Meet the Lead Researcher
Dr Kate Dutton-Regester is a wildlife scientist, university lecturer, and the driving force behind Short-beaked Echidnas: Building a Baseline. With a PhD from The University of Queensland and a decade of experience in wildlife research, Kate has led projects ranging from reproductive endocrinology in captive echidnas to large-scale analyses of wildlife hospital admissions across Australia.
Kate coordinates Wildlife Queensland’s Echidna Watch program and has designed one of the most comprehensive community-based echidna monitoring initiatives in the country. Her research combines camera trapping, faecal DNA and hormone analysis, digging surveys, and the use of detection dogs to locate echidnas and their scats across South East Queensland.
She is passionate about community engagement and building collaborative partnerships with councils, landowners, bushcare groups, and students to generate the long-term data needed to protect this iconic species. Alongside her research, Kate teaches One Health and epidemiology at UQ and supervises a team of Honours and Masters students working on echidna conservation.
Our Team
Tianti - PhD Candidate
Ike
Hsin-Hsien Wang (Ike) – Master of Animal Science Student, The University of Queensland I’m a Master of Animal Science student at The University of Queensland, currently researching the population distribution and habitat use of short-beaked echidnas (Tachyglossus aculeatus) in the Lockyer Valley Region of Queensland.
My project involves deploying motion-activated cameras across various bushland reserves and remnant habitats to monitor echidna presence, and environmental preferences. By combining these observations with vegetation data and land-use information, I aim to identify key habitat features that support echidna populations in this semi-rural landscape.
Edith Lin - Masters Student
Elissa
