aslavenko@cesarautralia.com
Alex Slavenko
Senior Research Scientist
Bachelor of Science (Biology), Master of Science (Zoology), PhD (Zoology)
aslavenko@cesarautralia.com
Alex is an ecologist and zoologist, interested in macroecology, biogeography, natural history, and how big data approaches can be used to make meaningful insights about biodiversity and natural processes. He completed his PhD in Tel Aviv University in Israel, where he studied the macroecology and biogeography of reptiles, with a focus on the lizard fauna of New Guinea. One of his proudest achievements is discovering and naming several species of New Guinean skinks.
Working in our research team, Alex uses ecological modelling and data science tools on a variety of different projects across areas of conservation, sustainable agriculture, and pest management. When he’s not at work, he is tricky to find, and is probably out hiking with his camera, scuba diving, bird watching or herping – any activity that allows him to experience nature in all its glory! Otherwise, you can find him at home with a good book, probably fantasy.
Slavenko A, Maino JL, Coquilleau M, Umina PA (2025) Assessing the risk of novel pesticide resistances entering Australia. Austral Entomology 64(4), e70027. https://doi.org/10.1111/aen.70027
Shabtay A, Rothschild A, Makovsky Y, Neuman A, Bialik O, Goren L, Idan T, Slavenko A, Salingré S, Buba Y, Guy-Haim T, Herut B, Stern N, Gertman I, Gilboa M, Gal G, Ofir E, Rubin Blum M, Berenshtein I, Amir D, Karniel T, Belmaker J, Ben Lamine E, Giakoumi S (2025) Lessons learned by addressing challenges to deep-sea conservation planning in the Southeastern Mediterranean Sea: linking science to practice. Ocean & Coastal Management 267, 107700. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2025.107700
Slavenko A, Shea GM, Richards SJ, Oliver PM (2025) A new species of montane Prasinohaema (Sphenomorphini: Scincidae) from the South-fold Mountains of New Guinea. Zootaxa 5621(2), 211–230. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5621.2.3
Slavenko A, Cooper N, Meiri S, Murali G, Pincheira‐Donoso D, Thomas GH (2025) Evolution of sexual size dimorphism in tetrapods is driven by varying patterns of sex-specific selection on size. Nature Ecology & Evolution 9, 464–473. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02600-8
Ahrens CW, Slavenko A, Kriesner P, van Rooyen A, Heinze D, Bartonicek N, Weeks AR (2025) Stochastic wind-driven migration likely maintains panmixia in the endangered bogong moth, Agrotis infusa. Biological Conservation 302, 110993. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.110993
Slavenko A, Ross PA, Mata L, Hoffmann AA, Umina PA (2024) Modelling the spread of a novel endosymbiont infection in field populations of an aphid pest. Ecological Modelling 497, 110851. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2024.110851
Slavenko A, Babineau M, van Rooyen AR, Congdon B, Umina PA, Ward S (2024) Modelling aphid movement in Australian canola fields. Annals of Applied Biology 185(2), 242–254. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/aab.12911
Slavenko A, Richards SJ, Donnellan SC, Allison A, Oliver PM (2024) Gold in the mountains: striking new species of Papuascincus (Sphenomorphini: Scincidae) from New Guinea. Vertebrate Zoology 74, 133–149.
Ward SE, Hoffmann AA, Van Helden M, Slavenko A, Umina PA (2024) The effects of insecticide seed treatments on the parasitism and predation of Myzus persicae (Homoptera: Aphididae) in canola. Journal of Economic Entomology 117(1), 102–117. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/toad236
Raz T, Allison A, Avila LJ, Bauer AM, Böhm M, Caetano GH de O, Colli G, Doan TM, Doughty P, Grismer L, Itescu Y, Kraus F, Martins M, Morando M, Murali G, Nagy ZT, Nogueira C de C, Novosolov M, Oliver PM, Passos P, Pincheira‐Donoso D, Sindaco R, Slavenko A, Torres‐Carvajal O, Uetz P, Wagner P, Zimin A, Roll U, Meiri S (2024) Diversity gradients of terrestrial vertebrates – substantial variations about a common theme. Journal of Zoology 322(2), 126–140. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.13130
Chapple DG, Slavenko A, Tingley R, Farquhar JE, Camaiti M, Roll U, Meiri S (2023) Built for success: Distribution, morphology, ecology and life history of the world’s skinks. Ecology and Evolution 13(12), e10791. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10791
Oliver PM, Hugall AF, Prasetya A, Slavenko A, Zahirovic S (2023) Oligo-Miocene radiation within South-west Pacific arc terranes underpinned repeated upstream continental dispersals in pigeons (Columbiformes). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 138(4), 437–452. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blad003
Slavenko A, Allison A, Austin CC, Bauer AM, Brown RM, Fisher RN, Ineich I, Iova B, Karin BR, Kraus F, Mecke S, Meiri S, Morrison C, Oliver PM, O’Shea M, Richmond JQ, Shea GM, Tallowin OJS, Chapple DG (2023) Skinks of Oceania, New Guinea, and Eastern Wallacea: an underexplored biodiversity hotspot. Pacific Conservation Biology. https://doi.org/10.1071/PC22034
Camaiti M, Evans AR, Hipsley CA, Hutchinson MN, Meiri S, de Oliveira Anderson R, Slavenko A, Chapple DG (2023) Macroecological and biogeographical patterns of limb reduction in the world’s skinks. Journal of Biogeography 50(2), 428–440. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14547
Camaiti M, Evans AR, Hipsley CA, Hutchinson MN, Meiri S, Anderson RO, Slavenko A, Chapple DG (2022) A database of the morphology, ecology and literature of the world’s limb-reduced skinks. Journal of Biogeography 49(7), 1937–1406. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.14392
Slavenko A, Dror L, Camaiti M, Farquhar JE, Shea GM, Chapple DG, Meiri S (2022) Evolution of diel activity patterns in skinks (Squamata: Scincidae), the world’s second-largest family of terrestrial vertebrates. Evolution 76(6), 1195–1208. https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.14482
Slavenko A, Tamar K, Tallowin OJS, Kraus F, Allison A, Carranza S, Meiri S (2022) Revision of the montane New Guinean skink genus Lobulia (Squamata: Scincidae), with the description of four new genera and nine new species. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 195(1), 220–278. https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab052
Kiat Y, Slavenko A, Sapir N (2021) Body mass and geographic distribution determined the evolution of the wing flight-feather molt strategy in the Neornithes lineage. Scientific Reports 11(1), 21573. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-00964-6
Slavenko A, Maza E, Itescu Y (2021) Results of the first herpetological survey of israel’s mediterranean coastal islets. Russian Journal of Herpetology 28(4), 231–236. https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-4-231-236
Itescu Y, Foufopoulos J, Schwarz R, Lymberakis P, Slavenko A, Gavriilidi I-A, Meiri S, Pafilis P (2021) The island of extremes: Giants and dwarfs on a small remote island. Russian Journal of Herpetology 28(4), 225–230. https://doi.org/10.30906/1026-2296-2021-28-4-225-230
Chapple DG, Roll U, Böhm M, Aguilar R, Amey AP, Austin CC, Baling M, Barley AJ, Bates MF, Bauer AM, Blackburn DG, Bowles P, Brown RM, Chandramouli SR, Chirio L, Cogger H, Colli GR, Conradie W, Couper PJ, Cowan MA, Craig MD, Das I, Datta-Roy A, Dickman CR, Ellis RJ, Fenner AL, Ford S, Ganesh SR, Gardner MG, Geissler P, Gillespie GR, Glaw F, Greenlees MJ, Griffith OW, Grismer LL, Haines ML, Harris DJ, Hedges SB, Hitchmough RA, Hoskin CJ, Hutchinson MN, Ineich I, Janssen J, Johnston GR, Karin BR, Keogh JS, Kraus F, LeBreton M, Lymberakis P, Masroor R, McDonald PJ, Mecke S, Melville J, Melzer S, Michael DR, Miralles A, Mitchell NJ, Nelson NJ, Nguyen TQ, de Campos Nogueira C, Ota H, Pafilis P, Pauwels OSG, Perera A, Pincheira-Donoso D, Reed RN, Ribeiro-Júnior MA, Riley JL, Rocha S, Rutherford PL, Sadlier RA, Shacham B, Shea GM, Shine R, Slavenko A, Stow A, Sumner J, Tallowin OJS, Teale R, Torres-Carvajal O, Trape J-F, Uetz P, Ukuwela KDB, Valentine L, Van Dyke JU, van Winkel D, Vasconcelos R, Vences M, Wagner P, Wapstra E, While GM, Whiting MJ, Whittington CM, Wilson S, Ziegler T, Tingley R, Meiri S (2021) Conservation status of the world’s skinks (Scincidae): Taxonomic and geographic patterns in extinction risk. Biological Conservation 257, 109101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109101
Slavenko A, Allison A, Meiri S (2021) Elevation is a stronger predictor of morphological trait divergence than competition in a radiation of tropical lizards. Journal of Animal Ecology 90(4), 917–930. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13420
Jamison S, Maza E, Sinaiko G, Tamar K, Slavenko A, Meiri S (2020) To be or not to be tchernovi: A taxonomic revision of the snake genus Micrelaps (Squamata: Serpentes), in Israel. Zootaxa 4881(2), 290–306. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4881.2.4
Meiri S, Avila L, Bauer AM, Chapple DG, Das I, Doan TM, Doughty P, Ellis R, Grismer L, Kraus F, Morando M, Oliver P, Pincheira-Donoso D, Ribeiro-Junior MA, Shea G, Torres-Carvajal O, Slavenko A, Roll U (2020) The global diversity and distribution of lizard clutch sizes. Global Ecology and Biogeography 29(9), 1515–1530. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13124
Uetz P, Slavenko A, Meiri S, Heinicke M (2020) Gecko diversity: A history of global discovery. Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution 66(3–4), 117–125. https://doi.org/10.1163/22244662-bja10003
Slavenko A, Tamar K, Tallowin OJS, Allison A, Kraus F, Carranza S, Meiri S (2020) Cryptic diversity and non-adaptive radiation of montane New Guinea skinks (Papuascincus; Scincidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 146, 106749. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2020.106749
Slavenko A, Feldman A, Allison A, Bauer AM, Böhm M, Chirio L, Colli GR, Das I, Doan TM, LeBreton M, Martins M, Meirte D, Nagy ZT, Nogueira CDC, Pauwels OSG, Pincheira-Donoso D, Roll U, Wagner P, Wang Y, Meiri S (2019) Global patterns of body size evolution in squamate reptiles are not driven by climate. Global Ecology and Biogeography 28(4), 471–483. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12868
Itescu Y, Schwarz R, Donihue CM, Slavenko A, Roussos SA, Sagonas K, Valakos ED, Foufopoulos J, Pafilis P, Meiri S (2018) Inconsistent patterns of body size evolution in co-occurring island reptiles. Global Ecology and Biogeography 27(5), 538–550. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12716
Jamison S, Tamar K, Slavenko A, Meiri S (2017) Tarentola annularis (Squamata: Phyllodactylidae): A new invasive species in Israel. Salamandra 53(2), 299–303.
Itescu Y, Jamison S, Slavenko A, Tamar K, Roussos SA, Foufopoulos J, Meiri S, Pafilis P (2017) The herpetofauna of Folegandros Island (Cyclades, Greece). Herpetozoa 29, 183–190.
Slavenko A, Tallowin OJS, Itescu Y, Raia P, Meiri S (2016) Late Quaternary reptile extinctions: size matters, insularity dominates. Global Ecology and Biogeography 25(11). https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12491
Itescu Y, Slavenko A, Schwarz R, Meiri S, Pafilis P (2016) A new island record for Chalcides ocellatus (FORSKÅL, 1775) from Kythnos, Greece. Herpetozoa 29(1).
Slavenko A, Itescu Y, Ihlow F, Meiri S (2016) Home is where the shell is: Predicting turtle home range sizes. Journal of Animal Ecology 85(1), 106–114. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12446
Slavenko A, Meiri S (2015) Mean body sizes of amphibian species are poorly predicted by climate. Journal of Biogeography 42(7), 1246–1254. https://doi.org/10.1111/jbi.12516
Slavenko A, Itescu Y, Foufopoulos J, Pafilis P, Meiri S (2015) Clutch size variability in an ostensibly fix-clutched lizard: effects of insularity on a Mediterranean gecko. Evolutionary Biology 42(2), 129–136. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11692-015-9304-0
Roll U, Tallowin O, Berkowic D, Maza E, Ostrometzky Y, Slavenko A, Shacham B, Tamar K, Meiri S (2013) Rueppel’s snake-eyed skink, Ablepharus rueppellii (Gray, 1839) (Reptilia: Squamata: Scincidae): Distribution extension and geographic range in Israel. Check List 9(2), 458–464. https://doi.org/10.15560/9.2.458