School of Botany and Zoology

Main Research Interest
Social behaviour, ecology, reproductive biology and conservation of African bats and rodents

Background
Having made up my mind to be a biologist when I was four years old, I spent much of my youth collecting and studying the animals and plants in the Victorian countryside where I grew up. I read Science (majoring in Zoology) at Monash University and, being particularly interested in behaviour, I compiled an ethogram for the hopping-mouse, Notomys alexis (which lives in the Australian arid zone) as an Honours project. Then, for my Ph.D., I followed this with an investigation of the adaptive significance of the social organisations of seven species of Conilurine rodents from habitats as diverse as the arid-zone, the semi-arid Mallee, seasonal dry sclerophyll forests and heathlands, and an "oasis" in Central Australia. This investigation showed that living in groups is an r -strategy suited to habitats with fluctuating carrying capacities (the arid and semi-arid habitats), whereas living in pairs or dispersed are K-strategies suited to habitats with stable carrying capacities (the seasonal and "oasis" habitats). Living in groups also enabled the arid-zone species to co-operative in manipulating the microclimate of their burrows in order to conserve water and energy.

I married David Happold in 1971. We lived in Nigeria, worked together on Nigerian mega-bats, and our two children were born there. In 1977, David began full-time employment at the A.N.U. and, soon after, I was offered a Visiting Fellowship and we began to collaborate in projects on the bats and small terrestrial mammals of Malawi. We spent two years doing field-work in Malawi in 1984-85 and in 1993-94.

Research Interests
My research interests are similar to those of my husband, David Happold, and we collaborate in studies of the distribution, ecology, demography, reproduction and behaviour of African rodents, shrews and bats. Although I participate in David's research on African rodents and shrews, my main interest is in the biology of African bats - particularly those of Malawi. Recently, our research on the bats of Malawi has focused on the following topics:-

Geographic distribution and habitat selection.
Identification from anatomical characteristics and measurements.
Conservation priorities.
Renal form and function.
Social behaviour and general biology of the Banana Bat, Pipistrellus nanus.
Echolocation calls as a means of recognising species of microbats.
Echolocation, wing morphology and resource partitioning in communities of bats.
Reproductive strategies of bats in Malawi and elsewhere in Africa.

Currently, I am co-editor (with Jonathan Kingdon, David Happold, Mike Hoffmann and Tom Butynski) of a major work, "The Mammals of Africa" which will describe in detail all the extant species of mammals on the African continent. Besides editing the Chiroptera section (about 225 species, plus higher taxa profiles), I have written many of the species, genus and higher taxa profiles myself. I have also prepared the line drawings for the volumes on the small mammals.   It is expected that there will be six volumes (of 300-500 pages / volume).  It is hoped that "The Mammals of Africa" will be published by University of California Press in 2010.

Being semi-retired, I am no longer teaching at the Australian National University, and I do not supervise any post-graduate studies.

Selected Publications
Stanley, Meredith. 1971. An ethogram of the Hopping-mouse, Notomys alexis. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 29: 225-258

Happold, M. 1976. Social behaviour of the Conilurine Rodents (Muridae) of Australia. eitschrift für Tierpsychologie 40: 113-182.

Happold D.C.D. and Happold M. 1978. Fruit bats of western Nigeria. Nigerian Field. 43: 30-7, 72-7, 121-7.

Happold D.C.D., Happold M. and Hill, J. E. 1987. The bats of Malawi. Mammalia 51: 337-414.

Happold D.C.D. and Happold M. 1988. Renal form and function in relation to the ecology of bats (Chiroptera) from Malawi, central Africa. Journal of Zoology (London) 215: 629-655.

Happold D.C.D. and Happold M. 1989. The reproduction of Tadarida condylura and Tadarida pumila (Chiroptera, Molossidae) in Malawi, central Africa. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 85: 133-149.

Happold D.C.D and Happold M. 1990. The bats (Chiroptera) of Malawi, Central Africa: checklist and keys for identification. Nyala.14: 89-112.

Happold D.C.D. and Happold M. 1990. The domiciles, reproduction, social organisation and sex ratios of Pipistrellus nanus (Chiroptera, Vespertilionidae) in Malawi. Zeitschrift für Saugetierkunde 55: 145-160.

Happold D.C.D. and Happold M. 1991. The reproductive strategies of bats (Chiroptera) in Africa. Journal of Zoology (London) 222: 557-583.

Bernard, R. T. F, Happold, D. C. D. and Happold, M. 1996. Sperm storage in the Banana Bat (Pipistrellus nanus) from tropical latitudes in Africa. Journal of Zoology (London) 241: 161-174.

Happold, D.C.D and Happold, M. 1997. The population structure and social behaviour of leaf-roosting banana bats, Pipistrellus nanus, in Malawi, east-central Africa. Mammalia 60:517-544.

Happold, M., and Happold, D. C. D. (1998). Chiromo and Thyolo revisited: comments on the conservation of small mammals in Malawi. Nyala 20:1-10

Happold, M and Happold, D.C.D. 1997. New records of bats (Chiroptera: Mammalia) for Malawi, east-central Africa, with an assessment of their status and conservation. J ournal of Natural History 31:805-836.

Bernard, R.T.F., Happold, D.C.D. and Happold, M. 1997. Sperm storage in a seasonally reproducing African vespertilionid, the banana bat (Pipistrellus nanus) from Malawi. Journal of Zoology (London) 241: 161-174.

Happold, D.C.D and Happold, M. 1997. Conservation of mammals on a tobaccofarm on the highlands of Malawi. Biodiversity and Conservation 6:837-852.

Happold, D. C. D. and Happold, M. (1998). Effects of bat-bands and banding on a population of Pipistrellus nanus (Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in Malawi. Zeitschrift für Saugetierkunde 63:65-78.