Ayesha Tulloch

I am a conservation decision scientist interested in building strong knowledge and tools to address the world’s most pressing challenges of recovering biodiversity whilst maintaining human well-being in human-modified landscapes. It is important to me that my research is applicable and accessible to agencies and organisations that make conservation decisions, and I draw on a wide range of skills, techniques and professional experience to address real questions related to monitoring and managing species and ecosystems to try to address the global biodiversity crisis we are currently facing.

I am building a team of researchers at the Queensland University of Technology interested in developing resilient agri-food supply chain interventions that can benefit biodiversity and people. Biodiversity is still not routinely included in mainstream decision-making and continues to decline at the highest rate in human history. Added to this is the problem that both natural and agri-food systems are changing, with climate change likely to increase the impacts of extreme events like drought, floods and fire. My goal is to build approaches and tools that predict the effectiveness of different interventions in agri-food systems (e.g. pollinator and soil conservation initiatives), and learn how we can best manage dynamic production and consumption systems to have the best outcomes for people and for nature. Please contact me if you are interested in working with me on this!

I am a strong supporter of diversity and inclusion and believe that everyone has their own unique path to follow and should be helped through that journey, wherever it takes them. I am a proud member of the LGBTQIA+ community and Queers in Science, a national initiative to support LGBTQIA+ people in STEMM.

I followed a non-traditional path to academia after completing my Honours degree investigating the ecology of eastern pygmy possums with Chris Dickman at the University of Sydney in 2001. My path took me to eight years outside academia, working in jobs across Australia and Canada, ranging from zookeeping to tourism and hospitality (including managing the best bakery in the Canadian Rockies) to education and project management for Greening Australia. This time away from academia was important to me and helped me progress in my journey of finding out who I was, who I wanted to be, and how I might get there. I encourage everyone to not be afraid of getting outside of the academic bubble and learn about themselves as well as how the real world works!

I completed my PhD at the University of Queensland’s School of Biological Science supervised by the inspiring team of Hugh Possingham, Kerrie Wilson and Tara Martin. I worked on cost-effective and efficient resource allocation and decision-making processes for monitoring and managing threats to biodiversity. I was privileged to work with the large-scale restoration initiative Gondwana Link in the south-western biodiversity hotspot of Australia.

I’ve always been keen to work on applied problems in conservation. My postdoctoral research started with the National Environmental Program’s Environmental Decisions Hub at the University of Queensland, working on how to account for uncertainty and risk in conservation decisions. I co-developed new metrics for measuring and reporting on how ecosystems and species have been impacted by fire and by vegetation clearing and fragmentation. I took up a position with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Environmental Decisions at the Australian National University, to return to ecological work and progress research into optimal monitoring and management of animal communities.

I work with government and non-government environment and conservation agencies in Australia, Africa, New Zealand, U.S.A. and the U.K., to develop frameworks and tools for prioritising investment in managing biodiversity in terrestrial landscapes. In my  joint position with the Wildlife Conservation Society and the University of Queensland I conducted land use planning to protect human livelihoods and biodiversity in central Africa and Madagascar, as part of a large collaboration between the major African conservation NGOs including the African Wildlife Foundation, World Resources Institute and Wildlife Conservation Society and funded by USAID. A key component of this work was developing and delivering training workshops to practitioners and government employees in conservation planning and decision-making tools.

Just another day at work in Gidyea woodland of the Simpson Desert

I was excited to start an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) in 2017, titled “Forecasting ecosystem collapse and recovery by tracking networks of species” in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney. My research explored how to measure and track change in dynamic arid ecosystems,  collaborating with the amazing Desert Ecology Research Group. I had the privilege of working with wonderful practitioners from Bush Heritage Australia in central Australia on Wangkamadla country, an inspiring place to work!

At the end of 2021 I started my Australian Research Council Future Fellowship back in Brisbane at the Queensland University of Technology.

My life is much more than collecting and analysing data! I love to travel and explore the world. I can generally be found somewhere outdoors paddleboarding the beautiful Moreton Bay or hiking, or hanging with my dog Chilli (the best dog in the world).

Please contact me by email:
Ayesha.Tulloch(at)qut.edu.au

Ayesha Tulloch | ARC Future Fellow
Queensland University of Technology
School of Biology and Environmental Science
P-Block, Gardens Point | QUT | Queensland| Australia