David Lindenmayer is a landscape ecologist and conservation biologist specialising in:

• forest ecology and management
• habitat fragmentation
• applied wildlife and conservation management
• landscape ecology and natural resource management
• the ecology and conservation of arboreal marsupials
• integrated wildlife management and timber production
• the effectiveness of wildlife corridors and areas of retained vegetation for the conservation of forest dependent fauna
• endangered species conservation and management
• population viability analysis (PVA) and extinction risk assessment
• fire effects on vertebrates
• the effectiveness of landscape restoration for biodiversity
• woodland conservation and restoration.

Awards

David was made a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2008 and was awarded a DSc in 2003 by the Australian National University. In 1998 he was awarded the Eureka Science Prize, and in 1999 he received a Whitley Award for the co-authored book Conservation Biology for the Australian Environment. In 2004 he was awarded the leading Principal Investigator by the international organisation, the Earthwatch Institute. Also in 2004, he was awarded the Australian Natural History Medallion by the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria, Inc. in recognition of his contribution to nature science over the last decade. He has more than 20 years experience in ecology and has written more than 450 publications including more than 200 scientific papers and 18 books (Comprehensive publications list; books).

David Lindenmayer completed a PhD in 1990 on 'The Ecology and Habitat Requirements of Leadbeater's Possum', an endangered marsupial restricted to the tall timber forests in the Central Highlands of Victoria. (Leadbeater's Possum home page; The Ecology and Habitat Requirements of Leadbeater's Possum)

His research and conservation interests in the Central Highlands of Victoria have continued until the present with a series of experiments and observational studies, and the production of more than 120 papers and 4 books on the topic (Victorian Central Highlands Forest Management Study).

David has built on his initial landscape-scale studies in Victoria, and established another 5 large projects, with a growing team of staff and collaborators, all in southern NSW. In the pine plantation areas near Tumut in southern NSW there is an interesting landscape offering a unique opportunity for studying forest fragmentation and the use of pine forests by fauna. There are more than 60 papers and one book on this project so far (Tumut Fragmentation Study).

The farms of the Nanangroe and Riverina districts of southern NSW also offered 'natural' experiments, where grazing land has been converted to pine plantations or revegetated, respectively. The use by fauna of these 'new' vegetation types, and of remnant woodland patches is an on-going study, which has produced 10 papers and 1 book (pine plantations) and 4 papers and 1 book (revegetation), (Nanangroe Natural Experiment, Riverina Restoration Study).

A unique opportunity arose to study the effects of fire and burnt landscapes on fauna, in the 'ecologically patchy' Booderee National Park at Jervis Bay. This project commenced in 2003. (Jervis Bay Fire Response Study).

The most recent project is an experimental project on the edge of Canberra in the newly gazetted Goorooyaroo Nature Reserve. This project involves looking at faunal responses to burning, grazing, addition of logs and fencing out feral fauna. This project started in 2005. (Goorooyaroo).

The above 6 projects have a number of issues in common, such as habitat fragmentation, altered landscapes, disturbance events and feral animals. These common issues, as well as the large landscape scale of each of the projects, has provided a very unique opportunity to conduct an 'ecological synthesis', to study land-use and fauna response relationships. The 'ecological synthesis' began in 2004.

Major current projects

Modelling of wildlife
Examining the effectiveness of wildlife corridors
Identifying long-term viable populations of organisms
Determining the impacts of habitat fragmentation on fauna
Large-scale landscape change and wildlife response
Plantation design and forest management for biodiversity conservation
The impacts of fire on fauna