Alana de Laive

For as long as I can remember I have had an insatiable passion and curiosity for reptiles and amphibians. Over the years, I have worked with herpetofauna in a variety of roles including as a keeper in number of zoos around Australia, a snake catcher, research assistant and wildlife ecologist. I have spent the past 12 years living in Far North Queensland and the Top End where I have been lucky enough to encounter an incredible abundance of herpetofauna while undertaking remote field work, as well as in my own backyard!

Recently, seeking more direct involvement in the conservation of threatened herpetofauna, I moved to Sydney to join the wonderful Herpetology team at the Australian Museum. I am currently working as a Frog ID validator, and part of the team investigating the cause and impact of the recent frog mortality event. I also work in the Collection Enhancement Project team, assisting with the management and digitisation of the Australian Museum’s Herpetology collection.

Qualifications

Bachelor of Science (Ecology) – Charles Darwin University, Darwin, NT (2017).

Publications

• Einoder, L. D., Fisher, A., Hill, B. M., Buckley, K., de Laive, A. H., Woinarski, J. C. Z., Gillespie, G. R. (2023). Long term monitoring reveals the importance of large, long unburnt areas and smaller fires in moderating mammal declines in fire-prone Savanna of northern Australia. Journal of Applied Ecology.
• Lettoof, D. C., Parkin, T., Jolly, C. J., de Laive, A., & von Takach, B. (2023). Snake life history traits and their association with urban habitat use in a tropical city. Urban Ecosystems. 26: 433–445.
• Waudby, H. P., Burns, P. A., Jensen, M. A., Hampton, J. O., Hunter, D., McKnight, D. T., Pestell, A. J. L., Bengsen, A. J., Bower, D., Coulson, G., Heard, G., de Laive, A., Jolly, C. J., Hale, S., Fancourt, B. A., Kelleher, S. R., Petit, S., Behrendorff, L., Lumsden, L. F. & McGregor, M. (2022). Wildlife marking methods. In: Wildlife Research in Australia: Practical and Applied Methods. (eds. B. Smith, H. P. Waudby, C. Alberthsen, & J. Hampton). Pp. 150–179. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria.
• de Laive, A. H., Schembri, B., & Jolly, C. J. (2021). Novel habitat associations and seasonality in threatened Mitchell’s water monitors (Varanus mitchelli): Implications for conservation. Austral Ecology. 46: 871–875.
• de Laive, A., & Jolly, C. J. (2021). Field observations of a cryptic agamid (Chameleon Dragon Chelosania brunnea Gray, 1845) in semi-arid savanna woodland of northern Australia. Australian Zoologist. 41: 731–737.
• Parkin, T., Jolly, C. J., de Laive, A., & von Takach, B. (2021). Snakes on an urban plain: Temporal patterns of snake activity and human–snake conflict in Darwin, Australia. Austral Ecology. 46: 449–462.

Other Appointments

• IUCN Skink Specialist Group