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
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.
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.
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.
Sustainable Farms draws upon research programs across the Australian National University, focussing on three key research topics: Healthy Farms, Healthy Farmers, and Healthy Profits.
Projects
Members
Affiliate
Academic staff
Fellow
Associate Professor
News
For frog populations worldwide, an unusual fungal pathogen – spread globally over the last 40 years by humans – is the cause of many species declines and extinctions. For the first time a group of scientists led by the Fenner School at ANU have mapped the spread, and impact of this pathogen.
Researchers from The Australian National University (ANU) could be a step closer to saving the critically endangered swift parrot, after showing it's possible to predict where the parrots will settle to breed.
Australia’s population is projected to double in 50 years, so our suburbs will continue to infill and expand.
While not illegal, rock-crushing has massive implications for the populations of native mammals, frogs and reptiles in agricultural areas.
New research suggests some Australian ecosystems are more threatened than might be suggested by looking at vegetation loss alone.
The swift parrot – the world’s fastest parrot – has had a rough go. But ANU researchers are balancing the odds for this critically endangered bird.
Events
Managing farm dams, freshwater wetlands, and wastewater lagoons for carbon and biodiversity benefits
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.