Gerald Page - PhD Student

School of Plant Biology (M090)
University of Western Australia
35 Stirling Highway
Crawley  WA  6009
AUSTRALIA

telephone     +61 8 6488 7914
fax               +61 8 6488 7925
email            pageg01@student.uwa.edu.au

BSc (Hons), UWA (2004)

Research Interests

• Semi-arid tree ecophysiology
• Landscape ecology

PhD Thesis: Mulga ecology and applications to site restoration at West Angelas, Pilbara.

Supervisors: Dr. Pauline Grierson (UWA), Dr. Louise Cullen (UWA), Dr. Stephen van Leeuwen (DEC)
Funding: Rio Tinto Iron Ore
Commenced: April 2005
 
Acacia aneura F. Muell ex Benth (mulga) is an important long lived woody perennial in arid and semi-arid Australia, characterised by an extensive distribution and a bewildering range of growth forms and phyllode shapes. Mulga inhabit a wide variety of soils and landscapes, however the distribution of different mulga forms, the reasons underlying variation, and relationships with different parts of the landscape are poorly described. My research is focused on understanding intraspecific variation of physiological processes in mulga, related to site characteristics that influence moisture availability and biogeochemical cycling.

Mulga woodlands are one of the dominant vegetation communities of the Pilbara region of Western Australia, which is currently experiencing a boom in mining and exploration activity. This project will determine whether mulga ‘types’ are restricted to particular soil chemical and structural conditions and these data will be used by Rio Tinto Iron Ore to improve site rehabilitation projects by matching specific mulga ‘types’ to post mining landscapes.

 Objectives

• Characterise the intraspecific and varietal growth form diversity of the mulga complex located within the West Angelas mine lease by using easily measured physical attributes;

• Assess whether different mulga 'types' are associated with particular landscape positions;

• Investigate whether the distribution of different mulga ‘types’ within the landscape can be correlated with particular physiological and/or morphological traits.

Presentations

Page, G.F.M., Cullen, L.E. and Grierson, P.F. 2007 Do growth form and phyllode morphology affect water uptake strategies in Acacia aneura. Proceedings – 4th International Symposium on Physiological Processes in Roots of Woody Plants. Bangor, Wales 16-20th September 2007 Poster Presentation

Useful Links

Pilbara Iron 
Dept of Environment and Conservation 
World Wide Wattle
FloraBase