Emmalie Sanders

Emmalie Sanders

Freshwater Ecologist, Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Gulbali Institute

Biography

Emmalie Sanders is an early career researcher and ecologist with a focus on mammals and freshwater ecology. Her main interests include identifying species response to hydrological and environmental drivers and threats to freshwater fauna, with a particular focus on semi-aquatic mammals and threatened species. Emmalie has submitted her doctoral thesis which investigated the extinction risk of freshwater mammals, developed protocols for the best monitoring methods for the rakali (Australian water rat), identified key dietary items and identified important habitat and hydrological characteristics needed to support abundant rakali populations. Her research aims to increase awareness and positivity around the rakali, especially for inclusion in freshwater monitoring programs. She is currently involved with the Murrumbidgee Flow Monitoring Evaluation and Research program and the Murray Darling Basin Authority investigating the threatened water-dependent fauna of the Basin.

Research
  • Wildlife ecology
  • Freshwater ecology
  • Threatened species
  • Activity patterns and environmental drivers of behaviour
Publications
Full publications list on CRO

Recent Publications

  • Sanders E., Nimmo D.G., Hall A., Wassens S., Turner J.M., & Michael D.R. (2025) Scale-dependent habitat relationships of a semi-aquatic mammal in a highly regulated freshwater ecosystem. Landscape Ecology 40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-025-02148-3
  • Sanders E., Wassens S., Michael D. R., Nimmo D. G. & Turner J. M. (2024) Extinction risk of the world's freshwater mammals. Conservation Biology 38, e14168. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.14168
  • Sanders E., Nimmo D. G., Turner J. M., Wassens S. & Michael D. R. (2024) Putting rakali in the spotlight: innovative methods for detecting an elusive semi-aquatic mammal. Wildlife Research 51, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1071/WR24002
  • Sanders E., Wassens S., Turner J. M. & Michael D. R. (2024) Prevalence of invasive fish and plants in the winter diet of the rakali (Hydromys chrysogaster). Austral Ecology 49, e70016. https://doi.org/10.1111/aec.70016
  • Watchorn, D., Dickman, C., Dunlop, J., Sanders, E., Watchorn, M., & Burns, P. (2023) Ghost rodents: Albinism in Australian rodent species. Ecology and evolution, 13(3), e9942. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9942