Ecology Matters

Ecological Society of Australia•podcasters.spotify.com

Ecology Matters is a podcast from the Ecological Society of Australia, a not-for-profit organisation supporting ecologists and ecological science in Australia. What do ecologists do? What happens when they hit 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? Help support ecology in Australia - www.ecolsoc.org.au/get-involved/donate/donation-form The music in this podcast is ‘Glow’ by Scott Buckley - www.scottbuckley.com.au

Last refreshed: July 21st, 2025 at 12:03 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

Professor Euan Ritchie

“If you maintain that curiosity and pursue your passions in ecology and conservation, you know, I don't know anyone who hasn't gone on to wonderful things by doing that.” Professor Ritchie leads the Applied Ecology and Conservation Research group in the Centre for Integrative Ecology and School of Life and Environmental Sciences at Deakin University. He has been a finalist in the Eureka Prizes three times: - the 2013 Eureka Prize for Environmental Research as part of a team demonstrating that la...

Aug 31, 2022•17 min•Season 1Ep. 6

Ebony Potts

“Doing something that is so novel, and something where we could probably start making changes now, is super exciting.” Tropical forests are increasingly at risk of fire, largely as a result of climate change and the impact of agricultural and logging practices. Ebony completed her Honours research looking at the flammability of tropical forest species and has now started a PhD extending this work. She won the 2021 Applied Forest Ecology Scholarship for this research as well as the 2020 Sir Josep...

Aug 23, 2022•13 min•Season 1Ep. 8

Patt Finnerty

“I’m trying to understand how we can use or manipulate herbivore foraging behaviour just using plant odour rather than having to use fences or shooting or all these quite abrasive control methods." Patt is a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney and was awarded the 2021 Jill Landsberg Trust Fund Scholarship . With his supervisors, Patt was among the first to show that mammalian herbivores like the swamp wallaby and the African elephant, use smell to find and choose between food options. Now,...

Aug 16, 2022•14 min•Season 1Ep. 7

Giancarlo Chiarenza

“Can you imagine you have little to no nitrogen and you put all the nitrogen that you have in these young leaves that are just doomed? That's not very smart. Plants are smarter than that!” Gian is a PhD candidate at the University of New South Wales, investigating the mechanisms behind delayed greening in plants. Delayed greening occurs when plants withhold chlorophyll from leaves until they’re mature, resulting in the young expanding leaves being a myriad of colours, from red and pink to purple...

Aug 09, 2022•12 min•Season 1Ep. 9

Dr Sacha Jellinek

“Over time I understood that you can't really protect the local environment without involving the local communities, without involving landowners.” Dr Jellinek is a research fellow with the University of Melbourne and Melbourne Water. He has a particular interest in restoration ecology and the role that local communities play in natural resource management. He has worked as an ecologist for WWF, Greening Australia and the South Australian State Government and in 2021 won the ESA Members Service ...

Aug 02, 2022•14 min•Season 1Ep. 5

Mel Wilson

“It was a dream come true to come back and work for the Park so I often feel like I've got the best job in the world.” Mel Wilson is the Natural Resource Manager of the Norfolk Island National Park. In partnership with PhD student Allie Nance, Mel designed an innovative way to manage invasive rodent populations on Norfolk Island. This work has led to improvements in the way that endemic plant and animal species on the island, including the endangered Norfolk Island Green Parrot, are protected fr...

Jul 26, 2022•9 min•Season 1Ep. 4

Allie Nance

“That's the whole reason why conservation researchers are in this field, right, because we want to make a difference and we want our research to help.” Allie is completing her PhD looking at the nesting success of endemic songbirds on Norfolk Island, which includes understanding invasive rodent populations and designing innovative control methods. Invasive rodents are seen as a key threat to native plant and animal species on Norfolk Island, including breeding seabirds and the endangered Norfolk...

Jul 19, 2022•12 min•Season 1Ep. 3

Professor Richard Kingsford

“It's an ongoing battle but I do think a lot of these major environmental problems are not really about lack of knowledge.” Professor Kingsford is the Director of the Centre for Ecosystem Science at the University of New South Wales Sydney. He is a river ecologist and conservation biologist whose work has improved our understanding of how water resource developments impact river and wetland ecosystems. For over 35 years he has led the Eastern Australian Waterbird Survey , which covers about a th...

Jul 12, 2022•15 min•Season 1Ep. 2

Shandell Cummings and Dr Alison Lullfitz

"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 ...

Jul 05, 2022•15 min•Season 1Ep. 1

Ecology Matters - Trailer

Ecology Matters is a podcast from the Ecological Society of Australia, a not-for-profit organisation supporting ecologists and ecological science in Australia. The first episode will launch July 2022 and can be found at www.ecolsoc.org.au/publications/audio/ecology-matters . Meet ecologists from around Australia, discover what makes them passionate about Australian ecology, and what their hopes and fears are for the future of our natural world. Episodes include: > Why is Norfolk Island so spe...

Jun 29, 2022•58 sec

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