A team of global ecologists are investigating the decline of insect populations in the world’s tropical forests, with the published review findings revealing that anthropogenic pressures, invasive species and climate change impacts could have disastrous consequences for ecosystems globally.
Broad-nosed weevil beetle at Danum Valley Conservation Area, Borneo. Credit: Marco Chan
The team highlighted the crucial role that insects played and the threats they faced in understudied tropical regions.
“Most studies of insect declines are from modified landscapes in Europe and North America,” Professor Ashton said.
“However, most insect biodiversity is in the tropics. Due to a lack of long-term monitoring data, we do not fully understand how insect diversity changes over time.
“This review and our related projects highlight this issue and bring together new long-term insect data to help understand potential tropical insect declines and their consequences for ecological functioning.”
Insects on tropical islands were particularly vulnerable to invasive species, with many unique species already extinct.
Other threats included urbanisation, habitat loss and fragmentation, and pollution from agriculture and urban areas.
More broadly, climate change poses a huge threat to insect populations across the tropics, not just through rising temperatures but through disruptions to crucial weather cycles such as El Niño and La Niña.
“Declining insect biodiversity may have knock-on consequences for ecosystem processes such as carbon cycling and pollination, which could impact the Earth globally.”
Professor Emeritus Nigel Stork
“Changes in the ecosystem balance could also lead to increased outbreaks of pests and insect-vectored diseases such as dengue and malaria in humans, as well as similar diseases in livestock, affecting global health and reducing food security.”
Praying mantis at Danum Valley Conservation Area, Borneo. Credit: Marco Chan
The team emphasised large gaps remained in understanding due to insufficient data from tropical forests. However, recent advances in artificial intelligence and genetic methods were beginning to address these challenges.
Over the past three years, the team has conducted extensive field research across tropical Australia and Asia, revisiting forests where insect studies were previously undertaken.
Ongoing research in Lamington National Park, and at the Canopy crane at the Daintree Rainforest Observatory involved collecting ants, moths, beetles and butterflies using specialised traps to assess how climate change has re-wired these populations over the last two decades.
Similar studies were being carried out in Yunnan, China and Daintree, Australia, including the use of canopy cranes to collect insects from the rainforest canopy.
“The next stage of this research is to study the ecological roles and functions of insect species to understand how changing populations will impact tropical forest ecosystems,” Professor Kitching said.
“The important processes provided by beneficial insects, including regulating forest growth through herbivory and nutrient cycling, are dwindling over time, so it’s vital that we increase the understanding of insects and their roles in these regions as much as possible and now before it’s too late.”
The review paper ‘Causes and consequences of insect decline in tropical forests’ has been published in Nature Review Biodiversity.
Queensland Theatre’s production of Calamity Jane has galloped into Brisbane, bringing a Griffith University alumnus and an intimacy coordinator along for the ride.
Having graduated from Griffith’s Bachelor of Musical Theatre in December 2024, Juliette Coates plays a split role in the show, as both the fearless, larger-than-life ‘performer-wannabe’ Susan Miller, and the glamorous Hollywood-esque starlet, Adelaide Adams.
Having grown up watching musicals such as Singin’ in the Rain, Oklahoma and Calamity Jane with their grandmother, and their mother even playing Calamity in high school, Mx Coates was no stranger to the characters, but their rigorous training at Griffith prepared them for the extra challenge of playing two.
“The most fun part is probably the two minutes where I run off stage after being Susan and very quickly get changed into a completely different look, then sprint back to appear as a different character in completely opposite colour palette, hair and make-up,” they said.
“It’s been a lot of fun exploring the different roles, with Adelaide Adams being successful and adored, and Susan Miller not, yet she is completely sure of herself and absolutely fearless.
“She’s then got this fun and childlike curiosity when she falls in love with another aspiring performer, and they are just so beautiful together.”
To facilitate the intimacy between those two characters and others, Queensland Theatre also brought in Program Director of Griffith’s Bachelor of Acting, Jacqui Somerville, who specialises in intimacy coordination for theatre and screen.
Originally training under intimacy coordinator and movement director Ita O’Brien in the United Kingdom, Ms Somerville now runs regular workshops with Griffith’s acting students to prepare them for difficult or confronting moments in plays or films.
Often only spending a couple of hours with actors, she makes a big impact creating safe and consensual productions.
“I come in if there’s a kiss, a hug, or a sensitive physical moment that needs to be discussed or unpacked,” Ms Somerville said.
Jacqui Somerville
“I’ll start by asking who is leading the kiss, is it 50/50 or perhaps 70/30, and what the quality of it is to be.
“It’s about working out people’s boundaries and what everyone is comfortable with, but fundamentally, having them realise it is their professional body doing these things, not their personal body, and there is a difference.
“They’ll talk about themselves in the third person, so they’ll say ‘my character would do this’ and we’ll talk through the stages of that movement.”
Intimacy coordination is not limited to kissing or sex scenes, and can in fact include anything from fight scenes to those involving death, childbirth, or even parental interactions with children.
“It’s really just navigating and sculpting the moment,” Ms Somerville said.
“You’re choreographing the moment to look spontaneous and as authentic as possible.”
Calamity Jane is now playing a strictly limited season at the Bille Brown Theatre until 17 April, with tickets available from queenslandtheatre.com.au.
New research led by Griffith University has highlighted more than 43% of Queensland’s current productive aquaculture sites are expected to be impacted by sea level rise.
PhD candidate Marina Christofidis.
Of the projected inundation caused by sea level rise, it is estimated 98 per cent of prawn sites and 50 per cent of prawn production would be impacted.
The estimated annual economic losses of these projected impacts would range between AUD$12.6-22.6 million for barramundi and AUD$36.9-127.6 million for prawns by the year 2100.
Lead researcher Marina Christofidis, a PhD candidate from Griffith’s Australian Rivers Institute, said Queensland was the largest terrestrial aquaculture producer in Australia, largely consisting of coastal pond-based production.
“But, under high-emission scenarios, Queensland is also projected to experience a 0.8m sea level rise by 2100,” she said.
“Aquaculture is central to livelihoods and food security, providing security to meet growing human seafood and protein demand without surpassing environmental limits.
“But the aquaculture industry is vulnerable to climate change impacts, including sea level rise and so this needed to be assessed.”
PhD Candidate Marina Christofidis
Ms Christofidis and her team conducted the assessment by using existing datasets on coastal inundation and erosion from sea level rise from the Queensland government.
They combined this with novel, satellite-derived data on current aquaculture production locations and identified aquaculture development areas, resulting in a dataset covering 647.14 km2, comprising 341 lots and 275 farms.
Among the Local Government areas (LGAs) in Queensland, considering all lots, the areas projected to be most affected by sea level rise were:
Cassowary Coast regional (3.89km2, 71%)
Whitsunday Regional (3.63km2, 39%)
Gold Coast Regional (3.04 km2, 57%)
Mackay Regional (2.42 km2, 100%).
The most vulnerable LGAs regarding productive prawn ponds were:
Gold Coast city (1.12km², 92%)
Burdekin Shire (0.59km², 49%)
Isaac Regional (0.36km², 42%)
Cassowary (0.30km², 20%)
Whitsunday Regional (0.26km², 5%)
Mackay Regional (0.073km², 100%).
Barramundi ponds were most exposed across:
Current productive aquaculture risk due to 0.8 m sea level rise by species and number of lots exposed in Queensland.
Whitsunday Regional (0.43km², 73%)
Douglas Shire (0.23 km2, 44%)
Cassowary Coast Regional (0.085km², 97%).
“These results are an early warning sign for Queensland’s aquaculture industry. We need to integrate climate risks into planning and mitigation strategies in coastal industries like aquaculture both in Australia and globally,” Ms Christofidis said.
“For the future of aquaculture in the region, careful considerations should be taken for high-risk aquaculture developments areas located in low elevation coastal zones; developing these areas needs to be adaptable to potential sea level rise in the future to avoid mis-investment.
“And transitioning from traditional aquaculture to more resilient systems such as integrating prawn ponds with nature-based solutions for coastal protection – such as mangroves, green seawalls, artificial reefs, fencing and netting – could help to protect coastal aquaculture and infrastructure.”
The desert that we see today in Arabia was once a region that repeatedly underwent ‘green’ periods in the past, as a result of periods of high rainfall, resulting in the formation of lakes and rivers around 9,000 years ago.
The area at which the lake was once brimming with life is now part of the world’s largest deserts.
This is the key finding from an international, interdisciplinary team that documented an ancient water-sculpted landscape in the Empty Quarter, one of the largest and driest deserts in the world today.
The scientific team, which was led by Dr Abdallah Zaki and Professor Sébastien Castelltort of the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and Professor Abdulkader Afifi of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), included Professor Michael Petraglia from Griffith University, documented the presence of an ancient lake, rivers and a large water-formed valley.
“Based on a series of ages, it appears the lake peaked about 9,000 years ago during a wet Green Arabia period that extended between 11,000 to 5,500 years ago,” said the first author, Dr Abdallah Zaki.
The lake is estimated to have been massive, measuring 1,100sqkm in extent and 42m in depth.
Professor Sébastien Castelltort added: “Owing to increased rainfall, the lake eventually breached, causing a great flood and carving out a 150km long valley in the desert floor.”
The scientists believed the source of the monsoonal rains was from the African monsoon, shown by sediments that could be traced over a distance measuring 1,100km, extending from the Asir Mountains along the Red Sea, in close proximity to Africa.
Professor Petraglia, who is the Director of Griffith’s Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, said the research demonstrated that rainfall was not weak but rather sometimes strong and intensive, resulting in rapid and large-scale landscape changes.
The map displays the modeled streams – Wadi ad Dawasir, Wadi al Batin, and Wadi Sahba – and the dominant moisture-bringing atmospheric systems (monsoons, Westerlies)
“The formation of lake and riverine landscapes, together with grasslands and savanna conditions, would have led to the expansion of hunting and gathering groups and pastoral populations across what is now a dry and barren desert,” Professor Petraglia said.
“This is borne out by the presence of abundant archaeological evidence in the Empty Quarter and along its ancient lake and river networks.
“By 6,000 years ago, the Empty Quarter experienced a strong decline in rainfall, which would have created dry, arid conditions, forcing populations to move into more hospitable settings and changing the lifestyle of nomadic populations.”
Sarah Capon is a Brisbane-based illustrator and Griffith University alumnus, specialising in creating intricate layered paper illustrations.
Using pieces of paper cut perfectly into shape and layering them together, Sarah is able to capture lively personality within her work.
With the aim of bringing joy to the viewer, she focuses on vibrant and idyllic scenes usually involving landscapes, people, and animals.
Known online as @eyepicturedthis, Sarah has accumulated over 300,000 followers and millions of views across Instagram and TikTok by posting her work and process videos, as well as giving her audience an insight to the stories behind her art.
Megan Washington’s journey from a passionate music student at Griffith University’s Queensland Conservatorium (The Con) to an acclaimed Australian musician, songwriter and voice actor has been one of talent, perseverance and artistic evolution.
Her career has spanned multiple creative disciplines, from ARIA Award-winning albums to composing for television and film, and most recently, co-directing a feature film adaptation of Paul Kelly’s classic song How to Make Gravy.
The film, which she co-directed with her filmmaker husband Nick Waterman, premiered on Binge in December 2024, starring renownedactor Hugo Weaving and featuring several original songs by Ms Washington.
Staying true to the original song’s narrative, the pair carefully crafted a world that remained faithful to Paul Kelly’s lyrics while making the story accessible to new audiences who were unfamiliar with the song.
“All the details for the film’s world, plot and narrative had to come from a single song, but we tried to invent as little as we could,” Ms Washington said.
“The song was the stars we sailed by — we used it as a map to the world and created the planet from there.”
The project garnered significant industry attention, earning multiple Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Award nominations, including a win for best original song for Fine with Brenan Maclean and The Prison Choir.
It was far from her first foray into the screen world, having made music for Australian television series Fisk, writing a musical called The Deb which was turned into a feature film by Rebel Wilson, and of course her role voicing teacher Calypso and creating several original songs for kids’ favourite TV show Bluey.
While she didn’t meet Bluey creator and fellow Griffith University alumnus Joe Brumm until well after they had both graduated, Ms Washington remembers her time there with fondness, saying it challenged her to think about music very deeply and introduced her to different ideas of what music could be.
“The Con was really where I turned from a singer into a musician,” she said.
“I loved all the lectures and classes but my favourite subject was world music because I loved learning all the different forms and ways other cultures create sound and music.
“I learned how the spontaneous freedom of jazz works, how the meticulous precision of Indonesian Gamelan works, how the Blues work, how showtunes work, how music is made of both silence and sound, and understanding there’s always something deeper going on, beyond what it sounds like.
“As a young singer, this training helped me to get to know myself and my instrument, and also gave me the skills to look after my voice so I can keep making the sounds I like, whether writing songs for myself to sing, or writing a song for a character.”
From her early days studying jazz and world music to writing songs for one of Australia’s most beloved children’s shows, Ms Washington’s career has been defined by bold creative choices and an unwavering commitment to her craft.
Her influence on Australian music and storytelling continues to expand, proving her journey, from Griffith University to the global stage, is still unfolding.
Explore a world of creative expression and innovation and see where Megan Washington studied at Griffith University’s Creative Arts Open Day on Sunday 18 May, 2025.
Griffith University Musical Theatre alumnus Liam Head has been captivating audiences across Australia and the world with his recent roles in hit musicals and blockbuster films.
Graduating in 2021 with a Bachelor of Musical Theatre, the charismatic and multi-faceted performer has been on a whirlwind ride including appearances in Baz Luhrman’s film Elvis, plus local stage productions including Jagged Little Pill and Singin’ in the Rain.
Recently headlining one of musical theatre’s most iconic productions as the seemingly charming Fiyero opposite fellow Griffith alumnus Courtney Monsma as Glinda in Wicked the Musical, Mr Head performed around the country to adoring fans, and is currently in Singapore for the latest season.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that I’d be here, let alone so quick,” he said.
Liam Head
“It’s been an absolute dream stepping into Fiyero’s shoes.
“The show is so magical, and getting to tell the story every night with such an incredible cast is a privilege.”
When pop megastar Robbie Williams recently had a blockbuster biopic made about his life, Mr Head was there for the ride, starring as Take That band member, Howard Donald.
Premiering late in 2024, Better Man told the story of Robbie Williams’ meteoric rise to success and fame, his dramatic fall from grace, then remarkable resurgence, with Mr Head saying it was a warts-and-all type of story.
“It was rated as the best biopic of all time, which is phenomenal, and to have played a part in it just felt truly incredible,” he said
With the lead character portraying Robbie Williams as a monkey, it was a whole new experience for Mr Head to be working alongside his co-star in a motion-capture suit, and seeing himself alongside the monkey in the movie for the first time.
Talent even runs in the family, with Liam’s older brother Jackson Head also having graduated from Griffith’s musical theatre program two years earlier, and the pair often either sharing the stage, performing lead roles in different shows concurrently, or running their own production company, The Head Bros.
It is a testament to how well the Bachelor of Musical Theatre program prepares students for a career in the performing arts, with Mr Head saying the teachings, mentorship and life advice he received during his degree have made him the well-rounded performer he is today.
“It’s pretty common for everyone from Griffith Uni to walk away going ‘Wow, that was a great time’,” he said.
“Great education, great learning, great faculty and now world-class facilities as well.
“The teaching and mentorship I got there, as well as the life advice helped shape me, beyond just a performer but as a person.
“We also came out with some very close-knit friendships that I can’t see going away anytime soon.
“I’m very grateful, and very blessed.”
Professor Paula Brough
In a ground-breaking advancement for Australian public healthcare, a collaborative research team from Griffith University and the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service (GCHHS) has secured nearly $1 million in funding to implement and evaluate Artificial Intelligence (AI) in radiology. The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has awarded $999,023 over two years to support this pioneering project, marking the first Australian trial of AI integration into radiology within a public sector hospital.
Involving a multidisciplinary team of experts from Griffith University and GCHHS, the research will evaluate the introduction of AI-powered diagnostic systems to enhance efficiency and accuracy in radiology services. Leading the project is Professor Paula Brough, Director of the Centre for Work, Organisation and Wellbeing. She highlights the project’s direct response to the chronic shortage of radiologists in Australia, which has resulted in extended waiting times, delayed diagnoses, and increased risks of disease progression.
“The acute shortage of radiologists within the Queensland public health system has produced an urgent need for a refinement to their role, to increase the speed and accuracy of their diagnoses. The use of AI to assist with the diagnoses of medical images has proven to be viable and highly advantageous, both internationally and in the Australian private health sector.”
The research team is committed to ensuring that AI technology is introduced in a sustainable and scalable manner. Through five distinct projects, the study will assess the impacts of AI implementation on workforce wellbeing, productivity, economic efficiency, clinical effectiveness, and the feasibility of broader adoption across Australia’s public health system. The project is uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between technology and healthcare, with two Chief Investigators serving as decision-makers within GCHHS and another holding a long-term role as a Consumer Advocate Board member.
Emphasising the importance of the project, Professor Brough states,
“This project is perceived by both Qld Health and Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Radiologists (RANZCR) to be a ‘test case’ of significant interest to them and informing their appetite to support and adopt this technology throughout Qld, and within other Australian and New Zealand health services.”
By closely tracking workflow changes, stakeholder perceptions, and the ethical implications of AI integration, the project will provide vital insights into how AI can be responsibly and effectively adopted in public hospitals. The findings will not only shape the future of radiology in Queensland but could also serve as a model for AI implementation in public healthcare settings nationwide.
Griffith University is set to transform health and advanced technology innovation with the establishment of the Health and Advanced Technology Research and Innovation Centre (HATRIC) at the Gold Coast.
Backed by a $25 million grant from the South East Queensland Innovation Economy Fund, this landmark project will also receive $10 million from Gold Coast City Council and significant support from Economic Development Queensland (EDQ).
Located in the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct (GCHKP), HATRIC will house cutting-edge facilities, including the Advanced Design and Prototyping Technologies Institute (ADaPT), an expanded Clinical Trials Unit, and state-of-the-art biomedical research and commercialisation spaces. This initiative will seamlessly integrate Griffith University’s world-class research with industry development, driving innovation and commercialisation in partnership with industry leaders.
EDQ’s contribution will focus on supporting successful start-ups transitioning into scale-up businesses, further enhancing the Precinct’s reputation as a hub for transformative health and biotech advancements.
HATRIC is poised to elevate the Gold Coast Health and Knowledge Precinct into one of Australia’s premier innovation precincts. By fostering collaboration between researchers, students, industry partners, and scale-ups, the Centre will accelerate translational research projects while creating unparalleled learning opportunities for students.
With its focus on biomedical breakthroughs—spanning spinal injury repair, artificial ligaments, quantum technologies, and recycling medical waste – HATRIC will position the Gold Coast as a national leader in biomedical research and biotechnology.
Acknowledging Collaborative Efforts The success of this initiative reflects years of collaboration among Griffith University teams, government partners, and industry stakeholders. Special thanks go to Professor Bronwyn Harch and her team for their dedication in securing this grant.
An animated ostrich led Griffith Film School alumnus Lachlan Pendragon to the Oscars, after his PhD short film project received a slew of awards and nominations.
The stop motion filmmaker rubbed shoulders with some of his greatest idols at the 95th Academy Awards when his short film, An Ostrich Told Me the World is Fake and I Think I Believe It was nominated.
Ostrich, as it became affectionally known among those at Griffith, told the story of a young telemarketer who was one day confronted by a mysterious talking ostrich, leading him to realise he was living in a stop-motion animation universe.
Blurring the lines between the viewing experience and the filmmaking process, the quirky creation opened a whole new world of possibility for Lachlan.
“Being nominated for an Academy Award felt incredibly surreal and overwhelmingly gratifying,” he said.
“I’d envisioned a stop-motion film where you felt like you were watching it over the animator’s shoulder, so this film was my experimental take on bridging the world of the animator with the world of animation in a fun, character-based, comedy/horror.
“The dream has always been to get into animated feature films, which I thought was a long way down the track when I finished the short film, but after going to the Oscars I’ve realised that now is the time to start making that happen.”
Lachlan Pendragon at the Oscars
In one of the film’s earlier award nominations, Peter Lord of Aardman Animation (best known as the creator of Chicken Run and Wallace and Gromit) described Mr Pendragon’s work as being made with “immense flair and inventiveness”.
While he was starstruck by the interaction at the time, Lachlan soon became the star himself, with invitations from the Aardman Academy to give a talk on the ‘Art of Animation’, a TEDx talk to inspire people to take action that makes a difference, pursue their dreams or advance their purpose, visiting animation departments to talk to students about his animation processes or even just being recognised at events.
“One of the nicest parts of this experience has been hearing from people who have seen my story or who have shown me pictures of themselves sculpting things out of plasticine,” Lachlan said.
“That recognition when people look up to me and think ‘Oh wow, I didn’t think that was possible’ or ‘I didn’t know that was something you could learn at university’.
“I definitely didn’t know what was possible, so it’s been really nice being able to share that.”
Initially graduating from the Bachelor of Animation in 2016, Lachlan continued his Griffith journey with Honours, is currently completing his Doctorate, and is even a lecturer at the Film School, which is ranked #10 globally, according to the 2023 International Animation School Rankings.
With a collection of other stop-motion animation short films under his belt including Bush Turkeys of QCA (2015), Elevator Madness (2015), The Toll (2017), and Beethoven: Live at Roma Street Parkland (2019), Lachlan has an exciting new project in the pipeline, currently working with a VFX company on an animated feature film.
He’ll also be giving a talk at the upcoming Creative Arts Open Day on Sunday 18 May, 2025 so prospective students can meet him, be inspired, and ask questions about his journey.
He hopes his experience sets fire to the spark in other creative minds to realise that an indie project that starts small can become a huge success.
