ORCID Profile
0000-0002-5284-4323
Current Organisation
Monash University
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Research Topics
In Research Link Australia (RLA), "Research Topics" refer to ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes. These topics are either sourced from ANZSRC FOR and SEO codes listed in researchers' related grants or generated by a large language model (LLM) based on their publications.
Top 5 Research Topics
ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)
Wildlife and Habitat Management | Ecosystem Function | Environmental Science and Management | Conservation and Biodiversity
ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)
Expanding Knowledge in the Environmental Sciences | Ecosystem Assessment and Management at Regional or Larger Scales | Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity at Regional or Larger Scales |
Related Links
Publications
Trade‐offs for data‐limited fisheries when using harvest strategies based on catch‐only models
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 19-09-2018
DOI: 10.1111/FAF.12316
Relationships between Pacific salmon and aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems: implications for ecosystem‐based management
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-08-2020
DOI: 10.1002/ECY.3060
Standardized reporting of the costs of management interventions for biodiversity conservation.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-09-2018
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13195
Abstract: Effective conservation management interventions must combat threats and deliver benefits at costs that can be achieved within limited budgets. Considerable effort has focused on measuring the potential benefits of conservation interventions, but explicit quantification of the financial costs of implementation is rare. Even when costs have been quantified, haphazard and inconsistent reporting means published values are difficult to interpret. This reporting deficiency hinders progress toward a collective understanding of the financial costs of management interventions across projects and thus limits the ability to identify efficient solutions to conservation problems or attract adequate funding. We devised a standardized approach to describing financial costs reported for conservation interventions. The standards call for researchers and practitioners to describe the objective and outcome, context and methods, and scale of costed interventions, and to state which categories of costs are included and the currency and date for reported costs. These standards aim to provide enough contextual information that readers and future users can interpret the cost data appropriately. We suggest these standards be adopted by major conservation organizations, conservation science institutions, and journals so that cost reporting is comparable among studies. This would support shared learning and enhance the ability to identify and perform cost-effective conservation.
Prioritizing conservation actions for Pacific salmon in Canada
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-05-2020
The value of capturing diverse perspectives when setting decision triggers for threatened species management
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 26-07-2023
Abstract: Conservation practitioners commonly work together in management teams, contributing expertise to the planning and decision‐making associated with threatened species management. These groups may include in iduals with different perspectives around if, when and how to implement management. Yet, rarely do we consider the value of discussion in shaping these perspectives, and thus management. Decision triggers can be used to formalise decisions around management and encourage teams to explore these decisions proactively. Previous research has identified how in idual experts set decision triggers but there are no accepted approaches for capturing the expertise that exists across management teams when setting decision triggers. To address this gap, we developed an approach to formalise team deliberations about when and how to intervene if a decline in the condition of a threatened species were to be observed. Using a modified Delphi process, in idual experts within a threatened species management team were asked to independently set trigger points and assign actions for the species. Then, as a group, experts discussed anonymised responses, enabling us to understand how group dynamics influenced the decision‐making process. Experts had the opportunity to update their responses based on the group discussion, providing a rationale to support their decisions. We tested the approach with experts from teams managing threatened species across conservation organisations in Australia and New Zealand. We found that experts often updated their responses to incorporate issues raised by the group, demonstrating a willingness to integrate the perspectives of other team members. Experts tended to become more cautious after discussing their responses, setting additional trigger points and actions, and triggering actions sooner. Synthesis and applications : Our approach provides a structured process to formally integrate the range of perspectives and experience of groups of experts when setting trigger points and actions. This can help to address common biases that arise during unstructured decision‐making, and ensure decision‐making processes are transparent.
Trends and biases in the listing and recovery planning for threatened species: an Australian case study
Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Date: 18-10-2013
DOI: 10.1017/S003060531100161X
Abstract: Many countries rely on formal legislation to protect and plan for the recovery of threatened species. Even though the listing procedures in threatened species legislation are designed to be consistent for all species there is usually a bias in implementing the laws towards charismatic fauna and flora, which leads to uneven allocation of conservation efforts. However, the extent of bias in national threatened species lists is often unknown. Australia is a good ex le: the list of threatened species under the Environmental Protection and Biological Conservation Act has not been reviewed since 2000, when it was first introduced. We assessed how well this Act represents threatened species across taxonomic groups and threat status, and whether biases exist in the types of species with recovery plans. We found that birds, hibians and mammals have high levels of threatened species (12–24%) but 6% of all reptiles and plants and 0.01% of invertebrates and fish are considered threatened. Similar taxonomic biases are present in the types of species with recovery plans. Although there have been recent improvements in the representation of threatened species with recovery plans across taxonomic groups, there are still major gaps between the predicted and listed numbers of threatened species. Because of biases in the listing and recovery planning processes many threatened species may receive little attention regardless of their potential for recovery: a lost opportunity to achieve the greatest conservation impact possible. The Environmental Protection and Biological Conservation Act in Australia needs reform to rectify these biases.
Prioritizing conservation actions for Pacific salmon in Canada
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 04-02-2020
DOI: 10.1101/2020.02.03.931691
Abstract: Current investment in conservation is insufficient to adequately protect and recover all ecosystems and species. The challenge of allocating limited funds is acute for Pacific salmon ( Oncorhynchus spp.) in Canada, which lack a strategic approach to ensure that resources are spent on actions that would cost-effectively recover diminished populations. We applied the Priority Threat Management framework to prioritize strategies that are most likely to maximize the number of thriving Pacific salmon populations on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada. These included 79 genetically, ecologically and spatially distinct population groups called Conservation Units (CUs) for five salmon species. This region has high salmon bio ersity and spans the territories of four First Nations: the Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Kitasoo/Xai'xais and Wuikinuxv. Using structured expert elicitation of Indigenous and other experts, we quantified the estimated benefits, costs and feasibility of implementing 10 strategies. Under a business-as-usual scenario (i.e., no additional investments in salmon conservation or management), experts predicted that only one in four CUs would have % chance of achieving a thriving status within 20 years. Limiting future industrial development, which was predicted to safeguard CUs from future declines, was identified as the most cost-effective strategy. Investment in three strategies: 1) removal of artificial barriers to fish migration, 2) watershed protection, and 3) stream restoration - at 11.3M CAD per year - was predicted to result in nearly half (34 of 79) of the CUs having a % chance of meeting the conservation objective. If all conservation strategies were implemented, experts estimated a % probability of achieving a thriving status for 78 of 79 CUs, at an annual cost of 17.3M CAD. However, even with the implementation of all strategies, most sockeye salmon CUs were unlikely to achieve higher probability targets of reaching the objective. Policy implications: We illustrate how Priority Threat Management can incorporate the perspectives and expertise of Indigenous peoples and other experts to evaluate and prioritize conservation strategies based on their cost, benefit and feasibility. Timely investment in the strategies outlined in this assessment could help safeguard and recover Pacific salmon in this region of Canada.
Integrating research, monitoring and management into an adaptive management framework to achieve effective conservation outcomes
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 17-07-2012
Training future generations to deliver evidence‐based conservation and ecosystem management
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2021
Abstract: 1. To be effective, the next generation of conservation practitioners and managers need to be critical thinkers with a deep understanding of how to make evidence‐based decisions and of the value of evidence synthesis. 2. If, as educators, we do not make these priorities a core part of what we teach, we are failing to prepare our students to make an effective contribution to conservation practice. 3. To help overcome this problem we have created open access online teaching materials in multiple languages that are stored in Applied Ecology Resources. So far, 117 educators from 23 countries have acknowledged the importance of this and are already teaching or about to teach skills in appraising or using evidence in conservation decision‐making. This includes 145 undergraduate, postgraduate or professional development courses. 4. We call for wider teaching of the tools and skills that facilitate evidence‐based conservation and also suggest that providing online teaching materials in multiple languages could be beneficial for improving global understanding of other subject areas.
Setting research priorities for effective management of a threatened ecosystem: Australian alpine and subalpine peatland
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 02-2023
DOI: 10.1111/CSP2.12891
Abstract: Threatened ecosystem conservation requires an understanding of the effectiveness of management and the challenges hindering successful protection and recovery. Bringing together researchers, land managers and policymakers to identify key threats, management needs, and knowledge gaps provides a unified account of the evidence and tools needed to improve threatened ecosystem management. We undertook a research prioritization process for Australian alpine and subalpine peatlands with experts across policy, research, and management. Through in idual interviews, structured group discussions, and voting, we generated 25 priority research questions that, if addressed, would enhance our capacity to conserve peatlands. Knowledge gaps spanned four topics: understanding peatland dynamics, impacts of threats, methods to manage these, and the effectiveness of management. Consistent monitoring standards, an open‐access knowledge platform and commitment to long‐term joint research and management were identified as vital. This collaboration enabled development of a shared agenda of research priorities to target knowledge gaps for informing policy and management of threatened alpine peatlands. Our findings substantiate the importance of stronger ongoing collaboration among researchers, land managers and policymakers across jurisdictions to support conservation.
A typology of barriers and enablers of scientific evidence use in conservation practice
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2019
DOI: 10.1016/J.JENVMAN.2019.109481
Abstract: Over the last decade, there has been an increased focus (and pressure) in conservation practice globally towards evidence-based or evidence-informed decision making. Despite calls for increased use of scientific evidence, it often remains aspirational for many conservation organizations. Contributing to this is the lack of guidance on how to identify and classify the array of complex reasons limiting research use. In this study, we collated a comprehensive inventory of 230 factors that facilitate or limit the use of scientific evidence in conservation management decisions, through interviews with conservation practitioners in South Africa and UK and a review of the healthcare literature. We used the inventory, combined with concepts from knowledge exchange and research use theories, to construct a taxonomy that categorizes the barriers and enablers. We compared the similarities and differences between the taxonomies from the conservation and the healthcare fields, and highlighted the common barriers and enablers found within conservation organizations in the United Kingdom and South Africa. The most commonly mentioned barriers limiting the use of scientific evidence in our case studies were associated with the day-to-day decision-making processes of practitioners, and the organizational structures, management processes and resource constraints of conservation organizations. The key characteristics that facilitated the use of science in conservation decisions were associated with an organization's structure, decision-making processes and culture, along with practitioners' attitudes and the relationships between scientists and practitioners. This taxonomy and inventory of barriers and enablers can help researchers, practitioners and other conservation actors to identify aspects within their organizations and cross-institutional networks that limit research use - acting as a guide on how to strengthen the science-practice interface.
The effectiveness of spawning habitat creation or enhancement for substrate-spawning temperate fish: a systematic review
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 23-05-2019
DOI: 10.1186/S13750-019-0162-6
Abstract: Habitat is the foundation for healthy and productive fisheries. For fish that require substrate for spawning, lack of appropriate spawning substrate is inherently limiting and a lack of access to suitable spawning habitat will lead to population collapse. To ensure management resources are being allocated wisely and conservation targets are being achieved, there is an increased need to consider the effectiveness of techniques to enhance or create habitat that has been lost. The aim of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of techniques currently used to create or enhance spawning habitat for substrate-spawning (including vegetation-spawning) fish in temperate regions, and to investigate the factors that influence the effectiveness of habitat creation or enhancement. Searches for primary research studies on the effect of spawning habitat creation or enhancement for substrate-spawning fish were conducted in bibliographic databases, on websites and an online search engine, through evidence call-outs, social media, and Advisory Team contacts, and in the bibliographies of relevant reviews. All articles were screened at two stages (title and abstract, and full-text), with consistency checks being performed at each stage. Relevant articles were critically appraised and meta-data and quantitative data were extracted into a database. All included studies were described narratively and studies that met the criteria for meta-analysis were analyzed quantitatively. A total of 75 studies from 64 articles were included in this systematic review and underwent data extraction and critical appraisal. The majority of these studies were from North America (78.1%) and a large percentage (63.7%) targeted salmonids. We conducted a meta-analysis using data from 22 studies with 53 data sets. Available evidence suggests that the addition or alteration of rock material (e.g., gravel, cobble) was effective in increasing the abundance of substrate-spawning fish compared to controls, with a taxonomic bias towards salmonids (5/6 data sets). The addition of plant material (e.g., large woody debris) with or without physical alterations to the waterbody (e.g., excavation) was also effective in increasing substrate-spawning fish abundance on average compared to controls. Egg life stages (i.e., nests, redds, zygotes or developing embryos) were associated with larger increases in abundance with habitat creation or enhancement than age-0 life stages (i.e., alevin, fry, young-of-the-year). We found no detectable effect of ecosystem type (lotic vs. lentic waterbodies) or time since habitat creation or enhancement on intervention effectiveness for fish abundance. The synthesis of available evidence suggests that the addition or alteration of rock material (e.g., addition of gravel, substrate washing) was an effective means of enhancing spawning habitat, but results may only be applicable for salmonids. Furthermore, the synthesis suggests that on average, the addition of plant material with or without waterbody modifications was also effective at increasing fish abundance. Overall, we were limited in our ability to address many of the questions that stakeholders have regarding the circumstances under which spawning habitat creation or enhancement is effective for substrate-spawning fish. Before we can provide recommendations with a higher level of certainty, we need to improve research and reporting, and expand research focus to include a broader range of species and intervention types. We provide several recommendations aimed at researchers and practitioners to improve the quality of evidence being generated.
Unexpected outcomes of invasive predator control: the importance of evaluating conservation management actions
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-04-2012
Exotic species richness and native species endemism increase the impact of exotic species on islands
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-11-2012
Applying a New Ensemble Approach to Estimating Stock Status of Marine Fisheries around the World
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-04-2017
DOI: 10.1111/CONL.12363
How expert insight into alpine peatland conservation complements global scientific evidence
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 27-03-2023
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.14081
Abstract: Experts can provide valuable information to fill knowledge gaps in published research on management effectiveness, particularly for threatened ecosystems, for which there is often limited evidence and the need for prompt intervention to ensure their persistence. One such ecosystem, alpine peatland, is threatened by climate change and other pressures, provides vital ecosystem services, and supports unique bio ersity. In a workshop, we gathered and synthesized into an accessible format information from experts on interventions used, threat context, and intervention effectiveness for Australian alpine peatland and used this knowledge to evaluate local relevance of the global literature for this threatened ecosystem. Experts identified 15 interventions used to conserve Australian peatlands, most of which enhanced or restored peatland condition and effectively addressed erse threats. Experts’ perspectives and global studies were strongly aligned, suggesting that research on peatland management may be broadly relevant across contexts, despite the distinct characteristics of Australian systems. Our workshop‐based expert elicitation approach provided insights into current management practices unavailable in the literature.
Scientific evidence and potential barriers in the management of Brazilian protected areas
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 09-01-2017
The role of non-English-language science in informing national biodiversity assessments
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 16-03-2023
The effect of scientific evidence on conservation practitioners' management decisions
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 07-08-2015
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.12370
Does recovery planning improve the status of threatened species?
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2011
Blood from a stone: Performance of catch-only methods in estimating stock biomass status
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2020
Hallmarks of science missing from North American wildlife management
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 02-03-2018
Abstract: Fundamental components of science are often lacking in U.S. state and Canadian provincial hunt management systems.
Use of citizen science datasets to test effects of grazing exclusion and replanting on Australian woodland birds
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-12-2021
DOI: 10.1111/REC.13610
Abstract: Around the world, woodlands have been cleared for agricultural production and their bird communities are in decline. To reverse these declines and foster bird community resilience, government agencies, non‐government organizations, and private landholders have implemented restoration actions, commonly including grazing exclusion and replanting. These actions are rarely implemented in an experimental framework, making it difficult to measure their effectiveness. However, ecological monitoring datasets, and citizen science datasets in particular, can provide useful opportunities for measuring effects of restoration actions and act as a baseline upon which adaptive management can be built. We examined the effect of revegetation actions on the terrestrial bird community in Australia's south‐eastern temperate woodlands using long‐term, community‐collected monitoring datasets. We explored the response of bird abundance, species richness, and a newly developed index of ecological community condition, to grazing exclusion and replanting over a 20‐year period using an uneven control‐impact study design. Grazing exclusion plus replanting had strong positive effects on all three bird community metrics, which increased with time, compared to control sites where neither action occurred. Bird abundance, but not species richness or community condition, increased over time with grazing exclusion alone, while control sites with continued grazing and no replanting showed no change in all three measures. We demonstrate that citizen science datasets with imperfect study designs can be used to gain insights on conservation action effectiveness and highlight the value of metrics that capture information about community condition more precisely than just abundance or species richness.
Working constructively toward an improved North American approach to wildlife management
Publisher: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
Date: 05-10-2018
Abstract: Canadian and U.S. wildlife management needs an improved scientific basis and clearer definition of “science-based” expectations.
Lessons from other disciplines for setting management thresholds for biodiversity conservation
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 11-01-2022
DOI: 10.1111/COBI.13865
Abstract: Successful, state‐dependent management, in which the goal of management is to maintain a system in a desired state, involves defining the boundaries between different states. Once these boundaries have been defined, managers require a strategic action plan with thresholds that initiate management interventions to either maintain or return the system to a desired state. This approach to management is widely used across erse industries from agriculture, to medicine, to information technology, but it has only been adopted in conservation management relatively recently. Conservation practitioners have expressed a willingness to integrate this structured approach in their management systems, but they have also voiced concerns, including lack of a robust process for doing so. Given the widespread use of state‐dependent management in other fields, we conducted an extensive review of the literature on threshold‐based management to gain insight into how and where it is applied and identify potential lessons for conservation management. We identified 22 industries using 75 different methods for setting management thresholds in 843 studies. Methods spanned six broad approaches, including expert driven, statistical, predictive, optimization, experimental, and artificial intelligence methods. The objectives of each of these studies influenced the approaches used, including the methods for setting thresholds and selecting actions, and the number of thresholds set. The role of value judgments in setting thresholds was clear studies across all industries frequently involved experts in setting thresholds, often accompanied by computational tools to simulate the consequences of proposed thresholds under different conditions. Of the 30 conservation studies examined, two‐thirds used expert‐driven methods, consistent with prior evidence that experience‐based information often drives conservation management decisions. The methods we identified from other disciplines could help conservation decision makers set thresholds for management interventions in different contexts, linking monitoring to management actions and ensuring that conservation interventions are timely and effective.
Use of the GelPoint Path access channel for rectal trauma
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 28-01-2019
DOI: 10.1111/ANS.14997
Vulnerable species and ecosystems are falling through the cracks of environmental impact assessments
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-12-2019
DOI: 10.1111/CONL.12694
Improving estimates of population status and trend with superensemble models
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 30-01-2017
DOI: 10.1111/FAF.12200
Organising evidence for environmental management decisions: A '4S' hierarchy
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.TREE.2014.09.004
Abstract: Making decisions informed by the best-available science is an objective for many organisations managing the environment or natural resources. Yet, available science is still not widely used in environmental policy and practice. We describe a '4S' hierarchy for organising relevant science to inform decisions. This hierarchy has already revolutionised clinical practice. It is beginning to emerge for environmental management, although all four levels need substantial development before environmental decision-makers can reliably and efficiently find the evidence they need. We expose common bypass routes that currently lead to poor or biased representation of scientific knowledge. We argue that the least developed level of the hierarchy is that closest to decision-makers, placing synthesised scientific knowledge into environmental decision support systems.
Related Organisations
Related Funding Activities
Discovery Early Career Researcher Award - Grant ID: DE210101030
Start Date: 08-2021
End Date: 05-2026
Amount: $442,638.00
Funder: Australian Research Council
View Funded Activity