Overview
Background
April Reside is a lecturer in the School of the Environment and School of Agriculture and Food Sustainability, affiliated with the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science.
Dr Reside's research encompasses ecology, conservation, and policy; investigating refuges and refugia; and recovery actions and their costs for Australia’s threatened species. April also works on conservation of woodland bird communities, the impact of climate change on biodiversity, and strategies for climate change adaptation. This work has involved applying conservation planning frameworks to identify spatial priorities for climate change adaptation for biodiversity and carbon sequestration.
April has a particular fascination of flying vertebrates, and has worked on bats on three continents and nine countries. She worked as a field ecologist for non-government organisations before her PhD on understanding potential impacts of climate change on Australian tropical savanna birds. She adapted species distribution modelling techniques to account for temporal and spatial variability in the distributions of highly vagile bird species. These dynamic species distribution models take into account species’ responses to fluctuations in weather and short-term climatic conditions rather than long-term climate averages. In her first postdoctoral position, Dr Reside modelled the distribution of c.1700 vertebrates across Australia at a fine resolution, and located the future location of suitable climate for all these species for each decade until 2085. From this, she identified hotspots across Australia where species were moving to in order to track their suitable climate, informing the IUCN SSC Guidelines for Assessing Species’ Vulnerability to Climate Change by the IUCN Species Survival Commission.
April has been involved in conservation of the Black-throated Finch for over 12 years, and is Chair of the Black-throated Finch Recovery Team. She has served on Birdlife Australia's Research and Conservation Committee and Threatened Species Committee; and the Science Committee for the Invasive Species Council.
Availability
- Dr April Reside is:
- Available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy, James Cook University
Research interests
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Conservation of the threatened reptiles of the Darling Downs
Investigating conservation needs of species such as the Condamine earless dragon (Tympanocryptis condaminensis), using novel techniques such as Conservation Detection Dog teams.
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Ecosystem service provision for agricultural landscapes
How do we support native insectivores, such as birds and microbats, to play a bigger role in pest control in agricultural landscapes?
Research impacts
Dr Reside engages with environmental policy in order to achieve better environmental outcomes. Her work on threatened species and environmental policy has contributed to submissions to the 2019 review of Australia’s environmental laws; Australia’s threatened species strategy; Senate Inquiry on Australia’s faunal extinction crisis; Vegetation Management (Reinstatement) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2016; Inquiry into the impact on the agricultural sector of vegetation and land management policies, regulations and restrictions; Australia’s strategy for nature 2018-2030 and others. She has appeared as an expert witness at Parliament House for three inquiry hearings to speak on these matters.
April's work has been covered extensively in online, TV and print media, and regularly writes for public fora such as The Conversation. Her public engagement was recognised with the Young Tall Poppy Award 2020 (Queensland).
Works
Search Professor April Reside’s works on UQ eSpace
2020
Other Outputs
Magnetic Island National Park.
Reside, April and Vanderduys, Eric (2020, 02 04). Magnetic Island National Park. Protected: Magazine of National Parks Association of Queensland
2020
Other Outputs
Six million hectares of threatened species habitat up in smoke
Ward, Michelle, Greenville, Aaron, Reside, April, Tulloch, Ayesha, Williams, Brooke, Massingham, Emily, Mayfield, Helen, Possingham, Hugh, Watson, James, Radford, Jim and Sonter, Laura (2020, 01 19). Six million hectares of threatened species habitat up in smoke The Conversation
2020
Other Outputs
Protecting 30% of the planet for nature: costs, benefits and economic implications: working paper analysing the economic implications of the proposed 30% target for areal protection in the draft post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework
Waldron, Anthony, Adams, Vanessa, Allan, James, Arnell, Andy, Asner, Greg, Atkinson, Scott, Baccini, Alessandro, Baillie, Jonathan E. M., Balmford, Andrew, Beau, J. Austin, Brander, Luke, Brondizio, Eduardo, Bruner, Aaron, Burgess, Neil, Burkart, K., Butchart, Stuart, Button, Rio, Carrasco, Roman, Cheung, William, Christensen, Villy, Clements, Andy, Coll, Marta, di Marco, Moreno, Deguignet, Marine, Dinerstein, Eric, Ellis, Erle, Eppink, Florian, Ervin, Jamison, Escobedo, Anita ... Zhang, Y. P. (2020). Protecting 30% of the planet for nature: costs, benefits and economic implications: working paper analysing the economic implications of the proposed 30% target for areal protection in the draft post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. IIASA Working paper series Laxenburg, Austria: International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis.
2019
Journal Article
Vulnerable species and ecosystems are falling through the cracks of environmental impact assessments
Simmonds, Jeremy S., Reside, April E., Stone, Zoe, Walsh, Jessica C., Ward, Michelle S. and Maron, Martine (2019). Vulnerable species and ecosystems are falling through the cracks of environmental impact assessments. Conservation Letters, 13 (3) e12694. doi: 10.1111/conl.12694
2019
Conference Publication
Bringing Ecology into Australia’s Environmental Law Reform
Reside, April (2019). Bringing Ecology into Australia’s Environmental Law Reform. Ecological Society of Australia, Launceston, TAS, Australia, November-December 2019.
2019
Other Outputs
The minimum land area requiring conservation attention to safeguard biodiversity
Allan, James R., Possingham, Hugh P., Atkinson, Scott C., Waldron, Anthony, Di Marco, Moreno, Adams, Vanessa M., Butchart, Stuart H. M., Kissling, W. Daniel, Worsdell, Thomas, Gibbon, Gwili, Kumar, Kundan, Mehta, Piyush, Maron, Martine, Williams, Brooke A., Jones, Kendall R., Wintle, Brendan A., Reside, April E. and Watson, James E.M. (2019). The minimum land area requiring conservation attention to safeguard biodiversity. doi: 10.1101/839977
2019
Journal Article
Collaboration across boundaries in the Amazon
Prist, Paula Ribeiro, Levin, Noam, Metzger, Jean Paul, de Mello, Kaline, de Paula Costa, Micheli Duarte, Castagnino, Romi, Cortes-Ramirez, Javier, Lin, Da-Li, Butt, Nathalie, Lloyd, Thomas J., López-Cubillos, Sofía, Mayfield, Helen J., Negret, Pablo José, Oliveira-Bevan, Isabella, Reside, April E., Rhodes, Jonathan R., Simmons, B. Alexander, Suárez-Castro, A. Felipe and Kark, Salit (2019). Collaboration across boundaries in the Amazon. Science, 366 (6466), 699.1-700. doi: 10.1126/science.aaz7489
2019
Other Outputs
Interactive: everything you need to know about Adani – from cost, environmental impact and jobs to its possible future
Madeleine De Gabriele, Madeleine, Hopkin, Michael, Mountain, Wes, Reside, April, Hepburn, Samantha and Wood, Tony (2019, 09 16). Interactive: everything you need to know about Adani – from cost, environmental impact and jobs to its possible future The Conversation
2019
Other Outputs
Environment laws have failed to tackle the extinction emergency. Here's the proof
Ward, Michelle, Reside, April, Possingham, Hugh, Watson, James, Simmonds, Jeremy, Rhodes, Jonathan and Taylor, Martin (2019, 09 09). Environment laws have failed to tackle the extinction emergency. Here's the proof The Conversation
2019
Journal Article
Lots of loss with little scrutiny: the attrition of habitat critical for threatened species in Australia
Ward, Michelle S., Simmonds, Jeremy S., Reside, April E., Watson, James E. M., Rhodes, Jonathan R., Possingham, Hugh P., Trezise, James, Fletcher, Rachel, File, Lindsey and Taylor, Martin (2019). Lots of loss with little scrutiny: the attrition of habitat critical for threatened species in Australia. Conservation Science and Practice, 1 (11) e117. doi: 10.1111/csp2.117
2019
Journal Article
Conserving the endangered Black-throated Finch southern subspecies: what do we need to know?
Mula Laguna, Juan, Reside, April E., Kutt, Alex, Grice, Anthony C., Buosi, Peter, Vanderduys, Eric P., Taylor, Martin and Schwarzkopf, Lin (2019). Conserving the endangered Black-throated Finch southern subspecies: what do we need to know?. Emu, 119 (4), 331-345. doi: 10.1080/01584197.2019.1605830
2019
Other Outputs
Why Adani’s finch plan was rejected, and what comes next
Hepburn, Samantha and Reside, April (2019, 05 07). Why Adani’s finch plan was rejected, and what comes next The Conversation
2019
Journal Article
Climate change and biodiversity in Australia: a systematic modelling approach to nationwide species distributions
Graham, Erin M., Reside, April E., Atkinson, Ian, Baird, Daniel, Hodgson, Lauren, James, Cassandra S. and VanDerWal, Jeremy J. (2019). Climate change and biodiversity in Australia: a systematic modelling approach to nationwide species distributions. Australasian Journal of Environmental Management, 26 (2), 112-123. doi: 10.1080/14486563.2019.1599742
2019
Journal Article
Retention and restoration priorities for climate adaptation in a multi-use landscape
Maxwell, Sean L., Reside, April, Trezise, James, McAlpine, Clive A. and Watson, James EM. (2019). Retention and restoration priorities for climate adaptation in a multi-use landscape. Global Ecology and Conservation, 18 e00649, e00649. doi: 10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00649
2019
Journal Article
Metrics of progress in the understanding and management of threats to Australian birds: metrics of progress
Garnett, S. T., Butchart, S. H. M., Baker, G. B., Bayraktarov, E., Buchanan, K. L., Burbidge, A. A., Chauvenet, A. L. M., Christidis, L., Ehmke, G., Grace, M., Hoccom, D. G., Legge, S. M., Leiper, I., Lindenmayer, D. B., Loyn, R. H., Maron, M., McDonald, P., Menkhorst, P., Possingham, H. P., Radford, J., Reside, A. E., Watson, D. M., Watson, J. E. M., Wintle, B., Woinarski, J. C. Z. and Geyle, H. M. (2019). Metrics of progress in the understanding and management of threats to Australian birds: metrics of progress. Conservation Biology, 33 (2), 456-468. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13220
2019
Journal Article
How to send a finch extinct
Reside, April E., Cosgrove, Anita J., Pointon, Revel, Trezise, James, Watson, James E.M. and Maron, Martine (2019). How to send a finch extinct. Environmental Science and Policy, 94, 163-173. doi: 10.1016/j.envsci.2019.01.005
2019
Journal Article
Persistence through tough times: fixed and shifting refuges in threatened species conservation
Reside, April E., Briscoe, Natalie J., Dickman, Chris R., Greenville, Aaron C., Hradsky, Bronwyn A., Kark, Salit, Kearney, Michael R., Kutt, Alex S., Nimmo, Dale G., Pavey, Chris R., Read, John L., Ritchie, Euan G., Roshier, David, Skroblin, Anja, Stone, Zoe, West, Matt and Fisher, Diana O. (2019). Persistence through tough times: fixed and shifting refuges in threatened species conservation. Biodiversity and Conservation, 28 (6), 1303-1330. doi: 10.1007/s10531-019-01734-7
2019
Other Outputs
To reduce fire risk and meet climate targets, over 300 scientists call for stronger land clearing laws
Maron, Martine, Griffin, Andrea, Reside, April, Laurance, Bill, Driscoll, Don, Ritchie, Euan and Turton, Steve (2019, 03 11). To reduce fire risk and meet climate targets, over 300 scientists call for stronger land clearing laws The Conversation
2019
Other Outputs
Death by 775 cuts: how conservation law is failing the black-throated finch
Reside, April and Watson, James (2019, 01 30). Death by 775 cuts: how conservation law is failing the black-throated finch The Conversation
2019
Conference Publication
A climate-smart blueprint for securing Australia’s biodiversity
Reside, April , Trezise, James and Watson, James (2019). A climate-smart blueprint for securing Australia’s biodiversity. Species on the Move conference, Skukuza, Kruger National Park, South Africa, 22-26 July 2019.
Supervision
Availability
- Dr April Reside is:
- Available for supervision
Before you email them, read our advice on how to contact a supervisor.
Available projects
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Threatened reptiles of the Darling Downs
Half of the Australian reptiles most at risk of extinction occur in Queensland; and five are grassland earless dragons (genus Tympanocryptis). However, the threatening processes for most of Queensland’s threatened reptiles remain unknown. Threatened reptiles persisting in highly modified landscapes are those most likely at highest risk, such as the Endangered reptiles inhabiting the southern Brigalow Belt which contains some of the most productive agricultural land in the state, producing over a quarter of Queensland’s agricultural output.
The Condamine earless dragon (Tympanocryptis condaminensis) is one of the threatened reptiles restricted to the Darling Downs in the southern Brigalow Belt, which primarily occur on privately owned agricultural land. Land use and management leading to habitat loss, degradation & fragmentation; and invasive species (namely cats and foxes), are listed as major threats. However, there has been no investigation into the severity and relative impact of threats to this and the other threatened reptile species in this region.
This project will build upon our preliminary work to investigate habitat requirements, ecology, and threats to the Condamine earless dragon and the other threatened reptile species of this region.
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Microbat community ecology and conservation
Healthy, functioning ecosystems containing a broad range of insectivores play a substantial role in pest control as widely documented across the world. Far less research has been conducted on insectivore ecosystem services in Australia, meaning it is still unclear how to optimise key habitat features that support these services while also maximising agricultural productivity. This work would investigate the community of microbats across multi-use landscapes, to understand their role as pest controllers, and to identify landscape features and management that support their conservation.
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Black-throated finch and other woodland birds: conservation and ecology
Understanding how to manage habitats for woodland birds, including restoration of cleared and degraded habitat, and managing the impact of threats such as invasive species. Priorities include investigating breeding ecology, and population dynamics; and focus on Black-throated finch.
Supervision history
Current supervision
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Doctor Philosophy
Ecosystem services of aerial insectivores in agricultural landscapes
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Michael Furlong, Dr Annabel Smith
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Doctor Philosophy
Conserving Reptile Diversity in Agricultural Landscapes: Threats and Solutions
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Stuart Phinn
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Doctor Philosophy
Dynamic habitat suitability modelling for terrestrial mammals in Australia integrating google earth engine, remote sensing, machine learning and citizen science data
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Stuart Phinn
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Doctor Philosophy
Critical foraging habitat of the Grey-headed flying fox in Queensland and its diet in the Toowoomba region
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Lee McMichael, Dr Annabel Smith
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Doctor Philosophy
The influence of changing fire regimes on fire-dependent plant-animal interactions
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Annabel Smith
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Doctor Philosophy
New metrics to measure and track bird community condition in Australia
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Martine Maron
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Master Philosophy
Strategies to build landholder support for hard to see conservation challenges
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Angela Dean
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Master Philosophy
Strategies to build landholder support for hard to see conservation challenges
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Angela Dean
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Doctor Philosophy
The FaunaHealth Index: A holistic approach to mammal community health.
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Martine Maron
Completed supervision
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2023
Doctor Philosophy
The effect of fire and livestock grazing on mammals and reptiles in Central Queensland
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Martine Maron
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2022
Doctor Philosophy
The value of understorey vegetation to woodland and forest bird communities as a resource and potential deterrent of key threatening process: overabundant native noisy miners (Manorina melanocephala)
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Martine Maron
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2021
Doctor Philosophy
Improving Australia's response to the biodiversity crisis
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor James Watson
Media
Enquiries
Contact Dr April Reside directly for media enquiries about:
- Bats
- Biodiversity
- Birds
- Black-throated Finch
- Climate Change impacts on Biodiversity
- Conservation
- Refuges
- Refugia
- Threatened species
- Threatened species recovery
- Vulnerability to climate change
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