Dr Sridhar Ravi (Vice-Chancellors Research Fellow, RMIT University) talks about how insects and birds fly, in particular the flight of bumblebees through an aerodynamic obstacle course and hummingbirds flying through discrete and continuous aerial disturbances. Copyright 2014 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

Why do we study insects? They’re the most diverse group of organisms in the world, and depending on who you ask there’s anywhere between two to thirty million species. Dr Ken Walker (Curator of Entomology, Melbourne Museum) talks about his role working with insects, and shows off some of his impressive bug collection. Copyright 2014 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

Dr Richard Loyn (Research Fellow in Zoology, La Trobe University) on the wildlife of Madagascar, where wildlife conservation competes with food production, poverty, development, population explosion and survival. Copyright 2014 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

Dr Richard Loyn (Research Fellow in Zoology, La Trobe University) on the wildlife of Madagascar, where wildlife conservation competes with food production, poverty, development, population explosion and survival. Copyright 2014 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

Dr John Lesku (Zoology, La Trobe University) on what can be learnt from looking at how birds sleep. Copyright 2014 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

How has human sleep changed since the invention of the light bulb? Copyright 2014 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

Assoc Professor Melodie McGeoch (Biological Sciences, Monash University) frames spatial ecology’s ‘pit-trap’ of diminishing returns in data collection and detailed how she and her colleagues developed and tested a model to fill the sampling short fall. Copyright 2013 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

Professor Mark Elgar (Evolution and Behaviour Group, University of Melbourne) on signals, cues and receivers in communication amongst insects, focusing on ants. Copyright 2013 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

Dr Dominique Potvin (Behavioural and Population Ecologist, Museum Victoria) on the effects that the environment has on acoustic communication and population genetics of birds. Copyright 2013 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

Dr Dominique Potvin (Behavioural and Population Ecologist, Museum Victoria) on the effects that the environment has on acoustic communication and population genetics of birds. Copyright 2013 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

A group of La Trobe animal science students will attempt to establish a link between the bacteria present in the digestive system of dogs and its presence in canine obesity. Their research will involve the analysis of bacterial genetics gathered from dog stools. Copyright 2011 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

Dr Peter Pridmore (Environmental Management and Ecology, La Trobe University) and Shelley Waldon (Melbourne Zoo) discuss the biology and evolution of the tree kangaroo. Copyright 2011 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

Professor Richard Wassersug (Anatomy and Neurobiology, Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia) on researching frogs and tadpoles, and the work that earned him an ig nobel prize. Copyright 2011 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

Richard Peters (Zoology, La Trobe University) on animal signal evolution and in particular how animals use movement to communicate. Richard has been working with the Australian Jacky Lizard, and demonstrates their behaviour. Copyright 2011 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

Professor Richard Wassersug (Anatomy and Neurobiology, Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia; and the Australian Research Centre for Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University) on research on animals in space and the effects of weightlessness. Copyright 2011 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

Dr Richard Peters (Zoology, La Trobe University) on how lizards use body language to communicate. Copyright 2011 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Assoc. Professor Michael Clarke (Zoology, La Trobe University) on the use of controlled fire in bush areas. Copyright 2011 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Professor Jochen Zeil (Zoology, Australian National University) on how animals recognise landmarks, and methods of navigation. Copyright 2010 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Crayfish, yabbies and crawdaddies are all physically similar, but there are distinctions - broadly speaking yabbies are smooth and live in dams, while crayfish are spiny and are found in rivers. Dr Susan Lawler (Head of Department of Environmental Management & Ecology, La Trobe University) talks about these fascinating creatures, which have real intelligence and personalities. Copyright 2010 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

PhD student Mark Carey talks about researching migration patterns of the Short-Tailed Shearwater, better known as the Mutton Bird. Copyright 2010 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

Dr Julian Finn and Dr Mark Norman of Museum Victoria discuss their discovery of the Veined Octopus, an octopus that is the first in the world to be recorded as using tools. Copyright 2010 La Trobe University / Museum Victoria, all rights reserved. Please contact for permissions.

What can fossils tell us about the evolution of kangaroos? What can we learn about the environments they lived in, how they lived, and how they died? Dr Ben Kear is a postdoctoral Research Fellow at La Trobe University studying Palaeontology, and a Research Associate of the South Australian Museum. Copyright 2009 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.

With a bit of time travel, Ben Kear (Genetics, La Trobe University) takes a look at dinosaur ancestors in Australia. Copyright 2009 La Trobe University, all rights reserved. Contact for permissions.