Rate My Professor Christine Cooper

Christine Cooper is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Molecular and Life Sciences within the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Curtin University in Perth, Australia. She holds a BSc (Honours) in Zoology and Geography and a PhD in Zoology from the University of Western Australia, where her doctoral research examined the physiology and behaviour of the numbat, an endangered marsupial. Following her PhD, Cooper held research positions at the University of Western Australia from 1999 to 2004 and at the University of New England in the Department of Zoology in 2004. She commenced as a Lecturer in the Department of Environmental Biology at Curtin University in 2005 and has since progressed to Senior Lecturer.

Cooper's research expertise centers on vertebrate ecophysiology, with a focus on the energetic, thermal, and hygric physiology of native Australian birds and mammals facing environmental stressors such as heatwaves, aridity, and fire. Her studies employ techniques including thermal imaging, respirometry, and behavioural observations to explore adaptations like snot bubble formation for cooling in echidnas (2023), heat tolerance in numbats (2024), predictive water-seeking in zebra finches (2025), and torpor use in arid-zone marsupials (2005). She has produced over 120 peer-reviewed publications, including the co-edited book Ecological and Environmental Physiology of Mammals (Oxford University Press, 2016) and highly cited works such as 'Coping with thermal challenges: physiological adaptations to environmental temperatures' (Comprehensive Physiology, 2012; 470 citations), 'Environmental correlates of physiological variables in marsupials' (Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 2006; 108 citations), and 'Physiological responses of wild zebra finches to heatwaves' (Journal of Experimental Biology, 2020; 60 citations). With approximately 2,845 citations on Google Scholar, her contributions influence conservation physiology. Cooper teaches zoology, ecophysiology, and conservation biology, supervises honours and PhD students, and serves as Associate Editor for Mammalian Species. She engages in public outreach through university podcasts and media on biodiversity and species adaptations.