Last week the Australian Academy of Science had its annual "Science at the Shine Dome" series of meetings. The final day, on Thursday 25th May, was the Academy's annual symposium, this year titled "Life on the Loose". The day of presentations covered aspects of invasion biology and management responses for Australia's terrestrial, freshwater, and marine … Continue reading Life on the loose: a symposium on invasive species in Australia
New paper: integrated MPA planning for biodiversity, connectivity, and climate change
Since returning to Brazil after his PhD with the Conservation Planning Group, Rafael Magris has continued to publish the research in his thesis. His final thesis chapter is now out in Global Ecology and Conservation. Rafael's PhD focused on spatial planning for Brazilian coral reefs, and on aspects of biodiversity pattern, larval connectivity, and resilience … Continue reading New paper: integrated MPA planning for biodiversity, connectivity, and climate change
New paper: Modelling the dynamics of native and invasive species in response to management actions
Another new paper comes from our five-year project on prioritising management actions on the Pilbara islands, off the north-west coast of Western Australia. We've been collaborating with WA Parks and Wildlife to develop an interactive decision-support tool to allow managers to prioritise their investments in island management. Behind the new software is a study, now … Continue reading New paper: Modelling the dynamics of native and invasive species in response to management actions
New paper: Planning for climate change with natural resource management groups
One of our new papers - Making time for space - comes from a writing workshop at O'Reilly's resort in the Border Ranges of southern Queensland. The workshop was led by Vanessa Adams, now at Macquarie University. Attendees included two members of the Conservation Planning Group - Jorge Álvarez-Romero and Bob Pressey - and Allan … Continue reading New paper: Planning for climate change with natural resource management groups
Conversation Piece – The Coral Sea: an ocean jewel that needs more protection
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Bob Pressey, James Cook University; Alana Grech, Macquarie University, and Trevor J Ward, University of Technology Sydney The federal government is considering changes to Australia’s marine reserves to implement a national system. This week The Conversation is looking at the science behind marine … Continue reading Conversation Piece – The Coral Sea: an ocean jewel that needs more protection
Does systematic conservation planning make any difference?
The world is filling up with conservation plans. Many hundreds have been completed worldwide. But how many make a difference, in terms of preventing the loss of biodiversity? And what can we learn about these planning exercises to plan with greater conservation impact in the future? Emma McIntosh, undertaking a PhD at Oxford University, is … Continue reading Does systematic conservation planning make any difference?
15 ways to weaken (or strengthen) a protected-area system
At the meeting of the Society for Conservation Biology (Oceania) in Brisbane, July 2016, Bob Pressey led a symposium on recent weakening of the Australia protected-area system. Examples of weakening include legal changes to boundaries or allowed uses, but there are many other examples, typically under the public's radar, of weakening without legal changes. The … Continue reading 15 ways to weaken (or strengthen) a protected-area system
New paper: Planning for both feature representation and demographic persistence
A new paper in PLoS ONE by Michael Bode and colleagues from James Cook University demonstrates how conservation planning can be done simultaneously for both biodiversity pattern and process. The paper addresses two key challenges to designing marine reserve networks: 1. constructing a method that efficiently incorporates persistence as well as complementary feature representation; and 2. … Continue reading New paper: Planning for both feature representation and demographic persistence
JCU-UFG collaboration (Universidade Federal de Goiás)
In May 2016, Bob Pressey is spending four weeks working at the Universidade Federal de Goiás (UFG) in Goiânia, Brazil. Bob is a visiting professor at UFG, and working principally with Rafael Loyola and his research students. In the accompanying photo, Rafael is the cool-looking dude at the back, toward the left, checked shirt, not tucked … Continue reading JCU-UFG collaboration (Universidade Federal de Goiás)