JCU > Research Portfolio > Dr Tasmin Rymer

About

I am a passionate animal behaviourist with a fondness for rodents. I studied a BSc majoring in Zoology and Ecology, Environment and Conservation at the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits), Johannesburg, South Africa, and followed this with a BSc Honours in Zoology, focusing on the behavioural ecology of Kalahari tree skinks Mabyua spilogaster. I then moved to the University of Pretoria, South Africa, to study an MSc with specialisation in Mammalogy. I returned to Wits to study my PhD under the supervision of Prof. Neville Pillay. My project focused on the ontogeny and function of paternal care behaviour in the African striped mouse Rhabdomys pumilio. I moved to James Cook University in 2012, where I am currently employed in the College of Science and Engineering. My current research focuses on the behaviour of Australian mammals, specifically the fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat Melomys cervinipes, although I have some students favouring marine gastropods.

Teaching

BS1007: Introduction to Biodiversity (Level 1; CNS)
BS2470: Evolution (Level 2; CNS & TSV)
BS5470: Evolution (Level 5; CNS & TSV)
BZ3061: Behavioural Ecology (Level 3; CNS & TSV)
BZ5061: Behavioural Ecology (Level 5; CNS)
SC1101: Science, Technology and Truth (Level 1; CNS)

Research Disciplines

Socio-Economic Objectives

Publications

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

Hernandez Duran L, Wilson D and Rymer T (in press) Exploring behavioral traits over different contexts in four species of Australian funnel-web spiders. Current Zoology,
Maxwell S, Todd S and Rymer T (2023) Population structure and morphology of Canarium (Canarium) incisum and Canarium (Canarium) esculentum (Mollusca: Neostromboidae: Strombidae) from the Philippines with preliminary notes on aperture colouration based on DArTseq data. Acta Zoologica, 104 (2). pp. 255-261
Rowell M and Rymer T (2023) The consistency of exploration behaviours across life stages in a native Australian rodent, the fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat Melomys cervinipes. Behavioural Processes, 207.
Rowell M and Rymer T (2023) Problem solving of wild animals in the Wet Tropics of Queensland, Australia. Austral Ecology, 48 (2). pp. 313-322
Rowell M and Rymer T (2023) Both age and experience are important for successful problem solving in juvenile fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rats Melomys cervinipes. Animal Cognition, 26. pp. 781-789
Rymer T and Pillay N (2023) The effects of antibiotics and illness on gut microbial composition in the fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat (Melomys cervinipes). PLoS ONE, 18.
Hernandez Duran L, Wilson D and Rymer T (2022) Behaviour of the Sydney funnel-web spider Atrax robustus over different contexts, time, and stimuli. Toxicon: X, 13.
Maxwell S and Rymer T (2022) A study of a population of Canarium (Canarium) urceus (Mollusca, Strombidae) from Nha Trang, Vietnam. Strombus, 28 (1-2). pp. 1-5
Rochais C, Rymer T and Pillay N (2022) Challenges in Linking Cognition and Survival: A Review. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10.
Rowell M and Rymer T (2022) Problem solving in fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rats Melomys cervinipes is not significantly influenced by maternal care or genetic effects. Journal of Experimental Zoology. Part A, Ecological And Integrative Physiology, 337 (8). pp. 802-811
Rowell M and Rymer T (2022) Memory enhances problem solving in the fawn‑footed mosaic‑tailed rat Melomys cervinipes. Animal Cognition, 25. pp. 347-358
Delarue E, Kerr S and Rymer T (2021) Habitat and sex effects on behaviour in fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rats (Melomys cervinipes). Australian Mammalogy, 43 (3). pp. 319-329

More: ResearchOnline@JCU stores 69+ research outputs authored by Dr Tasmin Rymer from 2007 onwards.

Current Funding

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

North Queensland Wildlife Trust - Grant - Research Support

Fluorescent fur remote camera field experiment

Indicative Funding: $3,696 over 1 year
Summary: Aims: To determine if fur fluorescence can be excited by natural light and detected by nocturnal vertebrates. Outcomes: If wild animals interact consistently more often with one fur type during full moons, it will change the way we think about how nocturnal animals use light. If animals cannot detect fluorescence, the outcome will negate the need for further testing of a visual function. Significance: Using real fluorescent fur pelts in natural lighting is a world-first in discovering if nocturnal vertebrates use fluorescence as a visual cue. The result will determine if fluorescence becomes visible in different terrestrial lighting conditions
Investigators: Linda Reinhold, Tasmin Rymer, David Wilson and Kristopher Helgen (College of Science & Engineering, Australian Institute of Tropical Health & Medicine and Australian Museum Research Institute)
Keywords: Mammals; Fluorescence; Camera trapping

Pozible.com - Crowdfunding - CrowdFunding

Coping with change: personality, hormones and bacteria

Indicative Funding: $4,693 over 1 year
Summary: Environmental change is going to have a significant impact on animals. However, we have little understanding of how individuals will cope with these changes. I aim to study the characteristics (personality, physiology, microbial community) of animals that may help them cope, using the fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat as a model. Personality is assessed using behaviour. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is used to assess hormone concentrations while gut microbial diversity is assessed via DNA extraction and 16s amplicon sequencing. I will be able to provide a resilience guideline that can then be applied to other species.
Investigators: Tasmin Rymer (College of Science & Engineering)
Keywords: Crowdfunding; Environmental Change; Microbiome; Personality; Hormones; Stress; fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat; Melomys Cervinipes (muridae); ELISA

Supervision

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Completed

From factors to contexts: analysing changes and interactions in behaviour, venom profiles and body state of Australian funnel-web spiders (2023, PhD , Primary Advisor)
Photoluminescence in fur (2023, Masters , Primary Advisor)
A classical taxonomic revision of Seraphsidae Jung 1974 (Gastropoda) using a pluralist approach to species assessment (2019, Masters , Secondary Advisor)
A revision of Strombus urceus Linné, 1758 (2022, PhD , Primary Advisor)
Ontogeny of problem solving in a native Australian rodent, the fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat Melomys cervinipes (2022, PhD , Primary Advisor)

Collaboration

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.