Anna is a Lecturer in conservation biology and environmental science in the School of Science. Anna is also the Post Graduate Coordinator (Science Coursework) in the Science Discipline.
Coordinator
J48 Master of Environmental Science
L86 Master of Environmental Management
S01 Graduate Diploma of Environmental Management
F78 Graduate Certificate of Environmental Management
Teaching
SCI6104 Environmental Management Project
Background
2013-present: Research Associate, Centre for Climate Change,Forest and Woodland Health, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia
2010-2013: Researcher, Department of Forest Mycology and Plant Pathology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
2006-2010: Postdoctoral Fellow, Scion (New Zealand ForestResearch Institute), Rotorua, New Zealand
2006: Associate Lecturer in Plant Pathology, University ofTasmania, Hobart, Australia
2003-2006: Sessional Lecturer, University of Tasmania,Hobart, Australia
Awards and Recognition
National and International
- 2010: Finalist for the New Zealand Zonta Women in Science Award 2010.
- 2009: Best New Presenter Award, 2009 New Zealand Plant Protection Society Conference, Dunedin, New Zealand.
- 2006: Best Poster in Biodiversity & Conservation, International Mycological Congress 8, Cairns, Australia.
- 2003: Awarded second place in student poster competition, 34th Australian Entomological Society and 6th Invertebrate Biodiversity Conference, Hobart, Tasmania.
University and National Teaching Awards
- 2006: Teaching Merit Certificate, University of Tasmania.
National and International Research Positions
- 2014-present: Deputy coordinator, International Union of Forest Research Organisations (IUFRO) Working Party 7.03.04 Diseases and Insects in Forest Nurseries.
- 2011-2013: Short-term Scientific Mission Coordinator and Steering Committee Member, European Union COST Action Determining invasiveness and risk of Dothistroma (DIAROD).
- 2010-2013: Member, European Union Framework Seven project ISEFOR: Increasing sustainability of European forests: Modelling for security against invasive pests and pathogens under climate change.
- 2010-2012: Member, Future Forests research group: Sustainable strategies under uncertainty and risk (Sweden)
Research Areas and Interests
I am a conservation biologist and fungal ecologist, with experience working with soil microbes, plant-fungal-fauna interactions and fungal plant pathogens in eucalypt and other broadleaved forests and pine plantations in both Australasia and Scandinavia. More recent interests include understanding the link between my corrhizal fungi, fauna conservation and plant ecology, and using next-generation sequencing of microbes to answer broad ecological and management-based questions.
Current research projects include:
- Overcoming challenges to post-mining land use on Christmas Island: Soil microbial diversity
Katinka Ruthrof, Anna Hopkins, Sophie De Meyer, Neale Bougher, Graham O’Hara, John Howieson & Giles Hardy. - High-throughput sequencing reveals a marked diversity of fungi spread by a common biopedturbator
Anna Hopkins, Natasha Tay, Gillian Bryant, Treena Burgess, Halina Kobryn, Giles Hardy & Trish Fleming. Supported by the City of Mandurah - Scats as mycorrhizal inoculum to improve seedling health
Natasha Tay, Anna Hopkins, Treena Burgess, Giles Hardy & Trish Fleming. Supported by the City of Mandurah - Translocating keystone species – ectomycorrhizal fungal assemblages in the presence of a native digging mammal
Shannon Dundas, Anna Hopkins, Katinka Ruthrof, Treena Burgess, Giles Hardy & Trish Fleming. Murdoch University Small Grant - Does it matter who digs? Examining the microscale impact of digging using multiple animal species
Anna Hopkins, Shannon Dundas, Katinka Ruthrof, Lara Osborne, Treena Burgess, Giles Hardy & Trish Fleming. Murdoch University Small Grant - Microbial diversity in ephemeral rock pools in northern Kimberley
Anna Hopkins, Christina Birnbaum, Treena Burgess, Deepak Kumaresan, Ben Grez, Andy Whiteley, Matthew Barrett & Adam Cross. Murdoch University Small Grant - Impact of drought on soil fungi in the jarrah forest
Anna Hopkins, Katinka Ruthrof, Treena Burgess, Giles Hardy, Joe Fontaine. Murdoch University Small Grant - The effects of experimental warming on rhizosphere fungal composition in a Mediterranean-type ecosystem
Christina Birnbaum, Anna Hopkins, Joe Fontaine, Neale Enright.