Hello! My name is Samantha Munroe, and I’m an ecologist. This means I study the interactions between species and their environment. For as long as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by the incredible diversity and connections found in nature, how each plant and animal is like a piece in the world’s most complex puzzle. It was this curiosity and my love of nature that inspired me to become a scientist.
My work has mainly focused on understanding the distribution of plants and animals. This means discovering what resources they need to survive, where they like to live and why, and how they will be affected by environmental change. I have over 10 years of experience working with species both on land and at sea, including sharks, fish, prawns, shrubs, and grass. My work has been supported by national and international grants, and been published in highly respected scientific journals.
I work at the University of Adelaide with the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), Australia’s national ecosystem monitoring organisation. We survey terrestrial ecosystems and collect environmental data from all across the country, then provide that data, free of charge, to scientists anywhere in the world. If you imagine environmental research in Australia as a engine, we are the energy that makes the engine run! At TERN I design innovative strategies, tools, and software to help produce world-class ecosystem data. In many ways, I work on behalf of all Australian scientists, land managers, and conservation groups to make sure that have the tools they need to do their important work.
I bring a unique brand of energy and enthusiasm to my work, and I am known for my creative approach to problem solving, cooperative attitude, animated personality, and engaging and fun teaching style. I take great pride in scientific communication and outreach, and can create fun and engaging presentations for any age group or audience.
I am always looking to forge new connections and collaborations with partners in academia and industry interested in my expertise or TERN resources. I am also available to the media, or to speak at your school or organisation. To learn more about my work and its impact, check out my media page.
My work has mainly focused on understanding the distribution of plants and animals. This means discovering what resources they need to survive, where they like to live and why, and how they will be affected by environmental change. I have over 10 years of experience working with species both on land and at sea, including sharks, fish, prawns, shrubs, and grass. My work has been supported by national and international grants, and been published in highly respected scientific journals.
I work at the University of Adelaide with the Terrestrial Ecosystem Research Network (TERN), Australia’s national ecosystem monitoring organisation. We survey terrestrial ecosystems and collect environmental data from all across the country, then provide that data, free of charge, to scientists anywhere in the world. If you imagine environmental research in Australia as a engine, we are the energy that makes the engine run! At TERN I design innovative strategies, tools, and software to help produce world-class ecosystem data. In many ways, I work on behalf of all Australian scientists, land managers, and conservation groups to make sure that have the tools they need to do their important work.
I bring a unique brand of energy and enthusiasm to my work, and I am known for my creative approach to problem solving, cooperative attitude, animated personality, and engaging and fun teaching style. I take great pride in scientific communication and outreach, and can create fun and engaging presentations for any age group or audience.
I am always looking to forge new connections and collaborations with partners in academia and industry interested in my expertise or TERN resources. I am also available to the media, or to speak at your school or organisation. To learn more about my work and its impact, check out my media page.
Latest NewsA vegetation carbon isoscape for Australia! I am excited to launch a new set of open-access data products that will advance research in a range of subjects, including food chain dynamics, animal migration, carbon fluxes, and plant productivity. As described in Landscape Ecology, we created maps defining C3 and C4 plant cover, as well as a vegetation δ13C isoscape, for the entire Australian continent. Read more here!
AusplotsR video tutorial now online!: Get started with TERN’s ausplotsR package using our introductory tutorial video. Access and filter soil and vegetation data collected at >800 environmental monitoring sites across a range of Australian bioregions and vegetation communities. Users can also search for information on TERN’s soil and plant samples. Watch here! New podcast!: I had lots of fun recording for The Discovery Pod, a podcast interviewing leading experts from the University of Adelaide about solutions to society’s most pressing challenges. In this episode, host Isobel Marshall spoke with myself and two other current Adelaide STEM Superstars
Hannah Wardill, and Jiawen Li about their remarkable research and career journeys. Listen here! New publication: ausplotsR is a new R package that provides instant access to TERN plot monitoring data. To tackle some of the world’s most serious environmental problems, scientists need ‘big data’. The new R package ausplotsR gives scientists free and instant access to a decade of soil and vegetation data, collected at over 780 environmental monitoring sites across Australia. These data enable researchers worldwide to detect better and understand changes in terrestrial ecosystems and meet today’s greatest environmental challenges. Check out the paper here! You can also check out the blog giving a behind the scenes look at our work.
New publication: The photosynthetic pathway of plants found across Australia's largest ecosystem monitoring network. As our climate changes, plants that use different ways to convert CO2, sunlight, & water into food, known as photosynthetic pathways, will have to ‘migrate’ to new habitats to survive. This problem inspired the creation of a new data set that lists the photosynthetic pathway > 2400 Australian species found across the TERN plot network. Check out the paper here! You can also check out the blog giving a behind the scenes look at our work. |
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