There’s a rough stretch of water between Australia and Tasmania called the Bass Strait. Within the strait there’s a group of islands called the Furneaux Group. Within the group lies Long Island, a small, mostly-uninhabited stretch of grass and trees that attracted the attention of Madeleine Bessel-Koprek and her colleagues.

We’re traveling far afield on today’s episode, discussing paleoecology with Madeine, a Ph.D. student at Australian National University. Along with Simon Graeme Haberle, Stefania Ondei, Stephen Harris, and David MJS Bowman, she recently published a study unraveling the ecological history of their Long Island. It’s a fascinating combination of diligent field work – digging through mud and picking through moss- and meticulous lab work – pouring through microscopic samples and digitally deciphering aerial photographs.

Their scientific detective work uncovers a natural world that has in some ways persisted since the last Ice Age and helps inform our understanding of the impact of aboriginal and colonial activities in the area.

Further Research

• Madeleine Bessell‑Koprek
  • at Australian National University
  • at LinkedIn
• Bessell-Koprek, M., Haberle, S. G., Ondei, S., Harris, S., & Bowman, D. M. (2025). Reconstructing the long-term ecological history of Long Island, Furneaux Group (Bass Strait), Lutruwita/Tasmania. Regional Environmental Change, 25(1), 1-15.
• The Land Bridge: A World Beneath the Sea (A Wind & Sky Project)
• Australasian Pollen and Spore Atlas
• Music
  • Intro music: https://homegrownstringband.com/
  • Outro music: Capering by Blue Dot Sessions CC BY-NC 4.0