Emma Spencer

Emma Spencer is a PhD student at The University of Sydney who is researching the complex interplay between different scavenger guilds associated with animal carrion. Another key focus of her work is on the interactions that occur between predator species that feed on carrion, and live prey in the surrounding system. Covering several study regions across New South Wales and Queensland, she is using carcasses, motion sensor cameras and a series of behavioural experiments to determine the extent to which different scavenger guilds use carrion resources within the landscape. She is also exploring the potential cascading effects of carrion on ecosystems, and endangered native species such as the night parrot. 

Before beginning her PhD, Emma studied predator–prey interactions in the Simpson Desert, working with the Desert Ecology Research Group. She is currently working as a project coordinator with WWF on the Eyes on Recovery project, to track the impacts of the 2019–20 bushfires on Australian fauna.