James Watson wrote an essay for Time Magazine's Issues issue. Read the full article here
Venter, O., Sanderson, E.W., Magrach, A., Allan, J.R., Beher, J., Jones, K.R., Possingham, H.P., Wood, P., Fekete, B.M., Levy, M.A. and J.E.M Waston (2016). Sixteen years of change in the global terrestrial human footprint and implications for biodiversity conservation. Nature Communications, 7: 1- 11. Human pressures on the environment are changing spatially and temporally, with profound implications for the planet’s biodiversity and human economies. Here we use recently available data on infrastructure, land cover and human access into natural areas to construct a globally standardized measure of the cumulative human footprint on the terrestrial environment at 1 km2 resolution from 1993 to
Have you ever had that epiphany where you realise that you got into conservation science because you love nature, yet you can’t remember the last time that you actually set foot in a forest? If this sounds like you, our lab has the perfect solution – roll up your sleeves and get active with local conservation groups who are working on the ground to conserve nature. We recently teamed up with Moore Park Bush Care and the Australian Conservation Society to undertake some re-vegetation in Indooroopilly. Upon arrival we were introduced to the leader of the local Bush Care group, Des, and instructed on how to effectively apply bug spray to fend off the midges (apparently you only need to spray ar
Bland, L.M., Bielby, J., Kearney, S., Orme, C.D.L., Watson, J.E.M. and B. Collen (2016). Towards reassessing data-deficient species. Conservation Biology. DOI: 10.1111/cobi.12850 One in six species (13,465 spp.) on the IUCN Red List are currently classified as Data Deficient due to lack of information on their taxonomy, population status or impact of threats. Despite the chance that many are at high risk of extinction, Data Deficient species are typically excluded from global and local conservation priorities as well as funding schemes. The number of Data Deficient species will greatly increase as the Red List becomes more inclusive of poorly known and speciose groups. A strategic approach i
Chapman, S., J. E. M. Watson, and C. A. McAlpine. 2016. Large seasonal and diurnal anthropogenic heat flux across four Australian cities. Journal of Southern Hemisphere Earth Systems Science 66:342-360. Anthropogenic heat release is a key component of the urban heat island. However, it is often excluded from studies of the urban heat island because reliable estimates are not available. This omission is important because anthropogenic heat can contribute up to 4ºC to the urban heat island, and increases heat stress to urban residents. The exclusion of anthropogenic heat means the urban heat island effect on temperatures may be under-estimated. Here we estimate anthropogenic heat for four Aust