She worked at the University of Adelaide studying Australian frogs, retiring in 2002.
Initially appointed to a teaching post at the university, she was inspired to research frog taxonomy and their ecology from the 1970s.
[2] In 1996 she received the Dean’s Certificate for Excellence in Teaching in the discipline of zoology from the University of Adelaide.
[1] In 2014 she was awarded the Order of Australia for services to science in the field of herpetology.
[3] Litoria daviesae Mahony, Knowles, Foster & Donnellan, 2001 was also named after her.