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Ecology of the
Red-capped Robin
Diversity of
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Greg Gowing
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HomeResearch and CollectionsTerrestrial Ecology

Staff

Dr Richard Major
Senior Research Scientist
B.Sc., Ph.D.

Research Interests
Breeding ecology of birds
The effect of habitat fragmentation on animal populations and communities
Avian nest predation
Feeding ecology of birds
Population ecology
Animal decomposition
Ecology of birds in urban environments

Address:
Australian Museum
Terrestrial Ecology
Division of Earth & Environmental Sciences
6 College Street
Sydney NSW 2010
Australia

Phone:
(+612) 9320 6183

Fax:
(+612) 9320 6059

Email:
Email Richard Major

Research Publications in refereed journals

1. Major R.E. (1990a) The effect of human observers on the intensity of nest predation. Ibis 132: 608-612.
2. Major R.E. (1990b) Stomach flushing of an insectivorous bird: an assessment of differential digestion of prey and the risk to birds. Aust. Wildl. Res. 17: 647-657.
3. Major R.E. (1991a) Identification of nest predators by photography, dummy eggs and adhesive tape. Auk 108: 190-195.
4. Major R.E. (1991b) Flocking and feeding in the white-fronted chat Ephthianura albifrons: the relationship between diet, food availability and patch selection. Aust. J. Ecol. 16: 395-407.
5. Major R.E. (1991c) Breeding biology of the white-fronted chat Ephthianura albifrons in a saltmarsh near Melbourne. Emu 91: 236-249.
6. Major R.E. (1992) Mate guarding in a population of White-fronted Chats Ephthianura albifrons Jardine & Selby (Passeriformes: Ephthianuridae): a response to group living and a male-skewed sex ratio? Australian Journal of Zoology. 40: 401-409.
7. Major R.E., Pyke G.H., Christy M.T., Gowing G. and Hill R.S. (1994a) Can nest predation explain the timing of the breeding season and the pattern of nest dispersion of New Holland Honeyeaters? Oikos 69: 364-372.
8. Major R.E. and Gowing G. (1994b) An inexpensive photographic technique for identifying nest predators at active nests of birds. Wildlife Research 21: 657-66.
9. Gowing G. and Major R.E. (1995) The Nest Test experiment: are community involvement and good science mutually exclusive? Museum Management and Curatorship 14: 169-180.
10. Major R.E. and Kendal C.E. (1996a) The contribution of artificial nest experiments to our understanding of avian reproductive success: a review of methods and conclusions. Ibis 138: 298-307.
11. Major R.E., Gowing G. and Kendal C.E. (1996b) Nest predation in Australian urban environments and the role of the Pied Currawong Strepera graculina. Australian Journal of Ecology 21: 399-409.
12. Pyke G.H., Christy M, and Major R.E. (1996c) Territoriality in honeyeaters: review the concept and evaluating available information. Australian Journal of Zoology 44: 297-317.
13. Matthews, A., Dickman, C.R., and Major, R.E. (1999). The influence of fragment size and edge on nest predation in urban bushland. Ecography 22: 349-357.
14. Major, R.E., Christie, F.J., Gowing, G., and Ivison, T.J. (1999). Elevated rates of predation on artificial nests in linear strips of habitat. Journal of.Field. Ornithology 70: 351-364.
15. Major, R.E., Christie, F.J., Gowing, G., and Ivison, T.J. (1999). Age structure and density of red-capped robin populations vary with habitat size and shape. Journal of Applied Ecology. 36: 901-908.
16. Major R.E., Smith D., Cassis G., Gray M.R. and Colgan D.J. (1999). Are roadside strips important reservoirs of invertebrate diversity? A comparison of the ant and beetle faunas of roadside strips and large remnant woodlands. Australian Journal of Zoology. 47: 611-624.
17. Macaranas, J. M., Colgan, D.J., Major, R.E., Cassis, G. and Gray, M. (2000)Species discrimination and population differentiation in ants using microsatellites. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology. 29: 25-136.
18. Martin, T.J., and Major R.E. (2001) Changes in wolf spider assemblages across woodland/pasture boundaries in the central wheatbelt of New South Wales, Australia. Austral Ecology 26: 264-274.
19. French K., and Major, R.E. (2001) The effect of an alien Acacia on ant communities in South African fynbos. Austral Ecology 26: 303-311.
20. Major, R. E., Christie, F.J. and Gowing G. (2001) Influence of remnant and landscape attributes on Australian woodland bird communities. Biological Conservation 102: 47-66.
21. Major, R. E. and Gowing, G. (2001). Survival of Red-capped Robins Petroica goodenovii in woodland remnants of central western New South Wales, Australia. Wildlife Research 28: 565-571.
22. Colgan, D.J., Brown, S., Major, R.E., Christie, F.J., Gray, M. and Cassis, G. (2002). Population genetics of wolf spiders of fragmented habitat in the wheat belt of New South Wales. Molecular Ecology 11: 2295-2305.
23. Major, R.E., Christie, F.J., Gowing, G., Cassis, G. and Reid, C.A.M. (2003). The effect of habitat configuration on arboreal insects in fragmented woodlands of south-eastern Australia. Biological Conservation 113: 35-48.
24. Major, R. E. (2003). Urban currawongs. Nature Australia 27(9): 52-59.
25. Parsons, H., French, K and Major, R.E. (2003). The influence of remnant bushland on the composition of suburban bird assemblages in Australia. Landscape and Urban Planning 66: 43-56.
26. Parsons, H. and Major, R.E. (2004). Bird interactions in Sydney gardens: some initial findings of the Birds in Backyards program. pp 211-215 in Urban Wildlife: more than meets the eye. Lunney, D. and Burgin, S. (eds). Royal Zoological Society of NSW, Mosman, NSW.
27. French, K., Major, R.E. and Hely, K. (2005). Use of native and exotic garden plants by suburban nectarivorous birds . Biological Conservation 12: 545-559.
    
    

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