PEOPLE

PEOPLE

Principal: Dr Bradley P. Smith

My background is in comparative psychology and ethology, with a specialisation in canine cognition and behaviour. However, my field of research and research interests spans a broad range of topics- from anatomy to applied field research. I am interested in all things relating to human-animal interactions, including wild and domestic. In my research, I seek to find ways that foster co-existence between humans and wildlife.

My passion is the Australian dingo, which I have been fortunate to have worked with since commencing my PhD in 2007. My research with dingoes has included various captive and field-based experiments relating to behaviour, cognition, anatomy, interactions with humans, and their managment. In my award-winning doctoral thesis, I demonstrated the dingo’s abilities as a highly social and intelligent top-order predator. In 2015 I was the editor and primary author of ‘The dingo debate‘, a book published by CSIRO Publishing. I am the scientific director of the Australian Dingo Foundation, and the supervisor of research and ethics at the Dingo Discovery and Research Centre, the largest dingo sanctuary in Australia, as well as a scientific advisor to the WA Dingo Association (WADA).

I am an active member of the International Society of Anthrozoology (ISAZ). In 2017 I joined the editorial advisory board of their journal Anthrozoos, A multidisciplinary journal of the interactions of people and animals (Taylor and Francis).

I currently work as a Senior Lecturer and Head of Course/Program (undergraduate psychology) at Central Queensland University (Adelaide campus), where I lecture in psychology and research all aspects of human-wildlife conflict, animal cognition and behaviour (with particular emphasis on canids), and the human-animal relationship more broadly. I am also an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of Adelaide (School of Veterinary Science).

You can visit my personal website here and look at my research profiles by following the links below.

PhD Student: Rob Appleby

I am a PhD student at Griffith University looking at the behaviour, conservation and management of dingoes on Fraser Island (K’Gari). I have been conducting observational and experimental research on the island since 2003.

I am also a Director of WildSpy, a wildlife tech company that specialises in creating customised and niche solutions for your wildlife research and management challenges.

To find out more about WildSpy and my research profile follow the links below:

 

Past Honours Students

Brenton Williams (CQUniversity, 2017). Encephalisation in the Canidae.

Joy Smith (CQUniversity, 2017). Development of a scale to measure Australian attitudes towards wildlife (AAWS).

Gillian McDermott (CQUniversity, 2017). Decoding the nature of dingo-human interactions on Fraser Island.