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.

View the group
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.

View the group
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.

View the group

Projects

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

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

Photo of Associate Professor Gibbons

Professor

Geoff Heard smiles and holds a lizard

Research Fellow

Photo of Rob Heinsohn

Professor

Peter stands and faces the camera in a blue shirt.

Professor

Professor

Affiliate

Honorary Senior Lecturer

Emeritus Professor

Honorary Lecturer

Honorary Senior Lecturer

Honorary Professor

Honorary Professor

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.

Read the article
roo

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

Read the article
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.

Read the article
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.

Read the article
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.

Read the article
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.

Read the article