Why do some species become threatened with extinction while others remain safe, even when they are exposed to similar threatening processes? To answer this question we need to explore phylogenetic and spatial patterns of species threat status, their associations with threatening processes (such as habitat loss or invasive predators), and the way these associations are mediated by the species biology and the environments they inhabit. We apply large-scale, phylogenetic comparative tests to large species databases to investigate patterns and correlates of threat status. This is not a specific funded project, but an ongoing, long-term research interest in the Macroevolution & Macroecology Group. There is scope to develop student projects (honours or PhD) in this topic - please get in touch with Marcel (marcel.cardillo@anu.edu.au)if you are interested, and visit our lab website for more informations about the kinds of research we do.