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

Biodiversity & conservation

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

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

An eastern bettong.

We are a lab group at the Fenner School of Environment and Society researching conservation in the context of rewilding, genetics, translocations, and species coexistence. Led by Professor Adrian Manning, we aim to understand and restore ecosystems, prioritising species that shape landscapes and promote biodiversity.

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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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A student takes notes at the edge of a dam with eucalyptus trees and kangaroos in the distance.

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

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Projects

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

This research looks at the identifying the costs and benefits of different trade off options so that governments in particular, and societies more broadly, can take better informed decisions around water use in China & SE Asia.

People

  • David Dumaresq

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

News

A NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service firefighter amid some of the Wollemi pines he helped save.

Efforts by firefighters on the ground and in the air have saved the only known natural grove of the world-famous Wollemi pines from destruction during the record-breaking bushfires in NSW.

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While parts of Australia are now beginning to rebuild after devastating bushfires, an inevitable part of that is clearing the debris, including ash and fallen trees - but scientists are warning people not to be over-zealous in that work.

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Experts are pleading for leaders to look at the science and not make kneejerk decisions when it comes to managing fuel loads for bushfire risk. Professor David Lindenmayer gave his thought to the ABC's PM program.

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As an uncontrollable wildfire took hold in Tallaganda National Park last month, it was soon apparent to ecologists that this was an unprecedented natural disaster. Associate Professor Philip Gibbons says the we gullies in the forest are home to ancient creatures whose habitat is becoming increasingly hard to find in Australia.

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As fires burn out of control in Australia, scientists warn the damage will have severe knock-on effects for the environment.

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Wollemi pine trees were discovered in 1994 in the Blue Mountains.

The original wild specimens of the ancient Wollemi pine tree are safe for now as fires which have burnt more than 220,000 hectares continue throughout the Blue Mountains region of New South Wales. Yet their exact location remains secret. Associate Professor Cris Brack explained why to the ABC.

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Events

A serene rural dam with still, dark water reflecting a blue sky and scattered white clouds. The bank in the foreground is edged with dry grasses and reeds, and contains a plastic crate holding a yellow portable pump hooked up by hoses to a floating sampling device resting on the water. On the opposite shore, gently sloping pasture is dotted with eucalyptus and other native trees under a partly cloudy sky
Friday, 22 Aug 2025, 12 - 1pm

Teal carbon ecosystems are freshwater wetlands, like lakes, ponds, farm dams and reservoirs. Equivalent to blue carbon (coastal wetlands), they can regulate greenhouse gases and mitigate the effects of climate change.

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