Ecology Matters

"Many might think that a remote island, if left alone, should keep its uniqueness. But they’re under threat at the moment from impacts and drivers way bigger than ourselves." Don Whap and Madeina David are Natural Resource Management Officers with the Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA). They work in close partnership with 14 communities across the Torres Strait to monitor and protect the natu...

“Our plants have been able to cope with some of the world’s poorest soils [and] adapt to some of the strangest pollinators.” In a career spanning fifty years, Emeritus Professor Byron Lamont is recognised as one of Australia’s foremost experts on the unique flora of southwestern Australia. Recently, this included pioneering work that shows the ancestors of one of Australia's most iconic floral...

“The Northern Territory has one of the highest richness of ants in the world.” Originally from Canada, François completed a Master of Science in Montreal on ant biogeography before spending two years at the University of Hong Kong researching the ant biodiversity of Macau SAR. He then undertook a PhD at Charles Darwin University investigating the effects of fire and rainfall on the ants of Norther...

“ There are a lot of important outcomes to this sort of pollination study.” Andrew Bird is undertaking his Masters at La Trobe University, in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria, studying the pollination ecology of a threatened spider orchid. The Ecological Society of Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connect...

“Tasmanians as a whole are very proud of this species, that it is so unique and the largest freshwater invertebrate in the world.” Fiona Marshall has over 30 years experience in the natural resource management field at both operational and management levels. She has had extensive on-ground experience in soil erosion, river management, and river erosion works, property planning, and community engag...

“We found three species in our house that had never been documented in the Atlas of Living Australia.” Dr. Matthew Holden is an applied mathematician and a Senior Lecturer at the University of Queensland. Some of his projects include developing methods to assess the health of fisheries, control invasive species and agricultural pests, and save threatened species from anthropogenic threats. When Br...

“The whole purpose of a seed bank is to try and safeguard genetic diversity of wild plant populations. ”  James Wood has been the Manager of the Tasmanian Seed Conservation Centre (TSCC) since 2005. Based at the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens, the TSCC was initiated through a collaboration between the Tasmanian Herbarium, the Tasmanian Government and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. With support...

“I found thousands of kangaroo selfies and swamp wallaby selfies, they’re up there with my favourites.” Ange is an applied ecologist who has recently returned to research after many years in the public sector. She is undertaking her PhD at Deakin University investigating the interplay of fire and wildlife using camera and video trapping on Wotjobaluk Country in western Victoria.  Mary works as a r...

“As we are learning more about the soil diversity, we are also starting to appreciate better the functions that the soil perform.”  Dr Christina Birnbaum is a plant ecologist at the University of Southern Queensland. She is interested in plant interactions with below-ground microorganisms in native and novel environments, especially with rhizobia and mycorrhizal fungi. She uses field observations,...

“You can’t conserve eastern quolls without conserving the habitat that they are using as well.”  Dr David Hamilton is a conservation ecologist with the Tasmanian Land Conservancy (TLC) and an Adjunct Researcher with the University of Tasmania. He runs ecological monitoring programs on TLC’s reserves, particularly for the eastern quoll, which help to inform TLC’s land management practices. Working...

“Right across the desert, we talked to people about what their priorities were for saving the species.” Dr Rachel Paltridge is an arid-zone ecologist working with the Indigenous Desert Alliance . She joined Ecology Matters to discuss the tjakura, or Great Desert Skink, and the program that brings scientists, land managers and Indigenous Rangers together in one of Australia's largest collaborat...

Season 3 of Ecology Matters coming soon!

"The Elders that I have met over that time, they have really influenced my thinking and inspired me to keep going." Emilie Ens is an Associate Professor at Macquarie University where she leads the Cross-Cultural Ecology and Environmental Management lab. She is passionate about creating respectful cross-cultural partnerships with Indigenous people and organisations to better understand an...

"That's an issue that affects an animal over time, as they grow, and as these entanglements constrict them." We have known for decades that plastic pollution has a detrimental impact on marine life. We know that species like the Australian fur seal are heavily affected. And yet, there are many questions we do not have answers to: How does entanglement affect the growth, behaviour and...

"My ultimate goal would be to enhance the way we restore seagrasses at the moment." Joining us today is University of Sydney PhD candidate Renske Jongen. Renske’s career has taken her from dreams of veterinary science, to studying the effect of climate change on winter moths in the Netherlands and juvenile fish species in South Australia. She is now investigating the role of sediment mic...

"We're [...] using language to inform the restoration and environmental work that we do." We are lucky to have two guests this episode. Lynda Maybanks is managing director of Wirrinyah First Nations Conservation Services, an Engagement Consultant with Maybanks Consultancy, and Manager of the Yugara Dancers in Ipswich. Eleanor McCall is a linguist and a Masters student at the Universi...

"I've always been kind of fascinated with what the landscape would have looked like before Europeans got here." Our guest today is Dr Judy Dunlop. Judy focuses on the threatened mammals of Western Australia and has played key roles in large scale fauna reintroduction and translocation programs. In 2022 she co-authored a paper looking at the role of parasites during translocation. She...

"One of the most outstanding conservation concerns in Australia [...] is the extent of loss of [...] endemic mammal species." Professor John Woinarski has been involved in research, policy and management of Australian biodiversity for over 40 years. His career has crossed several fields, including reserve design, fire ecology, biodiversity monitoring, invasive species, the impacts of for...

"There are a number of criteria for keystone resources and sandalwood [...] fits quite a few of them." Our guest this episode is Dr Richard McLellan. Richard is an experienced ecologist, conservationist, and program manager. He held senior positions within WWF-Australia and WWF-International, focusing on native vegetation management, forest conservation, sustainable resource use, and eco...

"We only know about the species that we are exposed to." A picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say. Our guest this episode is looking at precisely this idea - what role do wildlife images play in conservation? How can images influence public attitudes and behaviours towards wildlife? And what effect does this have on long term wildlife conservation? Meghan Shaw is a PhD candida...

"Nobody has looked at whether [fenced reserves] could potentially be a conservation measure for bats." Bats are the second most-diverse order of mammals, in Australia and around the world, and provide vital ecosystem services like pest control and pollination. However, more than 30 percent of bat species are threatened, largely due to habitat alteration and introduced predators. In this...

"We know so little about the variety of species that exist on these spectacular islands." Dr Jenn Lavers and ranger Hayleigh Graham work with the Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation to understand and protect the delicate ecosystems of the Esperance region along the south coast of Western Australia. They joined Ecology Matters to talk about their efforts to restore seabird colo...

"A lot of people just don’t realise what we have in our blue backyard on the Southern shores of Australia, and how precious that is." Dr Elodie Camprasse is a Research Fellow at Deakin University and citizen science project lead with 'Spider Crab Watch'. Every winter, spider crabs gather in huge underwater piles along Australia’s southern shores. The spectacular gatherings attrac...

"I got interested in plants as ways of regenerating landscapes." Associate Professor John Morgan is a plant ecologist with the Research Centre for Applied Alpine Ecology and the Research Centre for Future Landscapes, at La Trobe University. He is a leading authority on the ecology of native grasslands in Australia, specialising in understanding how disturbances like fire and grazing dete...

"I can see myself definitely advocating for Antarctic protection and climate action for the rest of my life." When you think of Antarctica, do you imagine patches of verdant green? Moss beds so dense they support their own microecosystems? Georgia Watson joined Ecology Matters to share her work on these important, and largely unknown, sentinels of Antarctica. And she also came to explain...