Two swift parrot chicks sit in the hands of an ecologist.

Biodiversity & conservation

About

The Fenner School is a world-leading centre for interdisciplinary research on the conservation and management of Australia’s distinctive biodiversity.

Our innovative research is helping to stem the rate of species endangerment and extinction by informing best practice management and policy for long-term biodiversity conservation.

Groups

Two researchers doing field work on a forest floor in Tasmania.

The Difficult Bird Research Group (DBRG), led by Prof. Rob Heinsohn at the Fenner School, ANU, seeks to promote understanding of the ecology and conservation of Australia’s rarest and most elusive threatened bird species. Such species are often hard to find, occur in wild and rugged terrain, and move around the landscape, and are consequently put in the ‘too hard basket”; however the DBRG develop new cutting edge techniques that address the challenges posed by these species, and apply the knowledge gained to manage them more effectively.

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A researcher kayaks down a river in a yellow inflatable raft.

It's crucial that we as a society communicate the huge importance of this system, celebrate its majestic wonder - and continue efforts to preserve and encourage river stewardship for future generations.

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Projects

A range of post-grad projects that can be formulated to suit Honours, Masters or PhD. These will cover areas such as farm productivity, hydrology, ecological function, and social capital.

Student intake

Open for Honours, Masters, PhD students

A variety of projects that can explore the genetics; growth and survival; or management of a wide range of rare and endangered tree species (including Wollemi Pine).

Student intake

Open for Honours, Masters, PhD students

People

Help advance our understanding of a vital ecosystem service at the Fenner School of Environment & Society at The Australian National University (ANU) in collaboration with the CSIRO Future Science Platform Environomics (FSPE).

Student intake

Open for PhD students

People

  • Dr Joanne Bennett
  • Dr Francisco Encinas-Viso

A PhD project is available to conduct research on insect biodiversity in the temperate grassy woodlands of New South Wales.

Student intake

Open for PhD students

Researchers at the Fenner School have been working in the Tumut and nearby Nanangroe regions west of Canberra for 25 year. The work is exploring the impacts on biodiversity of plantation establishment on semi-cleared farmland.

Student intake

Open for Bachelor, Honours, Masters, PhD students

People

Sustainable Farms draws upon research programs across the Australian National University, focussing on three key research topics: Healthy Farms, Healthy Farmers, and Healthy Profits.

People

  • Dr Michelle Young

Members

Academic staff

Dr Fernanda Alves de Amorim

Postdoctoral Fellow

A picture of Dr Elle Bowd. She wears framed glasses, and has long gold-blonde hair. Behind her head and shoulders is a blurred bushland landscape.

Postdoctoral Research Fellow

John Evans looks at the camera. He wears a black polo shirt.

Research Fellow

Photo of Claire Foster

Research Fellow

Affiliate

Honorary Senior Lecturer

Suzi Bond cups a butterfly in her hands

Honorary Senior Lecturer

Honorary Professor

Honorary Senior Lecturer

Honorary Associate Professor

Honorary Associate Professor

Honorary Senior Lecturer

Student

Articles

A patchwork of spinnifex grass in a red desert environment.

Since colonisation, cultural burning in the Great Sandy Desert ended. Now the work of caring for desert country (pirra) with fire (jungku, or warlu) has begun again.

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roo

Two PhD opportunities are available to examine kangaroo populations, management practices, and their impact on biodiversity and rangeland ecosystems

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A Fenner researcher, Shoshana Rapley, kneels with her dog on her leg and looks at her, with woodland in the background.

This frisbee-obsessed, four-legged ecologist has a special role to play in her owner's PhD research.

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PhD student, Michelle Littlefair, crouches near the edge of a dam at night pointing her spotlight into the reeds.

Michelle Littlefair is a PhD student at the ANU Fenner School of Environment and Society researching frogs in agricultural landscapes. She is also a dancer who uses her performances to spread awareness about frog declines. We spoke to her about how frogs have become such a large part of her life.

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A birds eye view of a Victorian Mountain Ash forest. Mist cloaks tall trees and and the ground cover is dense with ferns.

What does the evidence say about what tall, wet forests actually looked like 250 years ago? The answer matters because it influences how these forests are managed.

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Researcher, George Olah, holds a macaw in his hands on the forest floor.

Dubbed "CSI, but for parrots", Dr George Olah is creating a forensic genomic toolkit which will help authorities to track the routes of illegally traded birds poached from the wild in Indonesia.

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