School of Geography and the Environment

Profile

I joined ECI in January 2007 from Darwin, Australia. During my time in Australia (2004-2006), I was a postdoctoral fellow with CSIRO. Prior to this, I was based in South Africa for my PhD (Zoology, University of Pretoria) and MSc (Conservation Biology, University of Cape Town).

Research interests

I am a community ecologist with a particular interest in biodiversity conservation. I am interested in how local communities are structured in time and space, and the role that processes such as competition and disturbance play in shaping assemblages. Much of my research focuses on fire ecology and invertebrate ecology (primarily ants). Although most at home in semi-arid to tropical savanna systems, I am quite adaptable and enjoy exploring other environments. My other interests include ant biogeography (particularly comparisons between Africa and Australia), and invasion biology.

My main research project, Burning for Biodiversity, is examining the importance of fire in structuring savanna faunal communities. Sampling will initially be conducted in southern Africa across a range of fire frequencies and savanna types from arid to more mesic habitats. I am interested in how this information can be used to better inform conservation management, and assist in the development of effective fire management systems.

Working on ant assemblages, I am keen to understand how fire and other processes influence habitat structure and complexity, and the implications this has for resource location, defence and competitive interactions.

I am also involved with a global ant database, a collaborative project involving more than 20 researchers, which aims to improve understandings of global patterns of ant diversity and occurrence.

Publications

• Bond, W.J. & Parr, C.L. (2010) Beyond the forest edge: ecology, diversity and conservation of grassy biomes. Biological Conservation [early online]
• Lach, L., Parr, C.L. & Abbott, K.L. (2010) Ant Ecology. Oxford University Press. 424pp.
• Sithole, H., Smit, I.P.J. & Parr, C.L. (2010) Preliminary investigations into a potential ant invader in Kruger National Park, South Africa. African Journal of Ecology [early online].
• Parr, C.L., Woinarski, J.C.Z., & Pienaar, D.J. (2009) Cornerstones of biodiversity conservation? A cross-continental comparison of two key savanna protected areas. Biodiversity and Conservation. 18: 3643-3662
• Dunn, R.R., Agosti, D., Andersen, A.N., Bruh, C.A., Cerdá, X., Ellison, A., Fisher, B.L., Fitzpatrick, M.C., Gibb, H., Gotelli, N.J., Gove, A.D., Guénard, B., Janda, M., Kaspari, M.E., Laurent, E.J., Lessard, J.P., Longino, J.T., Majer, J.D., Menke, S.B., McGlynn, T.P., Parr, C.L., Philpott, S.M., Pfeiffer, M., Retana, J., Suarez, A.V., Vasconcelos, H.L., Weiser, M.D., & Sanders, N.J. (2009) Climatic drivers of hemispheric asymmetry in global patterns of ant species richness. Ecology Letters 12: 324-333.
• Parr, C.L. & Andersen, A.N. (2008) Fire resilience of ant assemblages in long unburnt savanna of northern Australia. Austral Ecology 33: 830-838.
• Parr, C.L. (2008) Dominant ants control assemblage species richness in a South African savanna. Journal of Animal Ecology 77: 1191-1198.
• Hoffmann, B.D. & Parr, C.L. (2008) An invasion re-visited: the African big-headed ant (Pheidole megacephala) in northern Australia. Biological Invasions 10: 1171-1181.
• Barrow, L. & Parr, C.L. (2008) A preliminary investigation of temporal patterns in semi-arid ant communities: variation with habitat type. Austral Ecology 33: 653-662.
• Dunn, R.R., Sanders, N.J., Fitzpatrick, M.C, Laurent, E., Lessard, J-P., Agosti, D., Andersen, A.N., Bruhl, C., Cerda, X., Ellison, A., Fisher, B., Gibb, H., Gotelli, N., Gove, A., Guenard, B., Janda, M., Kaspari, M., Longino, J.T., Majer, J., McGlynn, T.P., Menke, S., Parr, C.L., Philpott, S., Pfeiffer, M., Retana, J., Suarez, A.V., & Vasconcelos, H. (2007) Global Ant Biodiversity and Biogeography - A New Database and its Possibilities. Myrmecological News 10: 77-83.
• Andersen, A.N., Parr, C.L., Lowe, L. & Müller, W. (2007) Contrasting fire-related resilience of ecologically dominant ants in tropical savannas of northern Australia. Diversity & Distributions 13: 438-446.
• Boonzaaier, C., McGeoch, M.A. & Parr, C.L. (2007) Fine-scale temporal and spatial dynamics of epigaeic ants in Fynbos: sampling implications. African Entomology 15: 1-11.
• Barrow, L., Parr, C.L. & Kohen, J.L. (2007) Habitat type influences fire resilience of ant assemblages in the semi-arid tropics of northern Australia. Journal of Arid Environments 69: 80-95.
• Parr, C.L., Andersen, A.N., Chastagnol, C. & Duffaud, C. (2007) Savanna fires increase rates and distances of seed dispersal by ants. Oecologia 151: 33-41.
• Parr, C.L. & Andersen, A.N. (2006) Patch Mosaic Burning for biodiversity conservation: a critique of the pyrodiversity paradigm. Conservation Biology 20: 1610-1619.
• Douglas, M.M, Setterfield, S.A., O’Connor, R.A., Ferdinands K., Rossiter, N.A., Brooks, K.J., Ryan, B. & Parr, C.L. (2006) Different weeds, different habitats, same effects: exotic grass invasion in tropical woodlands and wetlands. Proceedings of the 15th Australian Weeds Conference. Eds. R.G. Richardson and F.J. Richardson, pp. 811-814. Weed Management Society of South Australia, Adelaide. ISBN 0646 463 446.
• Barrow, L., Parr, C.L. & Kohen, J.L. (2006) Biogeography and species diversity of ants in Purnululu (Bungle Bungle) National Park and conservation reserve, Western Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology 54: 123-136.
• Parr, C.L., Sinclair, B.J., Andersen, A.N., Gaston, K.J. & Chown, S.L. (2005) Constraint and competition in assemblages: a cross-continental and modeling approach for ants. American Naturalist 165: 481-494.
• Parr, C.L., Robertson, H.G., Biggs, H.C. & Chown, S.L. (2004) Response of African savanna ants to long-term fire regimes. Journal of Applied Ecology 41: 630-642.
• Chown, S.L. & Parr, C.L. (2004) Pattern, process and the size-grain hypothesis. Ecological Entomology 29: 381-382.
• Parr, C.L. & Chown, S.L. (2003) Burning issues in conservation: a critique of faunal fire research in Southern Africa. Austral Ecology 28: 384-395.
• Parr, Z.J.E., Parr, C.L. & Chown, S.L. (2003) The size-grain hypothesis: a phylogenetic and field test. Ecological Entomology 28: 475-481.
• Parr, C.L., Robertson, H.G. & Chown, S.L. (2003) Apomyrminae and Aenictogitoninae: Two new subfamilies of ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) for southern Africa. African Entomology 11: 128-129.
• Parr, C.L., Bond, W.J. & Robertson, H.G. (2002) A preliminary study of the effect of fire on ants (Formicidae) in a South African savanna. African Entomology 10: 101-111.
• Parr, C.L. & Chown, S.L. (2001) Inventory and bioindicator sampling: testing pitfall and Winkler methods with ants in a South African savanna. Journal of Insect Conservation 5: 27-36.
• Parr, C.L. & Brockett, B.H. (1999) Patch-mosaic burning: A new paradigm for savanna fire management in protected areas? Koedoe 42: 117-130.