Leanda Denise Mason

I developed a keen interest in mygalomorph spiders in my undergraduate years after being introduced to the resident expert, Dr. Barbara York Main. For my honours, I developed an industry funded project that quantified the extreme susceptibility of trapdoor spiders to desiccation.

After working as a consultant the following year, I decided to pursue a PhD and continue researching trapdoor spiders and how they might persist in urban areas. It was called ‘Living on burrowed time - mygalomorph spiders of Perth’. After teaching at Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University as a lecturer for a couple years, I am back to researching trapdoor spiders as a Vice Chancellor Research Fellow at Edith Cowan University.