Professor James Watson
Professor

James Watson

Email: 
Phone: 
+61 7 334 61645

Background

James is an applied conservation scientist and bioegeographer working at the interface between ecology, policy and management to improve outcomes for biodiversity. He has a particular interest in understanding how humanity influences landscape and the climate, and what this means for biodiversity and ecosystem service outcomes, and the implications of this for environmental policy setting and management.

As a Professor of Conservation Science at The University of Queensland, he leads two research groups. The Green Fire Science research group (www.greenfirescience.com) mission is to do applied research that is linked directly to the practice of large-scale conservation and the Research and Recovery of Endangered Species (https://raresgroup.com.au) mission is to focus on Australia's rarest, least studied species to try and work out their needs and work with those on-ground practioners to try and save them.

James has been passionate conservation for decades. As a Rhodes Scholar, James undertook his PhD research studying in Madagascar, trying to come up with conservation plans to save endemic bird species inhabiting the country’s remaining littoral forest. Since then he has published more than 400 peer-reviewed papers, book chapters and reports on conservation related matters, ranging from assessing the impacts of climate change on species to mapping the effectiveness of protected areas on biodiversity conservation outcomes globally. He has served on the International Panel for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) Data and Knowledge Task Force, and is a Research Fellow for the United Nation’s Environment Program, a Senior Technical expert for the United Nations Development Program’s Global Programme on Nature for Development, and was the founding chair of the International Union for Nature Conservation Climate Change Specialist Group. James sits on the scientific committees of BirdLife Australia and SUBAC. James was global president of the Society for Conservation Biology in 2015-17.

I am also an affiliated researcher at the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science.

Availability

Professor James Watson is:
Available for supervision
Media expert

Fields of research

Ecology Environmental Sciences

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, University of Oxford

Research interests

  • Conservation policy and practice

Search Professor James Watson’s works on UQ eSpace

500 works between 2001 and 2025
All (500) Journal Article (415) Book Chapter (20) Conference Publication (6) Book (2) Other Outputs (57)

241 - 260 of 500 works

2019

Other Outputs

Global assessment of ecoregion intactness

Beyer, Hawthorne, Venter, Oscar, Grantham, Hedley and Watson, James (2019). Global assessment of ecoregion intactness. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.14264/uql.2019.773

Global assessment of ecoregion intactness

2019

Journal Article

Reply to ‘Consider species specialism when publishing datasets’ and ‘Decision trees for data publishing may exacerbate conservation conflict’

Tulloch, Ayesha I. T., Auerbach, Nancy, Avery-Gomm, Stephanie, Dickman, Chris R., Fisher, Diana O., Grantham, Hedley, Holden, Matthew H., Lavery, Tyrone H., Leseberg, Nicholas P., O’Connor, James, Roberson, Leslie, Smyth, Anita K., Stone, Zoe, Tulloch, Vivitskaia, Turak, Eren, Watson, James E. M. and Wardle, Glenda M. (2019). Reply to ‘Consider species specialism when publishing datasets’ and ‘Decision trees for data publishing may exacerbate conservation conflict’. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 3 (3), 320-321. doi: 10.1038/s41559-019-0805-6

Reply to ‘Consider species specialism when publishing datasets’ and ‘Decision trees for data publishing may exacerbate conservation conflict’

2018

Journal Article

Conservation implications of ecological responses to extreme weather and climate events

Maxwell, Sean L., Butt, Nathalie, Maron, Martine, McAlpine, Clive A., Chapman, Sarah, Ullmann, Ailish, Segan, Dan B. and Watson, James E. M. (2018). Conservation implications of ecological responses to extreme weather and climate events. Diversity and Distributions, 25 (4) ddi.12878, 613-625. doi: 10.1111/ddi.12878

Conservation implications of ecological responses to extreme weather and climate events

2018

Journal Article

Mining and biodiversity: key issues and research needs in conservation science

Sonter, Laura J., Ali, Saleem H. and Watson, James E. M. (2018). Mining and biodiversity: key issues and research needs in conservation science. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 285 (1892) 20181926, 20181926. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1926

Mining and biodiversity: key issues and research needs in conservation science

2018

Journal Article

The Last of the Ocean Wilderness

Jones, Kendall and Watson, James (2018). The Last of the Ocean Wilderness. Scientific American, 319 (6), 9-9.

The Last of the Ocean Wilderness

2018

Other Outputs

For the first time we’ve looked at every threatened bird in Australia side-by-side

Garnett, Stephen, Chauvenet, Alienor, Reside, April, Wintle, Brendan, Lindenmayer, David, Watson, David M., Bayrakarov, Elisa, Geyle, Hayley, Possingham, Hugh, Watson, James, Maron, Martine and Legge, Sarah (2018, 11 27). For the first time we’ve looked at every threatened bird in Australia side-by-side The Conversation

For the first time we’ve looked at every threatened bird in Australia side-by-side

2018

Journal Article

Changes in human footprint drive changes in species extinction risk

Di Marco, Moreno, Venter, Oscar, Possingham, Hugh P. and Watson, James E. M. (2018). Changes in human footprint drive changes in species extinction risk. Nature Communications, 9 (1) 4621, 4621. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-07049-5

Changes in human footprint drive changes in species extinction risk

2018

Journal Article

The effect of urban density and vegetation cover on the heat island of a subtropical city

Chapman, Sarah, Thatcher, Marcus, Salazar, Alvaro, Watson, James E. M. and McAlpine, Clive A. (2018). The effect of urban density and vegetation cover on the heat island of a subtropical city. Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology, 57 (11), 2531-2550. doi: 10.1175/JAMC-D-17-0316.1

The effect of urban density and vegetation cover on the heat island of a subtropical city

2018

Journal Article

Protect the last of the wild

Watson, James E. M., Venter, Oscar, Lee, Jasmine, Jones, Kendall R., Robinson, John G., Possingham, Hugh P. and Allan, James R. (2018). Protect the last of the wild. Nature, 563 (7729), 27-30. doi: 10.1038/d41586-018-07183-6

Protect the last of the wild

2018

Journal Article

Climate change vulnerability assessment of species

Foden, Wendy B., Young, Bruce E., Akçakaya, H. Resit, Garcia, Raquel A., Hoffmann, Ary A., Stein, Bruce A., Thomas, Chris D., Wheatley, Christopher J., Bickford, David, Carr, Jamie A., Hole, David G., Martin, Tara G., Pacifici, Michela, Pearce-Higgins, James W., Platts, Philip J., Visconti, Piero, Watson, James E. M. and Huntley, Brian (2018). Climate change vulnerability assessment of species. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, 10 (1) e551, e551. doi: 10.1002/wcc.551

Climate change vulnerability assessment of species

2018

Journal Article

Protected land: threat of invasive species: response

Jones, Kendall R., Venter, Oscar, Fuller, Richard A., Allan, James R., Maxwell, Sean L., Negret, Pablo Jose and Watson, James E. M. (2018). Protected land: threat of invasive species: response. Science, 361 (6402), 562-563. doi: 10.1126/science.aau7317

Protected land: threat of invasive species: response

2018

Journal Article

A decision tree for assessing the risks and benefits of publishing biodiversity data

Tulloch, Ayesha I. T., Auerbach, Nancy, Avery-Gomm, Stephanie, Bayraktarov, Elisa, Butt, Nathalie, Dickman, Chris R., Ehmke, Glenn, Fisher, Diana O., Grantham, Hedley, Holden, Matthew H., Lavery, Tyrone H., Leseberg, Nicholas P., Nicholls, Miles, O'Connor, James, Roberson, Leslie, Smyth, Anita K., Stone, Zoe, Tulloch, Vivitskaia, Turak, Eren, Wardle, Glenda M. and Watson, James E. M. (2018). A decision tree for assessing the risks and benefits of publishing biodiversity data. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2 (8), 1209-1217. doi: 10.1038/s41559-018-0608-1

A decision tree for assessing the risks and benefits of publishing biodiversity data

2018

Journal Article

Reach and messages of the world's largest ivory burn

Braczkowski, Alexander, Holden, Matthew H., O'Bryan, Christopher, Choi, Chi-Yeung, Gan, Xiaojing, Beesley, Nicholas, Gao, Yufang, Allan, James, Tyrrell, Peter, Stiles, Daniel, Brehony, Peadar, Meney, Revocatus, Brink, Henry, Takashina, Nao, Lin, Ming-Ching, Lin, Hsien-Yung, Rust, Niki, Salmo, Severino G., Watson, James Em, Kahumbu, Paula, Maron, Martine, Possingham, Hugh P. and Biggs, Duan (2018). Reach and messages of the world's largest ivory burn. Conservation Biology, 32 (4), 765-773. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13097

Reach and messages of the world's largest ivory burn

2018

Journal Article

The location and protection status of earth's diminishing marine wilderness

Jones, Kendall R., Klein, Carissa J., Halpern, Benjamin S., Venter, Oscar, Grantham, Hedley, Kuempel, Caitlin D., Shumway, Nicole, Friedlander, Alan M., Possingham, Hugh P. and Watson, James E. M. (2018). The location and protection status of earth's diminishing marine wilderness. Current Biology, 28 (15), 2506-2512.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.06.010

The location and protection status of earth's diminishing marine wilderness

2018

Journal Article

Incorporating ecosystem services into the design of future energy systems

Holland, Robert A., Beaumont, Nicola, Hooper, Tara, Austen, Melanie, Gross, Robert J. K., Heptonstall, Philip J., Ketsopoulou, Ioanna, Winskel, Mark, Watson, Jim and Taylor, Gail (2018). Incorporating ecosystem services into the design of future energy systems. Applied Energy, 222, 812-822. doi: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.04.022

Incorporating ecosystem services into the design of future energy systems

2018

Journal Article

A spatial overview of the global importance of Indigenous lands for conservation

Garnett, Stephen T., Burgess, Neil D., Fa, John E., Fernandez-Llamazares, Alvaro, Molnar, Zsolt, Robinson, Cathy J., Watson, James E. M., Zander, Kerstin K., Austin, Beau, Brondizio, Eduardo S., Collier, Neil French, Duncan, Tom, Ellis, Erle, Geyle, Hayley, Jackson, Micha V., Jonas, Harry, Malmer, Pernilla, McGowan, Ben, Sivongxay, Amphone and Leiper, Ian (2018). A spatial overview of the global importance of Indigenous lands for conservation. Nature Sustainability, 1 (7), 369-374. doi: 10.1038/s41893-018-0100-6

A spatial overview of the global importance of Indigenous lands for conservation

2018

Journal Article

The essential role of other effective area-based conservation measures in achieving big bold conservation targets

Dudley, Nigel, Jonas, Holly, Nelson, Fred, Parrish, Jeffrey, Pyhälä, Aili, Stolton, Sue and Watson, James E.M. (2018). The essential role of other effective area-based conservation measures in achieving big bold conservation targets. Global Ecology and Conservation, 15 e00424, e00424. doi: 10.1016/j.gecco.2018.e00424

The essential role of other effective area-based conservation measures in achieving big bold conservation targets

2018

Journal Article

Poor ecological representation by an expensive reserve system: evaluating 35 years of marine protected area expansion

Jantke, Kerstin, Jones, Kendall R., Allan, James R., Chauvenet, Alienor L.M., Watson, James E.M. and Possingham, Hugh P. (2018). Poor ecological representation by an expensive reserve system: evaluating 35 years of marine protected area expansion. Conservation Letters, 11 (6) e12584, e12584. doi: 10.1111/conl.12584

Poor ecological representation by an expensive reserve system: evaluating 35 years of marine protected area expansion

2018

Journal Article

Bold nature retention targets are essential for the global environment agenda

Maron, Martine, Simmonds, Jeremy S. and Watson, James E. M. (2018). Bold nature retention targets are essential for the global environment agenda. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2 (8), 1194-1195. doi: 10.1038/s41559-018-0595-2

Bold nature retention targets are essential for the global environment agenda

2018

Journal Article

Climate velocity can inform conservation in a warming world

Brito-Morales, Isaac, García Molinos, Jorge, Schoeman, David S., Burrows, Michael T., Poloczanska, Elvira S., Brown, Christopher J., Ferrier, Simon, Harwood, Tom D., Klein, Carissa J., McDonald-Madden, Eve, Moore, Pippa J., Pandolfi, John M., Watson, James E. M., Wenger, Amelia S. and Richardson, Anthony J. (2018). Climate velocity can inform conservation in a warming world. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 33 (6), 441-457. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2018.03.009

Climate velocity can inform conservation in a warming world

Current funding

  • 2023 - 2025
    Queensland regional planning assessments
    Queensland Conservation Council
    Open grant
  • 2023 - 2025
    Mapping environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks to Australia's mining sector - a tool for responsible investment
    Commonwealth Government Geoscience Australia
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2025
    A critical pathway for Australia's Conservation Future (Ian Potter Foundation grant administered by the University of Melbourne)
    University of Melbourne
    Open grant

Past funding

  • 2023
    Wilderness Inventory Data Review
    Minister for Climate, Environment and Water (South Australia)
    Open grant
  • 2022 - 2023
    Mapping threatened species recovery across Federal electorates
    World Wide Fund for Nature Australia
    Open grant
  • 2021 - 2022
    Climate Change Adaptation Planning for Threatened Species: pilot project
    Australian Capital Territory - Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate - Conservation Research Branch
    Open grant
  • 2021
    Apply Key Biodiversity Criteria to Bush Heritage Priority Landscapes to determine intactness and land condition
    Bush Heritage Australia
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2024
    Linking assessment of global goals for ecosystems and species by coupling WCS and CSIRO capabilities in landscape integrity mapping and biodiversity modelling
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2024
    A conservation metric for business to measure biodiversity
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2024
    Assessing the biotic response to intact forest metrics
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2020 - 2023
    Vibrant Oceans: Applied Coral Reef Conservation
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2021
    KBA mapping for Australia
    Birdlife Australia
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2020
    The ecology and conservation biogeography of the buff-breasted button-quail
    Birds Queensland
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2021
    ACF Key Biodiversity Areas Mapping Project
    Australian Conservation Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2019 - 2023
    Ecosystem risk assessment (ARC Linkage Project administered by The University of New South Wales)
    University of New South Wales
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2021
    Global priorities for terrestrial biodiversity
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2024
    Land clearing assessment on species
    Australian Conservation Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2021
    Identifying Nature's Strongholds
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2019
    Conservation Priority Setting
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2018 - 2019
    Africa Climate Change and Biodiversity - ABCG II
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2018
    Identifying the most important terrestrial wilderness areas on the planet
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2018
    Australia wide analysis for threatened species
    Australian Conservation Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2019
    Intact Forests - Framework Metric
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2018
    SNAPP Compensatory Conservation Working Group
    The Nature Conservancy
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2021
    Macarthur Intact Forests
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2018
    Rapid response to significant unanticipated threat - testing novel feral cat control strategies to support conservation of the endangered alwal/golden-shouldered parrot [...]
    Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2020
    Night Parrot Research, Pullen Pullen Reserve, Qld
    Bush Heritage Australia
    Open grant
  • 2017 - 2019
    Africa Spatial Planning - ABCG II
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2020
    Optimising community-based climate change adaptation in the Pacific Islands
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2021
    GIS support to WCS Indonesia Program's Sulawesi project
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2019
    Intact forests values assessment
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2017
    Provide MARXAN analysis of WCS Papua New Guinea program
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2022
    The capacity of forests to protect regional climate under global warming
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2018
    Assessing biodiversity priorities and carbon values across the Great Eastern Ranges
    Australian Conservation Foundation
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2017
    Africa Biodiversity Consultative Group II
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2021
    Support for Research Assistants
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2018
    The Luc Hoffman Institute Fellow - Pathways for Drivers of Positive Change
    WWF International
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2019
    Planning for the impacts of land-uses on coral reef fisheries
    ARC Linkage Projects
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2017
    Analysis of the public protected area framework in NSW and future opportunities
    UniQuest Pty Ltd
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2020
    Assimilating development objectives in conservation planning
    ARC Discovery Projects
    Open grant
  • 2016 - 2017
    ECO-SMarT
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2017
    Integrating human response to climate change into conservation planning: developing an integrated decision framework
    Research Donation Generic
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2018
    MacArthur Foundation - Lower Mekong
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2019
    `MacArthur Foundation - Portfolio Approach
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2015 - 2018
    MacArthur Foundation - Tanzania - Green Economies
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2021
    NESP Threatened Species Recovery Hub
    National Environmental Science Program
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2015
    Africa Biodiversity Consultative Group
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2015
    Conservation strategy fund - Uganda
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2015
    MacArthur Foundation - Birdlife subgrant - Support WCS's East Africa climate assessment work for Rwanda and Tanzania
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2018
    MacArthur Foundation - West Indian Ocean spatial planning assessment
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2014 - 2015
    U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Eastern DRC spatial planning
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant
  • 2013 - 2016
    Climate adaptation on coral reefs
    Wildlife Conservation Society (USA)
    Open grant

Availability

Professor James Watson is:
Available for supervision

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Supervision history

Current supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Ecology and conservation of the Buff-breasted Button-quail (Turnix olivii)

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Martine Maron

  • Master Philosophy

    Engaging elected representatives and constituencies for biodiversity conservation success

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    The Conservation Biogeography of the Red Goshawk

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Managing grazing in the grasslands of Queenslands Channel Country: a critical refuge for the Critically Endangered Plains Wanderer

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Autecology of an endangered Australian passerine: CarpentarianGrasswren (Amytornis dorotheae)

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Professor Martine Maron

  • Master Philosophy

    Engaging elected representatives and constituencies for biodiversity conservation success

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Classifying and understanding the effectiveness of ecological corridors and their role in wider landscape and seascape integrity

    Principal Advisor

    Other advisors: Associate Professor Carissa Klein

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Biogeography and conservation assessment of the endangered Northern Masked Owl

    Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy

    Megafauna losses and predatory interactions in tropical forests

    Associate Advisor

    Other advisors: Associate Professor Matthew Luskin

Completed supervision

Enquiries

Contact Professor James Watson directly for media enquiries about:

  • biodiversity
  • climate change
  • extinction
  • landclearing
  • landuse planning
  • logging
  • saving species
  • species loss

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