Dr Stefan Caddy-Retalic

• Biography/ Background

  My work focuses on how to effectively manage ecosystems in the face of climate change. I have a particular interest in urban trees and am interested in bridging the gap between scientists and government. As a scientist I integrate traditional ecological survey techniques (vegetation surveys, invertebrate trapping and arboriculture assessments) with cutting edge technology (stable isotopes, DNA barcoding and remote sensing) to integrate species change from a population to landscape level. My field sites span a strong climate gradient from the south coast of South Australia through the Mt Lofty Ranges, Flinders Ranges, Gammon Ranges and Stony Plains to investigate changes within species, communities and biomes to better understand the interrelationships and drivers of this change.

  Prior to embarking on my PhD, I worked in environmental policy for the Commonwealth government and managed science projects for the University of Adelaide and Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN). My primary interest is in conducting research to address real world problems and bridging the gap between ecological theory and the current needs of land managers.

  PhD (2014-18; University of Adelaide)
  BSc (Biodiversity & Conservation)
  BSc Hons (Marine Biology)
  B Innovation & Enterprise (Science and Technology)
  Diploma Arboriculture
  Cert IV Project Management

• Research Funding

  Caddy-Retalic, S. & McInerney, F.A. TERN Australian Transect Network (2016) $25K

  Caddy-Retalic, S. AW Howard Memorial Trust (2016) $3.5K

  Caddy-Retalic, S. & McInerney, F. A. TERN eMast (2015) $4.7K

  Caddy-Retalic, S. & McInerney F. A. State Herbarium of South Australia (2015) $1K

  Caddy-Retalic, S. Ludwig Leichardt Postgraduate Sciences Fellowship (2014) 3 year stipend

  Caddy-Retalic, S. Australian Postgraduate Award (Australian Research Council) (2014) 3 year stipend

  Clancy, T., Phinn, S., Lowe, A., Saunders, M., Thurgate, N., Walker, C., Sparrow, B. & Caddy-Retalic, S. (2013) Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (NCRIS, Department of Education) $1.6M

  Caddy-Retalic, S. & Benkendorff, K. Flinders University Equipment Grant (2008) $5K

  Caddy-Retalic, S. Playford Memorial Trust Honours Scholarship (Marine Biology) (2008) $1K

• Publications

  Research Publications

  Dorey JB, Rebola CM, Davies OK, Prendergast KS, Parslow BA, Hogendoorn K, Leijs R, Hearn LR, Leitch RJ, O'Reilly RL, Marsh J, Woinarski JCZ & Caddy-Retalic S. Continental risk assessment for understudied taxa post-catastrophic wildfire indicates severe impacts on the Australian bee fauna. Global Change Biology.

  Caddy-Retalic S, Wardle G, Leitch E, McInerney F & Lowe A (2021) Vegetation change along a Mediterranean to arid zone bioclimatic gradient reveals scale-dependent ecotone patterning. Australian Journal of Botany.
  

  Sparrow B, Foulkes J, Wardle G, Leitch E, Caddy-Retalic S, van Leeuwen S, Tokmakoff A, Thurgate N, Guerin G & Lowe A (2020) A vegetation and soil survey method for surveillance monitoring of rangeland environments. Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution

  Dong N, Prentice IC, Wright I, Evans B, Togashi H, Caddy-Retalic S, McInerney F, Sparrow B, Leitch E & Lowe A (2020) Components of leaf-trait variation along environmental gradients. New Phytologist.

  Caddy-Retalic S, Hoffmann BD, Guerin GR, Andersen AN, Wardle GM, McInerney FA & Lowe AJ (2019) Plant and ant assemblages predicted to decouple under climate change. Diversity & Distributions.

  Baruch Z, Caddy-Retalic S, Guerin GR, Sparrow B, Leitch E, Tokmakoff A & Lowe A (2018) Floristic and structural assessment of Australian rangeland vegetation with standardized plot-based surveys. PLOS ONE.

  Baruch Z, Jones A, Hill K, McInerney FAM, Blyth C, Caddy-Retalic, S, Christmas M, Gellie N, Martín-Forés I, Nielson K, Lowe A & Breed M (2018) Functional acclimation across microgeographic scales in Dodonaea viscosa. AoB Plants.

  Howard S, McInerney FAM, Caddy-Retalic S, Hall P & Andrae J. (2018) Modelling leaf wax n-alkane inputs to soils along a latitudinal transect across Australia. Organic Geochemistry.

  Dormontt E, van Dijk KJ, Bell K, Biffin E, Breed M, Byrne M, Caddy-Retalic S, Encinas-Viso F, Nevill P, Shapcott A, Young J, Waycott M & Lowe A (2018) Advanced DNA barcoding and metabarcoding applications for plants requires systematic analysis of herbarium collections – an Australian perspective. Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution.

  Caddy-Retalic S et al. (2017) Bioclimatic transect networks: powerful observatories of ecological change. Ecology & Evolution 7(13) pp. 4607-4619.

  Dong N, Prentice C, Evans B, Caddy-Retalic S, Lowe A & Wright I (2017) Leaf nitrogen from first principles: field evidence for adaptive variation with climate. Biogeosciences.

  Bisset A, Fitzgerald A, Meintjes T, Mele PM, Reith F, Dennis PG, Breed MF, Brown B, Brown MV, Brugger J, Byrne M, Caddy-Retalic S et al. (2016) Introducing BASE: the Biomes of Australian Soil Environments soil microbial diversity database. Gigascience.

  Guerin G, Sweeney S, Pisanu P, Caddy-Retalic S & Lowe A (2016) Establishment of an ecosystem transect to address climate change policy questions for natural research management. DEWNR Technical Report.

  Campbell C, Lefroy E, Caddy-Retalic S, Bax N, Doherty P, Douglas M, Johnson D, Possingham H, Specht A, Tarte D & West J (2015) Designing environmental research for impact. Science of the Total Environment.

  White A, Sparrow B, Leitch E, Foulkes J, Flitton R, Lowe A & Caddy-Retalic S (2012) AusPlots Rangelands Survey Protocols Manual. Version 1.2.9. University of Adelaide Press, South Australia.

  Caddy-Retalic S, Benkendorff K & Fairweather P (2011) Visualizing hotspots: applying thermal imaging to monitor internal temperatures in intertidal gastropods. Molluscan Research.

   

  Other publications

  Caddy-Retalic, S. & Lowe, A.J. (2012) DNA barcoding: a better way to discover species The Conversation

  Lowe, A.J. & Caddy-Retalic, S. (2012) Genetically linked, a continent apart: the rise of DNA barcoding The Conversation

  Lowe, A.J. & Caddy-Retalic, S. (2014) Will the climate debate end up being fought in court? Business Spectator

  Podcasts

  Caddy-Retalic, S. (2014) Will the climate debate end up being fought in court? Beyond Zero Climate Politics

Entry last updated: Wednesday, 22 Mar 2023