Emilie Ens is an Associate Professor at Macquarie University where she leads the Cross-Cultural Ecology and Environmental Management lab. She is passionate about creating respectful cross-cultural partnerships with Indigenous people and organisations to better understand and manage Australia’s diverse ecosystems. Emilie and her team have won a number of Awards for their cross-cultural work including Banksia, Eureka and Australian Academy of Science Awards, and in 2022 Emilie was awarded the ESA Members Service Prize in recognition of her outstanding contributions to Australian ecology. The Eco ..read more

"That's an issue that affects an animal over time, as they grow, and as these entanglements constrict them." We have known for decades that plastic pollution has a detrimental impact on marine life. We know that species like the Australian fur seal are heavily affected. And yet, there are many questions we do not have answers to: How does entanglement affect the growth, behaviour and survival of young seals? Where do these seals forage and disperse in relation to plastic accumulation and fishing hotspots within Bass Strait? Adam Yaney-Keller is attempting to answer those questions in his PhD w ..read more

"There’s been that big shift where people are starting to appreciate cultural knowledge a lot more than what it would have been appreciated in the past.” - Shandell Cummings Shandell Cummings is a Merningar woman and Indigenous consultant. Dr Alison Lullfitz is a cross-cultural researcher and conservation biologist at the University of Western Australia.  Together they explore and map the many linkages between Indigenous and western ecological knowledge, working closely with Shandell’s family in Noongar Boodja of south coast Western Australia. This work brings tog ..read more

"We only know about the species that we are exposed to." A picture is worth a thousand words, or so they say. Our guest this episode is looking at precisely this idea - what role do wildlife images play in conservation? How can images influence public attitudes and behaviours towards wildlife? And what effect does this have on long term wildlife conservation? Meghan Shaw is a PhD candidate at Deakin University looking into these big-picture ideas. The Ecological Society of Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land ..read more

"We know so little about the variety of species that exist on these spectacular islands." Dr Jenn Lavers and ranger Hayleigh Graham work with the Tjaltjraak Native Title Aboriginal Corporation to understand and protect the delicate ecosystems of the Esperance region along the south coast of Western Australia. They joined Ecology Matters to talk about their efforts to restore seabird colonies on some of their offshore islands, and the importance of cultural burning to these species.  The Ecological Society of Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of country throughou ..read more

"I got interested in plants as ways of regenerating landscapes." Associate Professor John Morgan is a plant ecologist with the Research Centre for Applied Alpine Ecology and the Research Centre for Future Landscapes, at La Trobe University. He is a leading authority on the ecology of native grasslands in Australia, specialising in understanding how disturbances like fire and grazing determine the long-term dynamics of plant communities. We caught up with John at the 2022 ESA conference in Wollongong where he received the Australian Ecology Research Award. The Ecological Society of Austral ..read more

"We're [...] using language to inform the restoration and environmental work that we do." We are lucky to have two guests this episode. Lynda Maybanks is managing director of Wirrinyah First Nations Conservation Services, an Engagement Consultant with Maybanks Consultancy, and Manager of the Yugara Dancers in Ipswich. Eleanor McCall is a linguist and a Masters student at the University of Queensland, researching links between Aboriginal land management practices and language revival. Lynda and Eleanor were awarded the 2022 Bush Heritage Australia Indigenous-led science prize. The Ecological So ..read more

"I've always been kind of fascinated with what the landscape would have looked like before Europeans got here." Our guest today is Dr Judy Dunlop. Judy focuses on the threatened mammals of Western Australia and has played key roles in large scale fauna reintroduction and translocation programs. In 2022 she co-authored a paper looking at the role of parasites during translocation. She joined Ecology Matters to discuss why it’s sometimes important for mammals to keep these parasites and for conservation managers to resist that urge to give them the flick. This paper was awarded the 2022 Austral ..read more

What do ecologists do? What happens when they reach those inevitable bumps and twists in their career path? How do they end up studying sometimes strange and obscure species? And why are partnerships and communication more than just trendy buzzwords when it comes to ecology? Welcome to Ecology Matters, a podcast from the Ecological Society of Australia, where we explore these questions and more.  Learn more about the ESA - www.ecolsoc.org.au The music in this podcast is ‘Glow’ by Scott Buckley - www.scottbuckley.com.au ..read more

"One of the most outstanding conservation concerns in Australia [...] is the extent of loss of [...] endemic mammal species." Professor John Woinarski has been involved in research, policy and management of Australian biodiversity for over 40 years. His career has crossed several fields, including reserve design, fire ecology, biodiversity monitoring, invasive species, the impacts of forestry, pastoralism and mining, and island biogeography. He has been awarded a Eureka Prize for biodiversity research, a Serventy Medal for life-time contribution to Australian ornithology and an Australian Natu ..read more