Wildlife Conservation experts
As the environmental challenges on our planet grow, wildlife face increasing challenges to survive. Western Australia has one of the highest extinction rates on the planet. Our precious plants and animals are fighting human overpopulation, deforestation, climate change, pollution and disease, but scientists at Murdoch University are at the forefront of trying to conserve wildlife species.
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Associate Professor David NewsomeNatural area tourism and geotourismAssociate Professor David Newsome is an Associate Professor in the School of Environmental Science. His teaching and research interests span many areas of natural area tourism including wildlife tourism, the biophysical impacts of recreation in protected areas, evaluation of the quality of ecotourism operations, sustainable trail management and geotourism. David has experience of ecotourism development in Southeast Asia and was an invited speaker and advisor at the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity Regional Training on Ecotourism Workshop for Protected Area Managers in Malaysia in 2009. David is the lead author of two books Natural Area Tourism: ecology, impacts and management and Wildlife Tourism, and co-editor of three books on geotourism. Current projects include building relationships between China and Australia in relation to geotourism development and the protection of geoheritage. |
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Associate Professor Sue MooreProtected area management especially visitor management and governance; nature based tourism; perceptions of biodiversity and associated policies An international expert in protected area management and tourism, Associate Professor Moore is involved in a national project investigating how partnerships between the tourism industry and protected area managers contribute to the sustainability of these areas. She is also investigating the community’s understanding of how forest thinning is used to increase the water available for urban usage. As leader of the Nature Tourism Research Group at Murdoch University, Professor Moore has studied many national parks in Australia and overseas and continues to work with park agencies and the tourism industry to improve the sustainability of these important areas. She has published over 100 articles and books, including the best selling Natural Area Tourism: Ecology, Impacts and Management, and Wildlife Tourism. |
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Emeritus Associate Professor Jim MacbethEthics, sustainability and the Utopian tourist With a background in the social sciences, Prof Jim Macbeth’s tourism expertise lies in policy and planning issues, tourists themselves (motivation, impacts) and sustainable tourism (impacts, community, environment). His work has also embraced tourism ethics and protected areas within the general rubric of ecotourism.Besides national projects, Prof Macbeth has been involved in WA research related to Rottnest, Fremantle, Ningaloo, the Great Southern and national parks. Prof Macbeth has written articles for Australian and international journals and has entries in the Historical Encyclopedia of Western Australia, in addition to an historical chapter on tourism in the book Voices from the West End (of Fremantle). He is a member of Murdoch’s Nature Tourism Research Group. |
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Dr Kris WarrenConservation medicine An expert in wildlife, avian and exotic pet medicine, Dr Kris Warren is a senior lecturer and program chair in conservation medicine at Murdoch University. She has worked as a veterinarian and researcher on an orang-utan re-introduction project in East Kalimantan, and conducted molecular research into infectious diseases and population genetics of Borneo orang-utans. Dr Warren is currently developing recovery initiatives for endangered species. |
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Dr Hugh FinnWildlife conservation, conservation biology Dr Hugh Finn is a post-doctoral fellow at Murdoch University research focus on black-cockatoos and bottlenose dolphins. He became involved with dolphins in the Swan River through his PhD research in Cockburn Sound and the Swan River from 2000-3. He is also involved with Dolphin Watch, a collaborative project with the Swan River Trust and Curtin University in which community volunteers record observations of dolphins within the Swan Canning Riverpark. His current research is examining the ecology of black-cockatoos in the Jarrah Forest and the Swan Coastal Plain. |
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Associate Professor Lars BejderCetaceans (whales and dolphins) He works closely with wildlife management agencies to optimise the conservation- and management outcomes of his research. He has advised on human impacts on cetaceans to the US Marine Mammal Commission, the US National Marine Fisheries Service, the International Whaling Commission, the Australian Federal Government, the Western Australian Department of Environment and Conservation and the New Zealand Department of Conservation. |
To reach these experts for media enquiries, contact:
| Rob Payne Media & Communications Coordinator Phone: 08 9360 2491 r.payne@murdoch.edu.au |
Candice Barnes Media & Communications Coordinator Phone: 08 9360 2474 c.barnes@murdoch.edu.au |
Pepi Smyth Media & Communications Coordinator Phone: 08 9360 1289 p.smyth@murdoch.edu.au |
For all other enquiries, please ring reception on 08 9360 6000.
