Ifeanna tooth

Masters Student

Telephone: +61 (02) 9850 8160
Facsimile: +61 (02) 9850 8245

Email: ifeanna.tooth[at]mq.edu.au

Building E8B 103

Department of Biological Sciences

Faculty of Science

Macquarie University

North Ryde, NSW, Australia, 2109

Background

I completed a BSc majoring in Botany and Zoology at Sydney University back in the late 80s and did a year of a mixture of paid and voluntary work for the Australian Museum, NPWS and environmental consultants before landing a job at NPWS Hurstville. I made a transfer to the ACT to work with Dr Sue Briggs on a project to investigate the ecological effects of cropping on ephemerally flooded lakebeds in northwest NSW. I then moved to Cowra, a small country town in Central West NSW and worked for what was the Dept of CaLM which changed its name to Dept of Land & Water Conservation. Here I mostly worked on native grass and other native plant research projects. I completed an Advanced Certificate in Horticulture through OTEN (external TAFE) while at Cowra which is where my interest in weeds originated.

I decided to return to Sydney around the start of the new millennium and worked for the Olympic Coordination Authority at Homebush before and after the 2000 Olympics, co-ordinating ecological monitoring projects. While on a bush regeneration trip to Lord Howe Island in late 2001 I was successful in gaining a job at the Royal Botanic Gardens National Herbarium of NSW in Sydney and have been there ever since. I had a son, Owen, in late 2004 and so have worked part time from early 2005.

Research Interests

I became interested in weeds through weeding research trial plots in Cowra; it is amazing how you can identify weeds from natives at the cotyledon stage if you look at them long enough! I also learnt a lot about weeds doing Horticulture at TAFE. The Herbarium of NSW plays a vital role in assessing the distribution and rate of spread of weeds in NSW.

I volunteer every month bush regenerating at Gordons Bay (between Clovelly & Coogee) and it is interesting seeing what my 3 year old gets up to every month (not weeding usually).

Current Research

I started a Masters degree by research two years ago to explore the effects of climate change on weeds. I have completed a field experiment at Mount Annan Botanic Garden measuring plots of native and exotic plants and have almost completed my second glasshouse experiment to look at the effects elevated levels of CO2 have on the growth and post-fire resprouting response of native and weedy grasses.

Publications

I Cole, I., Johnston, W., Metcalfe, J., Tooth, I., Mitchell, M. and Koen, T. (2001) Overcoming the seed production barriers with native grasses. Proceedings of the 10th Australian Agronomy Conference, Science and Technology: Delivering Results from Agriculture, Hobart, Tasmania.

Royal Botanic Gardens - Science Annual Report (co-contributor) 2002/3-2006/7DLWC & Catchment Steering Committee, 1998, Ben Chifley Dam Catchment Action Plan

NPWS, 1993, Ecological Impacts of Cropping Lakebeds. Regular column for the local newspaper 1995-2000: environmental issues, The Cowra Guardian

Presentations

Tooth IM & Leishman MR (2009) Resprouting responses of native and alien grasses to elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide. The 10th International Conference of Ecology, Brisbane, Australia, 16-21 August 2009 (poster).