work with environmental consultancies, government research agencies (e.g. New Zealand Department of Conservation, CSIRO) and universities.
Publications
- Schwing, R., Nelson, X., Wein, A. & Parsons, S. (2017). Positive emotional contagion in a New Zealand parrot [Correspondence]. Current Biology, 27(6). https://eprints.qut.edu.au/104722
- Czenze, Z., Brigham, R., Hickey, A. & Parsons, S. (2017). Cold and alone? Roost choice and season affect torpor patterns in lesser short-tailed bats. Oecologia, 183(1), 1–8. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/101353
- Toth, C., Cummings, G., Dennis, T. & Parsons, S. (2015). Adoption of alternative habitats by a threatened, 'obligate' forest-dwelling bat in a fragmented landscape. Journal of Mammalogy, 96(5), 927–937. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/86191
- Toth, C., Dennis, T., Pattemore, D. & Parsons, S. (2015). Females as mobile resources: communal roosts promote the adoption of lek breeding in a temperate bat. Behavioral Ecology, 26(4), 1156–1163. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/86192
- Corfield, J., Parsons, S., Harimoto, Y. & Acosta, M. (2015). Retinal anatomy of the New Zealand Kiwi: Structural traits consistent with their nocturnal behavior. The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology, 298(4), 771–779. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/79728
- Corfield, J., Eisthen, H., Iwaniuk, A. & Parsons, S. (2014). Anatomical specializations for enhanced olfactory sensitivity in Kiwi, Apteryx mantelli. Brain, Behavior and Evolution, 84(3), 214–226. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/79729
- Cummings, G., Anderson, S., Dennis, T., Toth, C. & Parsons, S. (2014). Competition for pollination by the lesser short-tailed bat and its influence on the flowering phenology of some New Zealand endemics. Journal of Zoology, 293(4), 281–288. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/79730
- Borkin, K. & Parsons, S. (2014). Effects of clear-fell harvest on bat home range. PLoS One, 9(1), 1–7. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/79732
- Toth, C. & Parsons, S. (2013). Is lek breeding rare in bats? Journal of Zoology, 291(1), 3–11. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/79734
- Walters, C., Freeman, R., Collen, A., Dietz, C., Fenton, M., Jones, G., Obrist, M., Puechmaille, S., Sattler, T., Siemers, B., Parsons, S. & Jones, K. (2012). A continental-scale tool for acoustic identification of European bats. Journal of Applied Ecology, 49(5), 1064–1074. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/79740
QUT ePrints
For more publications by Stuart, explore their research in QUT ePrints (our digital repository).