Fields of Research

Conservation and biodiversity
Environmental management
Natural resource management
Environment and resource economics
Environment policy
Land use and environmental planning
Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology)
Fisheries management
Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation
Aquaculture
Social geography
Behavioural economics
Forestry management and environment
Ecosystem function
Pollution and contamination
Environmental education and extension
Risk policy
Biosecurity science and invasive species ecology
Speciation and extinction
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander sociology
Terrestrial ecology
Physical geography and environmental geoscience
Urban geography
Sustainability accounting and reporting
Agricultural land planning
Agricultural land management
Wildlife and habitat management
Aquaculture and fisheries stock assessment
Sustainable agricultural development
Forest biodiversity
Environmental rehabilitation and restoration
Fisheries sciences
Galactic astronomy
Environmental law
Urban and regional planning
Human impacts of climate change and human adaptation
Natural hazards

Research Objectives

Assessment and management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystems
Environmental policy, legislation and standards
Expanding knowledge in the environmental sciences
Rehabilitation or conservation of terrestrial environments
Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems
Terrestrial biodiversity
Environmental protection frameworks (incl. economic incentives)
Climate change adaptation measures (excl. ecosystem)
Ecological economics
Other environmental management
Other environmental policy, climate change and natural hazards
Marine biodiversity
Fisheries - aquaculture
Ecosystem adaptation to climate change
Aquaculture fin fish (excl. tuna)
Coastal or estuarine biodiversity
Land policy
Evaluation, allocation, and impacts of land use
Social impacts of climate change and variability
Protection and conservation of Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments
Expanding knowledge in economics
Rehabilitation or conservation of coastal or estuarine environments
Institutional arrangements
Rights to environmental and natural resources (excl. water allocation)
Measurement and assessment of freshwater quality (incl. physical and chemical conditions of water)
Control of pests, diseases and exotic species in fresh, ground and surface water
Marine systems and management
Conserving Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage and culture
Natural hazards
Fisheries - wild caught
Assessment and management of coastal and estuarine ecosystems
Sustainability indicators
Wild caught fin fish (excl. tuna)
Assessment and management of freshwater ecosystems
Environmental education and awareness
Expanding knowledge in human society
Native forests
Terrestrial systems and management
Other culture and society
Biodiversity in Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments
Environmentally sustainable plant production
Public services policy advice and analysis
Climate change mitigation strategies
Understanding climate change
Communication

Career Best Publications

Research Publications

A guide to using species trait data in conservation; One Earth
A guideline to improve qualitative social science publishing in ecology and conservation journals; Ecology and Society
A multidisciplinary conceptualization of conservation opportunity; Conservation Biology
A new approach to the problem of overlapping values: a case study in Australia's Great Barrier Reef; Ecosystem Services
A novel habitat-based approach to predict impacts of marine protected areas on fishers; Conservation Biology
A synthesis of knowledge about motives for participation in perpetual conservation easements; Conservation Science and Practice
A WWF-Telstra Building Nature’s Safety Net Report
Adaptive Marine Protected Area Planning and Management: Research progress and gaps
Advances in conservation science and practice in Oceania: Delivering on research priorities for the region; Conservation Science and Practice
Aligning marine spatial conservation priorities with functional connectivity across maritime jurisdictions; Conservation Science and Practice
Allowing tradition, not weeds, to flourish in Kakadu National Park Northern Territory, Australia
An info-gap model to examine the robustness of cost-efficient budget allocations; 1st International Conference on Vulnerability and Risk Assessment and Management
Application of atmospheric solids analysis probe mass spectrometry for the taxonomic analysis of pollen; Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Approaches to strategic risk analysis and management of invasive plants: lessons learned from managing gamba grass in northern Australia; Pacific Conservation Biology
Areas of global importance for conserving terrestrial biodiversity, carbon and water; Nature Ecology and Evolution
Australia's protected area network fails to adequately protect the world's most threatened marine fishes; Global Ecology and Conservation
Bigger or better: the relative benefits of protected area network expansion and enforcement for the conservationof an exploited species; Conservation Letters
Breaking the deadlock on ivory; Science
Can Management Actions Within the Fiji Locally Managed Marine Area Network Serve to Meet Fiji's National Goal to Protect 30% of Inshore Marine Areas by 2020?
Catchment-scale governance in Northern Australia: a preliminary evaluation; Journal of Social and Economic Policy
Characterizing spatial uncertainty when integrating social data in conservation planning; Conservation Biology
Consequences matter: compassion in conservation means caring for individuals, populations and species; Animals
Conservation Oceania style: highlighting Oceania's unique approaches to conservation; Pacific Conservation Biology
Conserving biodiversity and Indigenous bush tucker: practical application of the strategic foresight framework to invasive alien species management planning; Conservation Letters
Designing connected marine reserves in the face of global warming; Global Change Biology
Designing, implementing and managing marine protected areas: emerging trends and opportunities for coral reef nations; Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
Dispersal connectivity and reserve selection for marine conservation; Ecological Modelling
Distribution, demography and dispersal model of spatial spread of invasive plant populations with limited data; Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Efficient and equitable design of marine protected areas in Fiji through inclusion of stakeholder-specific objectives in conservation planning; Conservation Biology
Estimating fishing effort and spatio-temporal distribution of longline vessels in the Indian Ocean; Frontiers in Marine Science
Estimating land and conservation management costs: the first step in designing a stewardship program for the Northern Territory; Biological Conservation
Estimating landholders’ probability of participating in a stewardship program, and the implications for spatial conservation priorities; PLoS One
Estimating realistic costs for strategic management planning of invasive species eradications on islands; Biological Invasions
Estimating the benefit of well-managed protected areas for threatened species conservation; Oryx
Estimating the financial risks of Andropogon gayanus to greenhouse gas abatement projects in northern Australia; Environmental Research Letters
Estimating the financial risks of Andropogon gayanus to greenhouse gas abatement projects in northern Australia
Evidence-based guidelines for prioritizing investments to meet international conservation objectives; One Earth
Expanding the role of social science in conservation through an engagement with philosophy, methodology, and methods; Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Extending the protected area system: How much will it cost?; Australia Protected Area Congress 2008
Extinct flagships: linking extinct and threatened species; Oryx
Factors affecting the preparedness of overnight hikers in national parks: Insights from Tasmania, Australia; Journal of Outdoor Recreation and Tourism
Functional diversity of the Australian flora: Strong links to species richness and climate; Journal of Vegetation Science
Grouped SPME comparison of floral scent as a method of unlocking phylogenetic patterns in volatiles; Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
High fire frequency and the impact of the 2019-2020 megafires on Australian plant diversity; Diversity and Distributions
How much does it cost to expand a protected area system? Some critical determining factors and ranges of costs for Queensland; PLoS One
Impact evaluation and conservation outcomes in marine protected areas: A case study of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park; Biological Conservation
Impacts of the Moreton Bay Marine Park rezoning on commercial fishermen; Marine Policy
Implementation strategies for systematic conservation planning; Ambio
Importance of equitable cost sharing in the Convention on Biological Diversity's protected area agenda; Conservation Biology
Importance of species translocations under rapid climate change; Conservation Biology
Importance of the seed bank for population viability and population monitoring in a threatened wetland herb; Biological Conservation
Improving social acceptability of marine protected area networks: a method for estimating opportunity costs to multiple gear types in both fished and currently unfished areas; Biological Conservation
Indicators keep progress honest: A call to track both the quantity and quality of protected areas; One Earth
Information uncertainty influences conservation outcomes when prioritizing multi-action management efforts; Journal of Applied Ecology
Integrated cross-realm planning: a decision-makers' perspective; Biological Conservation
Integrated models, frameworks and decision support tools to guide management and planning in Northern Australia
Integrating dynamic processes into waterfowl conservation prioritization tools; Diversity and Distributions
Keep Watch Review: Final Report
Land-sea conservation assessment for Papua New Guinea
Making time for space: the critical role of spatial planning in adapting natural resource management to climate change; Environmental Science and Policy
Management resourcing and government transparency are key drivers of biodiversity outcomes in Southeast Asian protected areas; Biological Conservation
Manager characteristics drive conservation success; Biological Conservation
Mapping threats to species: Method matters; Marine Policy
Marine Opportunity Costs: a method for calculating opportunity costs to multiple stakeholder groups
Marine protected area management costs: an analysis of options for the Coral Sea
Measuring benefits of protected area management: trends across realms and research gaps for freshwater systems; Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Mental models for conservation research and practice; Conservation Letters
Messaging matters: A systematic review of the conservation messaging literature; Biological Conservation
Methods for identifying spatially referenced conservation needs and opportunities; Biological Conservation
Minimizing cross-realm threats from land-use change: A national-scale conservation framework connecting land, freshwater and marine systems; Biological Conservation
Navigating the fiery debate: the role of scientific evidence in eliciting policy and management responses for contentious plants in northern Australia; Pacific Conservation Biology
Navigating trade-offs in land-use planning: integrating human well-being into objective setting; Ecology and Society
Open Science principles for accelerating trait-based science across the Tree of Life; Nature Ecology and Evolution
Opportunity costs: who really pays for conservation?; Biological Conservation
Optimal dynamic control of invasions: applying a systematic conservation approach; Ecological Applications
Outcomes report from provincial planning meeting, 20-21 September 2010
Pandemic refuges: Lessons from 2 years of COVID-19; Risk Analysis
Para grass management and costing trial within Kakadu National Park; 19th Australasian Weeds Conference
Participatory multi-stakeholder assessment of alternative development scenarios in contested landscapes; Sustainability Science
Perceived and projected flood risk and adaptation in coastal Southeast Queensland, Australia; Climatic Change
Perception matrices: an adaptation of repertory grid technique; Land Use Policy
Pilot Marine Spatial Assessment Tool: Evaluating options for assessing and balancing marine use change within Tasmanian coastal waters using a spatial assessment tool. Pilot Study – South and West of Bruny Island
Planning across freshwater and terrestrial realms: cobenefits and tradeoffs between conservation actions; Conservation Letters
Planning for success: Why conservation programs need a strategic program for recovering species; Conservation Science and Practice
Planning for the future: Combining spatially-explicit public preferences with tenure policies to support land-use planning; Land Use Policy
Priorities for biomass; One Earth
Prioritising mangrove ecosystem services results in spatially variable management priorities; PLoS One
Project 10.2 Final Report - The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area: its ‘value’ to residents and tourists, and the effect of world prices on it
Promise and problems for estimating management costs of marine protected areas; Conservation Letters
Protecting new markets: quantifying the risks to new carbon markets from invasive species and prioritising areas for immediate action; 19th Australasian Weeds Conference
Purpose, policy, and practice: intent and reality for on-ground management and outcomes of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park; Marine Policy
Recasting shortfalls of marine protected areas as opportunities through adaptive management; Aquatic Conservation
Research advances and gaps in marine planning: towards a global database in systematic conservation planning; Biological Conservation
Research priorities for conservation and natural resource management in Oceania's small-island developing states; Conservation Biology
Response - Ivory crisis; Science
Restoration priorities to achieve the global protected area target; Conservation Letters
Saving species beyond the protected area fence: Threats must be managed across multiple land tenure types to secure Australia's endangered species; Conservation Science and Practice
Scenarios of land degradation and restoration; IPBES Assessment Report on Land Degradation and Restoration
Scheduling incremental actions to build a comprehensive national protected area network for Papua New Guinea; Conservation Science and Practice
Security and equity of conservation covenants: contradictions of private protected area policies in Australia; Land Use Policy
Shared personal reflections on the need to broaden the scope of conservation social science; People and Nature
Shortfalls in conservation evidence: moving from ecological effects of interventions to policy evaluation; One Earth
Southeast Asian protected areas are effective in conserving forest cover and forest carbon stocks compared to unprotected areas; Scientific Reports
Spatial prioritisation for management of gamba grass (Andropogon gayanus) invasions: accounting for social, economic and environmental values; Australasian Weeds Conference
Standardized reporting of the costs of management interventions for biodiversity conservation; Conservation Biology
Statewide Finfish Aquaculture Spatial Planning Exercise: Investigating growth opportunities for finfish aquaculture in Tasmanian coastal waters
Synthesis and review: delivering on conservation promises: the challenges of managing and measuring conservation outcomes
Terrestrial protected areas of Australia; Austral Ark: The State of Wildlife in Australia and New Zealand
The benefits of Q + PPGIS for coupled human-natural systems research: A systematic review; Ambio
The impact of strictly protected areas in a deforestation hotspot; Conservation Science and Practice
The impacts of Andropogon gayanus (gamba grass) invasion on the fire danger index and fire management at a landscape scale; 19th Australasian Weeds Conference
The minimum land area requiring conservation attention to safeguard biodiversity; Science
The need for spatially explicit quantification of benefits in invasive-species management; Conservation Biology
Thinking globally, acting locally – conservation lessons from Oceania; Pacific Conservation Biology
To achieve big wins for terrestrial conservation, prioritize protection of ecoregions closest to meeting targets; One Earth
Uncertainties around the implementation of a clearing control policy in a unique catchment in Northern Australia: exploring equity issues and balancing competing objectives; PLoS One
Using movement models and systematic conservation planning to inform marine protected area design for a multi-species predator community; Biological Conservation
Using multiple methods to understand the nature of relationships in social networks; Society and Natural Resources
Using optimal land-use scenarios to assess trade-offs between conservation, development, and social values; PLoS One
Using quantitative influence diagrams to map natural resource managers' mental models of invasive species management; Land Use Policy
Weighing the benefits of expanding protected areas versus managing existing ones; Nature Sustainability
Where do national and local conservation actions meet? Simulating the expansion of ad hoc and systematic approaches to conservation into the future in Fiji; Conservation Letters
Working together: A call for inclusive conservation; Nature

Research Projects

Ecological Value of Geomorphic Pit Features in Rare Grassland Ecosystems; Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (HWRE)
Management of pollination services in the Tasmanian Midlands: Native vegetation as a vector of native pollinators in crops and a nectar resource for managed bees; Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (HWRE)
Methods for mapping areas important for biodiversity; Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment (DAWE)
National Environmental Science Program 2: Resilient Landscapes Solutions Hub; Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment (DAWE)
NESP MaC 2.5: Evaluation of recreational fishing behaviour, use, value and motivations that relate to compliance; Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment (DAWE)
NESP MaC: Scoping Study: research needs for a national approach to socio-economic values of the marine environment; Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment (DAWE)
Optimising biodiversity conservation in managed forest landscapes; Australian Research Council (ARC)
Organic Soils: Tools for Fire Management; Department of Environment and Energy (Cwth) (DoEE)
Restoring diverse native vegetation using drone-based precision seeding; Australian Research Council (ARC)
Socioeconomic insights for Resilient Landscapes; Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment (DAWE)
Systematics and biogeography of the Australian scoparline moths (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Scopariinae); Department of Environment and Energy (Cwth) (DoEE)
Tackling land degredation: which policy, where, when, and why?; Australian Research Council (ARC)
Using integrated data analysis to assess regional transferability; Department of Agriculture Water and the Environment (DAWE)
Economic futures in the Pilbara: constructing a green economy
Key threatening process mapping and decision making in NSW
MPA planning in the southern ocean : the relative importance of domain 9
South and West of Bruny Spatial Assessment
Statewide Assessment to determine Victorian marine planning areas and priorities, supporting implementation of the Marine Spatial Planning Framework
Statewide Finfish Farming Spatial Planning Project
A method for identifying high-priority areas in northern Australia for threat abatement and species recovery investments
Activity 2. Flammable Grasses, Fire management for northern Australia
Activity 2. Flammable Grasses, Fire management for northern Australia
Climate change impacts on pest plants.
Decision making and planning for Natural Resource Management
Fulbright Fellowship
Multi-objective planning in Northern Australia: co-benefits and trade-offs between environmental, economic, and cultural outcomes
Plant Sure Decision Support Tool Review and Design
Review and Integration of the Terrestrial and Marine Program of Works on Protected Areas (priority setting for biodiversity conservation in Papua New Guinea)
Review of models, frameworks and decision support tools
Saving our Species – Review of Species Allocated to the Keep Watch Management Stream
Sir Keith Murdoch Fellowship

Research Candidate Supervision