Dr Caitlin Johns is a vegetation ecologist with a background in both plant and insect based research. In 2010 Caitlin graduated from the University of New England with a PhD for her research into the effects of altered floodgate management on vegetation communities in coastal wetlands. She subsequently worked for the Murray-Darling Freshwater Research Centre, investigating linkages between environmental water management and wetland and floodplain vegetation dynamics.
From 2012 to 2016 Caitlin worked as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow based at the Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation (CMLR). This work focused has focused on assessing the linkages between land use, environmental factors (e.g. fire, groundwater depth, wetland water regime) and the composition, condition and resilience of plant communities in natural and reconstructed landscapes.
Research Interests
- Design and implementation of effective environmental monitoring programs
- Roles of seed banks, seed dispersal and habitat connectivity in the recovery of native plant communities after disturbance
- Wetland plant ecology
- Fire ecology
- Invasive species
Publications
Book Chapter
McCaffrey, N. B., Glenn, V. C., Johns, C., Lechner, A. M. and Erskine, P. D. (2018). Using pilot tests to improve the monitoring of ecological impacts of subsidence from underground coal mining. From start to finish: a life of mine perspective. (pp. 143-151) edited by Cherie McCullough, Bruce Harvey, Corinne Unger, Jan Coetzee and Stuart Winchester. Carlton South, VIC Australia: AUSIMM.
Journal Articles
Brownstein, G., Johns, C., Fletcher, A., Pritchard, D. and Erskine, P.D. (2015). Ecotones as indicators: Boundary properties in wetland-woodland transition zones. Community Ecology, 16 (2), 235-243. doi: 10.1556/168.2015.16.2.11
Johns, Caitlin V., Brownstein, Gretchen, Blick, Raymond A. J., Erskine, Peter D. and Fletcher, Andrew T. (2015). Testing the power of a wetland vegetation monitoring survey design to detect change based on visual cover estimates. Wetlands, 35 (6), 1055-1064. doi: 10.1007/s13157-015-0694-7
Johns, C. V., Brownstein, G., Fletcher, A., Blick, R. A. J. and Erskine, P. D. (2015). Detecting the effects of water regime on wetland plant communities: which plant indicator groups perform best?. Aquatic Botany, 123, 54-63. doi: 10.1016/j.aquabot.2015.02.002
Brownstein, G., Blick, R. A. J., Johns, C. V., Bricher, P., Fletcher, A. and Erskine, P. D. (2014). Optimising a sampling design for endangered wetland plant communities: another call for adaptive management in monitoring. Wetlands, 35 (1), 105-113. doi: 10.1007/s13157-014-0599-x
Johns, Caitlin, Ramsey, Mike, Bell, Dorothy and Vaughton, Glenda (2014). Does increased salinity reduce functional depth tolerance of four non-halophytic wetland macrophyte species?. Aquatic Botany, 116, 13-18. doi: 10.1016/j.aquabot.2014.01.003
Campbell, C. J., Johns, C. V. and Nielsen, D. L. (2014). The value of plant functional groups in demonstrating and communicating vegetation responses to environmental flows. Freshwater Biology, 59 (4), 858-869. doi: 10.1111/fwb.12309
Johns, Caitlin V., Stone, Christine and Hughes, Lesley (2004). Feeding preferences of the Christmas beetle Anoplognathus chloropyrus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) and four paropsine species (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) on selected Eucalyptus grandis clonal foliage. Australian Forestry, 67 (3), 184-190. doi: 10.1080/00049158.2004.10674932
Johns, CV and Whitehouse, MEA (2004). Mass rearing of two larval parasitoids of Helicoverpa spp. (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae): Netelia producta (Brulle) and Heteropelma scaposum (Morley) (Hymenoptera : Ichneumonidae) for field release. Australian Journal of Entomology, 43 (1), 83-87. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-6055.2004.00402.x
Johns, CV, Beaumont, LJ and Hughes, L (2003). Effects of elevated CO2 and temperature on development and consumption rates of Octotoma championi and O-scabripennis feeding on Lantana camara. Entomologia Experimentalis Et Applicata, 108 (3), 169-178. doi: 10.1046/j.1570-7458.2003.00076.x
Johns, CV and Hughes, A (2002). Interactive effects of elevated CO2 and temperature on the leaf-miner Dialectica scalariella Zeller (Lepidoptera : Gracillariidae) in Paterson's Curse, Echium plantagineum (Boraginaceae). Global Change Biology, 8 (2), 142-152. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2486.2002.00462.x
Conference Papers
Johns, C.V., Brownstein, G., Blick, R., Fletcher, A. and Erskine, P.D. (2014). Use of visual cover estimates in vegetation monitoring: Precision of estimates and power to detect change. ASFB and ASL Congress 2014, joint conference of the Australian Society for Fish Biology and the Australian Society for Limnology, Darwin, NT, Australia, 30 June - 4 July 2014.
McCaffrey, N., Glenn, V., Erskine, P. D., Johns, C. and Fletcher, A. (2014). Detecting long-term ecological impacts of subsidence from underground coal mining: a tale of two pilot tests. Life-of-Mine 2014, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 16-18 July 2014. Carlton, VIC, Australia: AUSIMM.
Johns, Caitlin, Brownstein, Gretchen, Cooke, Jessica, Blick, Ray, Bricher, Phillippa, Fletcher, Andrew and Erskine, Peter (2013). Plant functional groups: An effective indicator for detecting hydrological disturbance in groundwater-dependent wetlands?. ECOTAS13, the 5th joint conference of the New Zealand Ecological Society and Ecological society of Australia, Auckland, New Zealand, 24 - 29 November 2013.
Thesis
Johns, Caitlin (2009). Predicting the effects of restoring tidal connectivity on the vegetation of fresh and oligohaline wetlands: Clarence River floodplain, northern NSW. PhD Thesis, Ecosystem Management / Botany, The University of New England.
Research Reports
Gravina, M., McCaffrey, N., Johns, C., Williams, E. and McKenna, P. (2015). Long-term Rehabilitation Monitoring of Pre-1987 and Post-1987 Rehabilitation Following Heavy Minerals Sand Mining on North Stradbroke Island. 2015 Assessment. Report to Sibelco Australia Limited, September 2015. Brisbane, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation.
Blick, R.A.J. and Johns, C.V. (2015). Rationalisation of UAV imagery for flora monitoring in Newnes Plateau shrub swamps. A report prepared for Centennial Coal, by the Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, The University of Queensland, St Lucia.. Research Report St Lucia, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland Centre For Mined Land Rehabilitation.
Johns, C. V. and Blick, R. A. J. (2015). Establishment of flora monitoring transects in Sunnyside East and West Carne shrub swamps and control sites. A monitoring report prepared for Centennial Coal's Springvale Colliery, Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, The University of Queensland, St Luc. Brisbane, Australia:
Johns, C.V. and Blick, R.A.J. (2015). Rationalisation of transect length for flora monitoring in Newnes Plateau shrub swamps report for Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation for Centennial Coal. Research Report St Lucia, QLD Australia: The University of Queensland Centre For Mined Land Rehabilitation.
Johns, C. V., McKenna, P., McCaffrey, N., Gravina, A., Cooke, J. and Erskine, P. (2014). Stage 1: post-fire research design. To assess how sand mine vegetation rehabilitation objectives can be met, North Stradbroke Island: report to Sibelco Australia Limited. St. Lucia, QLD, Australia: Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland.
Brownstein, G., Johns, C. V., Blick, R. A. J., Fletcher, A. and Erskine, P. (2014). Flora monitoring methods for Newnes Plateau Shrub Swamps and Hanging Swamps. St. Lucia, QLD, Australia.: Centre for Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland.
Department Technical Reports
Blick, R., Brownstein, G., Johns, C.V., Fletcher, A. and Erskine, P. (2013). Flora monitoring report for Centennial Coal operations: Spring and annual report 2013. Center for Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals Institute.
Blick, R., Brownstein, G., Johns, C.V., Fletcher, A. and Erskine, P. (2013). Flora monitoring report for Centennial Coal operations in Sunnyside East, Winter 2013. Centre For Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals Institute.
Johns, C.V., Brownstein, G., Blick, R., Fletcher, A. and Erskine, P. (2013). Autumn 2013 flora monitoring report for Centennial Coal operations, Newnes Plateau. Centre For Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals Institute.
Blick, R., Bricher, P., Brownstein, G., Johns, C.V., Fletcher, A. and Erskine, P. (2013). Summer 2013 flora monitoring report for Centennial Coal operations, Newnes Plateau. Centre For Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals Institute.
Blick, R., Bricher, P., Brownstein, G., Johns, C.V., Fletcher, A. and Erskine, P. (2012). Spring and annual 2012 flora monitoring report for Centennial Coal operations, Newnes Plateau. Centre For Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals Institute.
McKenna, P., Kilgour, C., Johns, C.V., Brownstein, G., Blick, R., Bricher, P., McCaffrey, N., Glenn, V. and Erskine, P.D. (2012). Autumn 2012 swamp vegetation monitoring at Centennial Coal operations, Newnes Plateau. Centre For Mined Land Rehabilitation, Sustainable Minerals Institute.