Ecology Matters

“Right across the desert, we talked to people about what their priorities were for saving the species.”

Dr Rachel Paltridge is an arid-zone ecologist working with the Indigenous Desert Alliance. She joined Ecology Matters to discuss the tjakura, or Great Desert Skink, and the program that brings scientists, land managers and Indigenous Rangers together in one of Australia's largest collaborative monitoring projects.

After completing her PhD on predator–prey interactions in spinifex grasslands, Rachel spent 20 years as a freelance ecologist in central Australia, working primarily with Indigenous ranger groups on projects at the interface between research and management. From 2018–22, she worked as the Coordinator of the Kiwirrkurra Indigenous Protected Area. Her research is funded by the Resilient Landscapes Hub of the National Environmental Science Program.

The Ecological Society of Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Help the ESA support ecology in Australia by donating (⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/donate/donation-form⁠⁠) or by becoming a member (⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/become-a-member⁠⁠).

The music in this podcast is 'Glow' by Scott Buckley - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Episode image credit - Kate Cranney.

Season image credit - Russell Charters.

Season 3 of Ecology Matters coming soon!

"The Elders that I have met over that time, they have really influenced my thinking and inspired me to keep going."

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 Ecological Society of Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. Macquarie University is situated on the lands of the Wallamattagal clan of the Dharug Nation.

Help the ESA support ecology in Australia by donating (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/donate/donation-form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) or by becoming a member (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/become-a-member⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

The music in this podcast is ‘Glow’ by Scott Buckley - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Episode image credit: Emilie Ens.

"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 with Monash University and Phillip Island Nature Parks. 

The Ecological Society of Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. Adam lives and works on the traditional land and sea Country of the Bunurong people.

Help the ESA support ecology in Australia by donating (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/donate/donation-form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) or by becoming a member (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/become-a-member⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

The music in this podcast is ‘Glow’ by Scott Buckley - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Episode image credit: Philip Island Nature Parks / Adam Yaney-Keller.

"My ultimate goal would be to enhance the way we restore seagrasses at the moment."

Joining us today is University of Sydney PhD candidate Renske Jongen. Renske’s career has taken her from dreams of veterinary science, to studying the effect of climate change on winter moths in the Netherlands and juvenile fish species in South Australia. She is now investigating the role of sediment microbes in seagrass response to environmental stress and how we can use that knowledge to aid restoration of seagrass beds.

Renske was awarded the inaugural 2022 Peter Fairweather Student Conference Support Award.

The Ecological Society of Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. Renske works on the lands of the Gadigal and Cammeraigal people of the Eora Nation.

Help the ESA support ecology in Australia by donating (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/donate/donation-form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) or by becoming a member (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/become-a-member⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

The music in this podcast is ‘Glow’ by Scott Buckley - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Episode image credit: Renske Jongen

"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 Society of Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. Lynda and Eleanor live and work on Yagara country.

Help the ESA support ecology in Australia by donating (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/donate/donation-form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) or by becoming a member (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/become-a-member⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

The music in this podcast is ‘Glow’ by Scott Buckley - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Episode image credit: Wirrinyah First Nations Conservation Services.

"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 Award. 

Judy is a research scientist with the Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife and is Executive Officer with the Western Australian Feral Cat Working Group.

The Ecological Society of Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. While Judy works all over the continent, she lives on Whadjuk Noongar country.

Help the ESA support ecology in Australia by donating (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/donate/donation-form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) or by becoming a member (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/become-a-member⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

The music in this podcast is ‘Glow’ by Scott Buckley - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Episode image credit: Judy Dunlop

"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 Natural History Medallion.

He sat down with us during the 2023 ESA conference in Darwin to discuss the impacts of feral cats on wildlife. 

The Ecological Society of Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. While his work takes him across the continent, John lives on the lands of the Wurundjeri people.

Help the ESA support ecology in Australia by donating (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/donate/donation-form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) or by becoming a member (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/become-a-member⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

The music in this podcast is ‘Glow’ by Scott Buckley - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Episode image credit: phototrip from Getty Images (via Canva)

"There are a number of criteria for keystone resources and sandalwood [...] fits quite a few of them."

Our guest this episode is Dr Richard McLellan. Richard is an experienced ecologist, conservationist, and program manager. He held senior positions within WWF-Australia and WWF-International, focusing on native vegetation management, forest conservation, sustainable resource use, and ecological footprint reduction. He is the chair of the Forest Conservation Fund and the Gunduwa Regional Conservation Association, an ambassador for the Western Australian Parks Foundation, and a long-time member of the World Commission on Protected Areas.

In his spare time, Richard recently completed his PhD with Charles Sturt University and Bush Heritage Australia on the ecological importance of Australian sandalwood in Australia's rangelands.

The Ecological Society of Australia acknowledges the Traditional Owners and Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. Richard works on the lands of the Yamaji, Nanda, Badimia, Martu, and Wajarri-Yamaji peoples.

Help the ESA support ecology in Australia by donating (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/donate/donation-form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) or by becoming a member (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/become-a-member⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

The music in this podcast is ‘Glow’ by Scott Buckley - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Episode image credit: Richard McLellan.

"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, sea and community. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. Meghan works on the lands of the Bunurong and Wurundjeri people in Australia and on the lands of the Dakota in the United States.

Help the ESA support ecology in Australia by donating (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/donate/donation-form⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠) or by becoming a member (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/become-a-member⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠).

The music in this podcast is ‘Glow’ by Scott Buckley - www.scottbuckley.com.au.

Episode image credit: Rob Davis from Getty Images (via Canva)