Rate My Professor Jo Monks

Dr Jo Monks is a conservation biologist and senior lecturer in the Department of Zoology within the Division of Sciences at the University of Otago. She earned her PhD in Ecology from Victoria University of Wellington in 2007. Before joining the University of Otago in 2021 as a lecturer in Ecology, she worked for 14 years as a Science Advisor at the Department of Conservation, specializing in terrestrial threatened species and ecosystems. Her research focuses on applied ecological issues, with a background in herpetology and behavioural ecology. She investigates a range of terrestrial fauna, including bats, birds, lizards, and invertebrates. Major projects include conservation management in alpine ecosystems, assessing impacts of invasive predators such as mice and wasps on native lizards and large-bodied invertebrates along with sustainable suppression methods, evaluating climate change effects on native terrestrial fauna to inform strategies, and developing monitoring techniques for cryptic taxa. Monks coordinates and teaches into courses like WILM 402 Techniques of Wildlife Management and contributes to ECOL 111 Ecology and Conservation of Diversity, ECOL 212 Ecological Applications, ECOL 321 Ecology of Species Introductions and Invasions, ECOL 313 Field Ecology, WILM 401 Principles of Wildlife Management, and WILM 501 Wildlife Management Research Placement.