Professor Sam Banks
Sam Banks is a Professor in the College of Engineering, IT and the Environment specialising in Molecular Ecology and Conservation Biology. His research combines genomics and field ecology. His recent work examines how fire influences population dynamics and genetic diversity in natural populations, as well as using genetics to understand movement patterns in saltwater crocodiles.
Eighteen mature domestic and wild saltwater crocodiles in Timor-Leste have been sampled for DNA as part of a project determining the reptiles’ movement patterns.
Charles Darwin University Outstanding Professor Sam Banks said the project mapped the genetic diversity and movement of crocodiles across northern Australia and southeast Asia.
“Anecdotally, there are reports of crocodiles swimming in the middle of the Timor Sea,” he said. “Our research is determining the origin and movement patterns of the crocodiles through DNA sampling.”
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