
Overview
Background
The actions of people just like you and me have caused a massive biodiversity crisis, pushing many species to the brink of extinction and beyond. Doing something about this is one of the most important and urgent problems globally. I am interested in understanding how people have affected the natural world around them, and how some of their destructive effects can best be reversed. On the flip side, I am also keen to understand whether people can benefit positively from experiences of biodiversity.
To answer these questions I work on pure and applied topics in biodiversity and conservation. Much of my work is interdisciplinary, focusing on the interactions between people and nature, how these can be enhanced, and how these relationships can be shaped to converge on coherent solutions to the biodiversity crisis. Current research topics include the ecology and conservation of migratory species, understanding what drives some people to show stronger environmental concern than others, and strategies for designing efficient conservation plans. I enjoy working closely with all my wonderful colleagues in the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science.
Availability
- Professor Richard Fuller is:
- Not available for supervision
- Media expert
Fields of research
Qualifications
- Bachelor (Honours), University of Bristol
- Masters (Coursework) of Science, Imperial College London
- Doctor of Philosophy, Durham University
Research impacts
My expertise is regularly called upon to provide advice outside academia. I study the topic of sustainable environmental management, a subject of keen interest not only to the public at large, but also to organisations and agencies charged with managing the environment and regulating human impacts upon it. Reflecting this expertise, I have been repeatedly invited by the Australian Government to form part of the official Australian delegation in bilateral talks on migratory species conservation with the Chinese, Japanese and Korean governments in 2014, 2016, and 2018. I frequently advise the Australian Government as well as regional agencies such as Queensland Department of Environment and Science, and Brisbane City Council. This advice includes expert witness testimony on the biodiversity impacts of proposed coastal developments and for advice about migratory species conservation domestically and internationally. Recently I provided direct 1:1 advice to the Federal Environment Minister on a coastal development proposal in central Queensland. I also seek to communicate broadly with the public and am invited monthly to speak at local and regional meetings and writing for special interest magazines and newsletters.
In direct response to the analysis in Studds et al. (2017; Nature Communications), the Australian Government listed the Eastern Curlew and the Curlew Sandpiper as Critically Endangered under the EPBC Act, and the following year another six migratory shorebirds were also listed as nationally threatened. Given the large number of species involved, this decision was a step change in migratory bird conservation in Australia, significantly adding to the protections for these declining species and subsequently influencing hundreds of coastal development decisions around the nation. Frequently citing our work, and enlisting me as a technical advisor, the Australian Government created and ratified a formal International Single Species Action Plan to rescue the Critically Endangered Eastern Curlew (Fig. 1). The plan has been approved and implemented in 22 countries, catalysing research and action around the East Asian-Australasian Flyway.
Works
Search Professor Richard Fuller’s works on UQ eSpace
2018
Journal Article
Is nature relatedness associated with better mental and physical health?
Dean, Julie H., Shanahan, Danielle F., Bush, Robert, Gaston, Kevin J., Lin, Brenda B., Barber, Elizabeth, Franco, Lara and Fuller, Richard A. (2018). Is nature relatedness associated with better mental and physical health?. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15 (7) 1371, 1371. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15071371
2018
Journal Article
Efficiently enforcing artisanal fisheries to protect estuarine biodiversity
Duarte de Paula Costa, Micheli, Mills, Morena, Richardson, Anthony J., Fuller, Richard A., Muelbert, José H. and Possingham, Hugh P. (2018). Efficiently enforcing artisanal fisheries to protect estuarine biodiversity. Ecological Applications, 28 (6), 1450-1458. doi: 10.1002/eap.1744
2018
Journal Article
Estimating the benefit of well-managed protected areas for threatened species conservation
Kearney, Stephen G., Adams, Vanessa M., Fuller, Richard A., Possingham, Hugh P. and Watson, James E. M. (2018). Estimating the benefit of well-managed protected areas for threatened species conservation. Oryx, 54 (2), 1-9. doi: 10.1017/s0030605317001739
2018
Journal Article
Crowdfunding biodiversity conservation
Gallo-Cajiao, E., Archibald, C., Friedman, R., Steven, R., Fuller, R. A., Game, E. T., Morrison, T. H. and Ritchie, E. G. (2018). Crowdfunding biodiversity conservation. Conservation Biology, 32 (6), 1426-1435. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13144
2018
Journal Article
One-third of global protected land is under intense human pressure
Jones, Kendall R., Venter, Oscar, Fuller, Richard A., Allan, James R., Maxwell, Sean L., Negret, Pablo Jose and Watson, James E. M. (2018). One-third of global protected land is under intense human pressure. Science, 360 (6390), 788-791. doi: 10.1126/science.aap9565
2018
Journal Article
Opportunities for biodiversity conservation as cities adapt to climate change
Butt, Nathalie, Shanahan, Danielle F., Shumway, Nicole, Bekessey, Sarah A., Fuller, Richard A., Watson, James E. M., Maggini, Ramona and Hole, David G. (2018). Opportunities for biodiversity conservation as cities adapt to climate change. Geo: geography and environment, 5 (1) e00052, e00052. doi: 10.1002/geo2.52
2018
Journal Article
Biodiversity and China's new Great Wall
Choi, Chi-Yeung, Jackson, Micha V., Gallo-Caijao, Eduardo, Murray, Nicholas J., Clemens, Robert S., Gan, Xiaojing and Fuller, Richard (2018). Biodiversity and China's new Great Wall. Diversity and Distributions, 24 (2), 137-143. doi: 10.1111/ddi.12675
2018
Journal Article
Impacts of fishing, river flow and connectivity loss on the conservation of a migratory fish population
Lin, Hsien-Yung, Brown, Christopher J., Dwyer, Ross G., Harding, Doug J., Roberts, David T., Fuller, Richard A., Linke, Simon and Possingham, Hugh P. (2018). Impacts of fishing, river flow and connectivity loss on the conservation of a migratory fish population. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 28 (1), 45-54. doi: 10.1002/aqc.2831
2018
Journal Article
raptr: representative and adequate prioritization toolkit in R
Hanson, Jeffrey O., Rhodes, Jonathan R., Possingham, Hugh P. and Fuller, Richard A. (2018). raptr: representative and adequate prioritization toolkit in R. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 9 (2), 320-330. doi: 10.1111/2041-210X.12862
2018
Book Chapter
Shorebird monitoring in Australia: a successful long-term collaboration between citizen scientists, governments and researchers
Hansen, Birgita D., Clemens, Robert S., Gallo-Cajiao, Eduardo, Jackson, Micha V., Kingsford, Richard T., Maguire, Grainne S., Maurer, Golo, Milton, David, Rogers, Danny I., Weller, Dan R., Weston, Michael A., Woehler, Eric J. and Fuller, Richard A. (2018). Shorebird monitoring in Australia: a successful long-term collaboration between citizen scientists, governments and researchers. Monitoring threatened species and ecological communities. (pp. 149-164) edited by Sarah Legge, David Lindenmayer, Natasha Robinson, Benjamin Scheele, Darren Southwell and Brendan Wintle. Canberra, Australia: CSIRO. doi: 10.1071/9781486307722
2018
Book Chapter
Replacing underperforming nature reserves
Fuller, Richard A. and Watson, James E. M. (2018). Replacing underperforming nature reserves. Effective conservation science: data not dogma. (pp. 147-151) edited by Peter Kareiva, Michelle Marvier and Brian Silliman. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780198808978.003.0023
2018
Journal Article
The extirpation of species outside protected areas
Boakes, Elizabeth H., Fuller, Richard A. and McGowan, Philip J.K. (2018). The extirpation of species outside protected areas. Conservation Letters, 12 (1) e12608, e12608. doi: 10.1111/conl.12608
2017
Journal Article
Cutting through the complexity to aid evidence synthesis. A response to Haddaway and Dicks
Cook, Carly N., Nichols, Susan J., Webb, J. Angus, Fuller, Richard A. and Richards, Rob M. (2017). Cutting through the complexity to aid evidence synthesis. A response to Haddaway and Dicks. Biological Conservation, 218, 291-292. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2017.12.005
2017
Journal Article
The large-scale drivers of population declines in a long-distance migratory shorebird
Murray, Nicholas J., Marra, Peter P., Fuller, Richard A., Clemens, Robert S., Dhanjal-Adams, Kiran, Gosbell, Ken B., Hassell, Chris J., Iwamura, Takuya, Melville, David, Minton, Clive D. T., Riegen, Adrian C., Rogers, Danny I., Woehler, Eric J. and Studds, Colin E. (2017). The large-scale drivers of population declines in a long-distance migratory shorebird. Ecography, 41 (6), 867-876. doi: 10.1111/ecog.02957
2017
Journal Article
Examining the relationship between local extinction risk and position in range
Boakes, Elizabeth H, Isaac, Nicholas J B, Fuller, Richard A, Mace, Georgina M and McGowan, Philip J K (2017). Examining the relationship between local extinction risk and position in range. Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology, 32 (1), 229-239. doi: 10.1111/cobi.12979
2017
Journal Article
Environmental and geographic variables are effective surrogates for genetic variation in conservation planning
Hanson, Jeffrey O, Rhodes, Jonathan R, Riginos, Cynthia and Fuller, Richard A (2017). Environmental and geographic variables are effective surrogates for genetic variation in conservation planning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 114 (48), 12755-12760. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1711009114
2017
Other Outputs
Just ten MPs represent more than 600 threatened species in their electorates
Watson, James, Reside, April, Williams, Brooke, Possingham, Hugh, Maron, Martine, Ward, Michelle, Fuller, Richard, Atkinson, Scott Consaul and Kearney, Stephen (2017, 09 07). Just ten MPs represent more than 600 threatened species in their electorates The Conversation
2017
Journal Article
Smart protected area placement decelerates biodiversity loss: A representation-extinction feedback leads Rare species to extinction
Akasaka, Munemitsu, Kadoya, Taku, Ishihama, Fumiko, Fujita, Taku and Fuller, Richard A. (2017). Smart protected area placement decelerates biodiversity loss: A representation-extinction feedback leads Rare species to extinction. Conservation Letters, 10 (5), 539-546. doi: 10.1111/conl.12302
2017
Journal Article
Simplifying the selection of evidence synthesis methods to inform environmental decisions: a guide for decision makers and scientists
Cook, Carly N., Nichols, Susan J., Webb, J. Angus, Fuller, Richard A. and Richards, Rob M. (2017). Simplifying the selection of evidence synthesis methods to inform environmental decisions: a guide for decision makers and scientists. Biological Conservation, 213, 135-145. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2017.07.004
2017
Journal Article
A review of the benefits of nature experiences: more than meets the eye
Franco, Lara S., Shanahan, Danielle F. and Fuller, Richard A. (2017). A review of the benefits of nature experiences: more than meets the eye. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14 (8) 864, 864. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14080864
Funding
Current funding
Past funding
Supervision
Availability
- Professor Richard Fuller is:
- Not available for supervision
Supervision history
Current supervision
-
Doctor Philosophy
Conserving migratory species
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Hugh Possingham
-
Doctor Philosophy
Where no eyes can see: Tracking Australian shorebird migration using radar
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Tatsuya Amano
-
Doctor Philosophy
Mining, Biodiversity, and Area-Based Conservation: Risks and Opportunities
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Laura Sonter
-
Doctor Philosophy
Developing a Drone Based Shorebird Survey Method
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Tatsuya Amano
-
Doctor Philosophy
Mining, Biodiversity, and Area-Based Conservation: Risks and Opportunities
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Laura Sonter
-
Doctor Philosophy
Cultural variation in connection to urban nature
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Renee Zahnow
-
Doctor Philosophy
The role of wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and release in conservation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Ella Kuskoff
-
Doctor Philosophy
Cultural variation in connection to urban nature
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Renee Zahnow
-
Doctor Philosophy
Reducing Barriers to Drone-Based Bird Surveys
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Tatsuya Amano
-
Master Philosophy
Cultural variation in connection to nature
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Renee Zahnow
-
Doctor Philosophy
Urban greenspaces and biodiversity
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Angela Dean
-
Doctor Philosophy
Learning from success: Recovery of the Black-faced Spoonbill, an endangered migratory waterbird in East Asia
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Revealing bird migration patterns in Eastern Australia by integrating weather radar and citizen science data
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Tatsuya Amano
-
Doctor Philosophy
No place like home: Urban nuisance wildlife management and the impacts of relocation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr John Hall
-
Doctor Philosophy
Mining, Biodiversity, and Area-Based Conservation: Risks and Opportunities
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Laura Sonter
-
Doctor Philosophy
Bird migration along the East Asian Australasian Flyway and vulnerability due to habitat loss in China
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Revealing bird migration patterns in Eastern Australia by integrating weather radar and citizen science data
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Tatsuya Amano
-
Doctor Philosophy
The role of wildlife rescue, rehabilitation and release in conservation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Ella Kuskoff
-
Doctor Philosophy
Distributional Shifts and Conservation of Avian Migrants
Principal Advisor
-
Doctor Philosophy
Improving biodiversity outcomes in West African cocoa
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Matthew Luskin, Dr Wilma J. Blaser Hart, Dr Simon Hart
-
Doctor Philosophy
Tapping into non-English-language science in tackling global challenges
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Tatsuya Amano
-
Doctor Philosophy
The Distribution and Invasiveness of the Common myna (Acridotheres tristis) along Gradients
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Salit Kark
-
Doctor Philosophy
Assessing the effectiveness of acoustic indices for monitoring changes in forest ecosystems
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Berndt Janse Van Rensburg
-
Doctor Philosophy
Leveraging large camera-trapping datasets to untangle multiple threats to terrestrial and understory bird communities in tropical forests
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Matthew Luskin
-
Doctor Philosophy
Mining and area-based biodiversity conservation: risks and opportunities
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Laura Sonter
-
Doctor Philosophy
Why are waterbirds declining globally?
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Tatsuya Amano
-
Doctor Philosophy
Language barriers in the environmental sciences in Japan: causes, consequences, and solutions
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Tatsuya Amano
-
Doctor Philosophy
The effects of rapid evolution on ecological dynamics and stability in variable environments
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Simon Hart
-
Doctor Philosophy
Enhancing International Collaboration for Migratory Bird Conservation
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Tatsuya Amano
-
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding language barriers to the use of scientific knowledge in conservation decision making
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Tatsuya Amano
-
Doctor Philosophy
Conserving Urban Parrots in Indonesian Urban Setting
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr April Reside
-
Doctor Philosophy
Understanding language barriers to the use of scientific knowledge in conservation decision making
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Tatsuya Amano
Completed supervision
-
2024
Doctor Philosophy
Urban nature health effects moderated by stressful contexts
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Renee Zahnow
-
2023
Doctor Philosophy
From Observations to Indicators: The Status and Conservation of Taiwan's Birds
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Martine Maron, Associate Professor Tatsuya Amano
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
The interplay among nature experiences, nature connection and wellbeing
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Kelly Fielding
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Insect migration and conservation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Emeritus Professor Myron Zalucki
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
The conservation ecology of burrowing petrels on Macquarie Island
Principal Advisor
-
2021
Doctor Philosophy
Global environmental governance for conserving migratory birds
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Salit Kark
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Conserving shorebirds in human-dominated landscapes
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Martine Maron
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Conserving Antarctic biodiversity in the Anthropocene
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Hugh Possingham
-
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Green is the new gold: Examining the human-nature relationship
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Courtney von Hippel
-
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
Conserving Australia's predator-threatened mammals
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Associate Professor Diana Fisher
-
2016
Doctor Philosophy
Threats to migratory birds, and actions for their conservation
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Hugh Possingham
-
2015
Doctor Philosophy
Conserving migratory and nomadic species
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Hugh Possingham
-
2015
Doctor Philosophy
Identifying threats and conservation priorities across an international migration pathway
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Stuart Phinn, Professor Hugh Possingham
-
2011
Master Philosophy
Urban growth, biodiversity, and the extinction of experience
Principal Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Hugh Possingham
-
2022
Doctor Philosophy
Conservation Biogeography of the Night Parrot (Pezoporus occidentalis)
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor James Watson
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Nest Ecology of an Endangered Woodland Avifauna
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Hugh Possingham
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Plastic pollution and conservation of imperilled seabird species
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Hugh Possingham
-
2020
Doctor Philosophy
Assessing Bird Migrations
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr Simone Blomberg, Professor Hugh Possingham
-
2019
Doctor Philosophy
Growing up healthy in the city: Pathways to child health and development benefits from nature
Associate Advisor
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Predicting the diversity and functional composition of woody plant communities under climate change
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr John Dwyer
-
2018
Doctor Philosophy
Seed dispersal and seedling establishment during early-stage tropical forest recovery within old-fields
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Dr John Dwyer
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
The Dynamics and Resilience of Coral Reefs
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Peter Mumby
-
2017
Doctor Philosophy
Conserving migratory species under human impacts and climate change
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Hugh Possingham
-
2014
Doctor Philosophy
How do herbivorous mammals adjust their trade-off between food and safety?
Associate Advisor
-
2012
Doctor Philosophy
Conservation in naturally fragmented landscapes: the Mexican cloud forest and Vanuatu archipelago
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Hugh Possingham
-
2012
Doctor Philosophy
Spatial conservation prioritisation under global threats
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Hugh Possingham
-
2012
Doctor Philosophy
Improving measurements of protected area effectiveness
Associate Advisor
Other advisors: Professor Hugh Possingham
Media
Enquiries
Contact Professor Richard Fuller directly for media enquiries about:
- biodiversity
- birds
- citizen science
- conservation
- eastern curlew
- migratory shorebirds
- national parks
- protected areas
- shorebirds
- urban green space
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