Ecology Matters

Features

• Interviews with over 30 Australian ecologists, from students to pioneers and leaders in the field.
• Features over 150 beautiful images from around Australia, many captured by ecologists in the course of their work.
• Covers topics from crayfish to climate change, seed banks to seagrass restoration, floods to fire ecology, ants to Antarctic mosses, waterways to wallabies, and frogs to fungi.
• Includes messages of hope and advice from Australia’s leading ecologists, including Professors Lesley Hughes, John Woinarski, Stephen van Leeuwen and Alan Andersen.

Contents

Foreword – Professor Stephen van Leeuwen and Dr Teagan Shields
Foreword – Dr Ann Jones
Introduction – Dr Perpetua Turner

Part 1 The path less travelled: leaders, pioneers and trailblazers
The importance of tea and Tim Tams – Professor Stephen van Leeuwen
A career in a changing climate – Professor Lesley Hughes
Asking the big questions in ecology – Professor Angela Moles
Australia, kingdom of the ants – Professor Alan Andersen

Part 2 Finding a flock: networks and partners
Two-way knowledge sharing in conservation – Shandell Cummings and Dr Alison Lullfitz
Restoring habitat for the giant freshwater crayfish – Fiona Marshall
Rodent control on Norfolk Island – Mel Wilson and Dr Allie Andersen
Land management on a large scale – Dr Heather Neilly
Mulyamiji March: collaborative threatened species monitoring – Dr Rachel Paltridge

Part 3 Way out back: working in remote or unusual environments
Managing Sea Country in the Torres Strait – Don Whap and Madeina David
The highs and lows of work on remote islands – Dr Jenn Lavers
Amazing Antarctic mosses – Professor Sharon Robinson
Working with one of Australia’s most elusive birds – Saskia Gerhardy

Part 4 A bump in the road: challenges and loss
The impact of fire on Australian ecology – Professor Don Driscoll
Fieldwork in floodwaters – Ariana La Porte
The impact of feral cats – Professor John Woinarski
Long-term wetlands surveys – Professor Richard Kingsford

Part 5 Forgotten species: species that are often overlooked
Towns and cities, the forgotten pockets of biodiversity – Dr Caragh Threlfall
The mysterious spider crab – Dr Elodie Camprasse
The pivotal role of mycorrhizal fungi – Dr Adam Frew
Invertebrate conservation: we know enough to act! – Associate Professor Kate Umbers

Part 6 On the brink: threatened species
Australian sandalwood, a keystone species in trouble – Dr Richard McLellan
Fascinating frogs – Dr Jodi Rowley
The role of seed banks – James Wood
Conserving the eastern quoll – Dr David Hamilton

Part 7 Hope: stories of success and progress
Recovery on Macquarie Island – Associate Professor Justine Shaw
How do herbivores find food? – Dr Patrick Finnerty
The return of humpback whales to Northern Territory waters – Dr Carol Palmer
Reviving threatened Indigenous languages to Care for Country – Lynda Maybanks and Eleanor McCall
Seagrass restoration – Associate Professor Jason Tanner

Eyes to the future: words of advice
List of photographers
List of contributors
Index

Authors

The Ecological Society of Australia is the peak body for ecologists in Australia. For over 60 years it has supported ecologists, promoted the scientific study of organisms in relation to their environment, and encouraged the application of ecological principles in the development, use and conservation of Australia’s natural resources.

Grace Heathcote is an Australian writer and science communicator. From 2020 to 2025, she was the Communications Coordinator for the Ecological Society of Australia.