Threatened Species, Communities and Ecosystems

Globally, biodiversity is declining. Australia has the highest rate of mammal extinctions with many more species at risk of extinction. At QAEco, we are passionate about conservation. We apply the principles and methods of our other research themes to threatened species and ecosystems. We also have a strong applied ecology focus for threatened species on threat management, particularly invasive predators (the red fox and feral cats) and inappropriate fire regimes. Understanding the impact of management actions of invasive predators and changed fire regions, and the subsequent outcomes for conservation, is important when making effective decisions.

Researchers:

Brendan Wintle, Emily Nicholson, Dave Duncan, Peter Vesk, Mick McCarthy, Libby Rumpff, Bronwyn Hradsky, Anja Skroblin, Natalie Briscoe, Darren Southwell, Linda Riquelme, Kate Giljohann, Kylie Soanes, Matt Rees, David Wilkinson, Rebecca Groenewegen, Adam Smart, Vishnu Menon, Islay McDougall, Olivia Tunney, Matthew Whitney, Shih Wen Huang, Ezra Janetzki

Affiliate researchers:

Ami Bennett, Pia Lentini, Kat Selwood, Luke Kelly, Jack Pascoe, Erica Marshall, Kate Senior, Naomi Indigo, Hugh Davies

Selected publications:

Nicholson, E., Keith, D.A., and Wilcove, D.S. 2009 Assessing the Threat Status of Ecological Communities. Conservation Biology.

Bennett, A., Duncan, D.H., Rumpff, L. and Vesk, P.A., 2020. Disentangling chronic regeneration failure in endangered woodland ecosystems. Ecosphere, 11(1), p.e02998.

Mott, R., Selwood, K.E. and Wintle, B.A., 2020. Threatened bird conservation in Murray-Darling Basin wetland and floodplain habitat: Final report. TSR Hub.

Soanes, K. and Lentini, P.E., 2019. When cities are the last chance for saving species. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 17(4), pp.225-231.

Wintle, B.A., Cadenhead, N.C., Morgain, R.A., Legge, S.M., Bekessy, S.A., Cantele, M., Possingham, H.P., Watson, J.E., Maron, M., Keith, D.A. and Garnett, S.T., 2019. Spending to save: What will it cost to halt Australia’s extinction crisis?. Conservation Letters, 12(6), p.e12682.

Hradsky, B.A., Mildwaters, C., Ritchie, E.G., Christie, F. and Di Stefano, J., 2017. Responses of invasive predators and native prey to a prescribed forest fire. Journal of Mammalogy, 98(3), pp.835-847.