Nationalities
- Australian
- Canadian
Current position
Matthew Flinders Professor of Global Ecology, College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia
Education
- Postgraduate Certificate (Veterinary Conservation Medicine): Feb 2004 – Jun 2005, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia
- PhD Zoology, 1995 – 1999, University of Otago, Department of Zoology, Dunedin, New Zealand (thesis)
- MSc Zoology, 1992 – 1994, University of Alberta, Department of Zoology, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- BSc Orientation in Ecology: 1989 – 1992, Université de Montréal, Département de Sciences biologiques, Montréal, Québec, Canada
- International Baccalaureate (Bilingual Diploma): 1987 – 1989, Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Publications
See my full publication list and top Almetric-scoring papers.
Selected Publications:
- UBALDE, J, CJA BRADSHAW, PN LE SOUËF, MA JUDGE. 2025. Climate change policies fail to protect child health. Globalization and Health 21: 47
- MUlÀ , C, CJA BRADSHAW, … G STRONA. 2025. Restoration cannot be scaled up globally to save reefs from loss and degradation. Nature Ecology and Evolution 9: 822
- BRADSHAW, CJA et al. 2024. Small populations of palaeolithic humans in Cyprus hunted endemic megafauna to extinction. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 291:20240967
- BRADSHAW, CJA et al. 2024. Demographic models predict end-Pleistocene arrival and rapid expansion of pre-agropastoralist humans in Cyprus. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 121:e2318293121
- BRADSHAW, CJA et al. 2024. Damage costs from invasive species exceed management expenditure in nations experiencing lower economic activity. Ecological Economics 220: 108166
- SARASWATI, CM, MA JUDGE, LJZ WEEDA, Q BASSAT, N PRTAT, PN LE SOUËF, CJA BRADSHAW 2024. Net benefit of smaller human populations to environmental integrity and individual health and wellbeing. Frontiers in Public Health 12: 1339933
- STRONA, G, CJA BRADSHAW et al. 2023. Time-travelling pathogens and their risk to ecological communities. PLoS Computational Biology 19: e1011268
- BRADSHAW, CJA et al. 2021. Relative demographic susceptibility does not explain the extinction chronology of Sahul’s megafauna. eLife 10:e63870. doi:10.7554/eLife.63870
- BRADSHAW, CJA et al. 2021. Underestimating the challenges of avoiding a ghastly future. Frontiers in Conservation Science 1:615419. doi:10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419
- BRADSHAW, CJA et al. 2021. Stochastic models support rapid peopling of Late Pleistocene Sahul. Nature Communications 12:2440. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-21551-3
- MONACO, CJ, CJA BRADSHAW et al. 2020. Dietary generalism accelerates arrival and persistence of coral-reef fishes in their novel ranges under climate change. Global Change Biology 26:5564-5573. doi:10.1111/gcb.15221
- SALTRÉ, F, … CJA BRADSHAW. 2019. Climate-human interaction associated with southeast Australian megafauna-extinction patterns. Nature Communications 10:5311
- BRADSHAW, CJA et al. 2019. Testing the socio-economic and environmental determinants of better child-health outcomes in Africa: a cross-sectional study among nations. BMJ Open 9:e029968
- BRADSHAW, CJA & E DI MININ. 2019. Socio-economic predators of environmental performance among African nations. Scientific Reports 9:9306
- BRADSHAW, CJA et al. 2019. Minimum founding populations for the first peopling of Sahul. Nature Ecology and Evolution 3:1057-1063
- STRONA, G, CJA BRADSHAW. 2018. Co-extinctions annihilate planetary life during extreme environmental change. Scientific Reports 8:16724
- BRADSHAW, CJA. 2018. The Effective Scientist. A Handy Guide to a Successful Academic Career. Cambridge University Press, United Kingdom. ISBN: 9781316779521
- COURCHAMP, F, CJA BRADSHAW. 2017. 100 articles every ecologist should read. Nature Ecology and Evolution 2:395-401
- HEARD, BP, … , CJA BRADSHAW. 2017. Burden of proof: a comprehensive review of the feasibility of 100% renewable-electricity systems. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 76:1122-1133
- BRADSHAW, CJA, et al. 2016. Massive yet grossly underestimated global costs of invasive insects. Nature Communications 7:12986
- BRADSHAW, CJA & PR EHRLICH. 2015. Killing the Koala and Poisoning the Prairie: Australia, America, and the Environment. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL, USA. ISBN: 9780226316987. 240 p.
- BRADSHAW, CJA & BW BROOK. 2014. Human population reduction is not a quick fix for environmental problems. Proceedings of the National Academy of the USA 111:16610-16615
Citation data
- Total citations to 10/10/2025: 41,685
- Total number of peer-reviewed items published: 368
- Average number citations/article: 112.8
- Current h-index = 99
- Current m-index (h-index ÷ years since 1st paper) = 3.28
- Stanford University Standardised Citation Indicators (as of 15/22/2024) = top 15.9% of top 2% across all fields
Policy influence (also see my Sigma Policy Profile)
- Conservation Finance Options to Support African Post-2020 Biodiversity Priorities (citing: Underestimating the challenges of avoiding a ghastly future, 2021)
- Emission omissions: carbon accounting gaps in the built environment (citing: Global estimates of boreal forest carbon stocks and flux, 2015)
- Safeguarding Biological Diversity (citing: Key role for nuclear energy in global biodiversity conservation, 2015)
- Population 2030: Demographic Challenges and Opportunities for Sustainable Development Planning (citing: Human population reduction is not a quick fix for environmental problems, 2014)
- The IPBES assessment report on land degradation and restoration (citing: Eye on the taiga: removing global policy impediments to safeguard the boreal forest, 2014)
- Freshwater, Fish and the Future (citing: Efficiency of electrofishing in turbid lowland rivers: implications for measuring temporal change in fish populations, 2014)
- Mortality of marine megafauna induced by fisheries: Insights from the whale shark, the world’s largest fish (citing: Inter-ocean asynchrony in whale shark occurrence patterns, 2014)
- Global Environment Outlook – GEO-6: healthy planet, healthy people (citing: Brave new green world – consequences of a carbon economy for the conservation of Australian biodiversity, 2013)
- Animal Justice Party policies compendium 2019; Victorian state of the forests 2018 report; Australia’s state of the forests report 2018; A Review of Indicators and Methods to Assess Biodiversity: Application to Livestock Production at Global Scale (citing: Little left to lose: deforestation and forest degradation in Australia since European colonization, 2012)
- Climate change in Australia (citing: Seaweed communities in retreat from ocean warming, 2011)
- Mortality of marine megafauna induced by fisheries: Insights from the whale shark, the world’s largest fish (citing: Ocean-scale prediction of whale shark distribution, 2011)
- How much biodiversity is in Natura 2000? – EU Law and Publications; (citing: The SAFE index: using a threshold population target to measure relative species threat, 2011)
- How much biodiversity is in Natura 2000? – EU Law and Publications; (citing: Minimum viable population size: not magic, but necessary, 2011)
- The Net Effect of Concessions on Forest Loss: Quasi-Experimental Evidence from Mexico; Sustainable Forestry for Food Security and Nutrition. A Report by the High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition of the Committee on World Food Security; Forest Ecology and Management. Science to Sustain the World’s Forests; High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) Report on Sustainable Forestry for Food Security and Nutrition (citing: Primary forests are irreplaceable for sustaining tropical biodiversity, 2011)
- Annotated Bibliography: Transparency, Accountability, and Participation Along the Natural Resource Value Chain; Enhancing the Tax System to Halt the Decline of Nature in New Zealand; Air Quality and Seasonal Variations in Consultations for Respiratory, Allergic, Dermatological and Gastrointestinal Diseases in Bahrain, 2007 (citing: Evaluating the relative environmental impact of countries, 2010)
- Study on investigating options for different compliance systems for PEF and OEF declarations – EU Law and Publications; Palm oil in Australia: facts, issues and challenges (citing: Improving the performance of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil for nature conservation, 2010)
- How much biodiversity is in Natura 2000? – EU Law and Publications (citing: Pragmatic population viability targets in a rapidly changing world, 2010)
- Protecting Canadian Ecosystems Against Invasive Foreign Species (citing: Causes and consequences of species extinctions, 2009)
- Rapport: “Risks and benefits of telemetry techniques in investigating harbour seal and wind generator construction interactions”; Risks and benefits of telemetry (Engelstalig) – Rapport – Rijksoverheid.nl (citing: Tracking and data–logging devices attached to elephant seals do not affect individual mass gain or survival, 2008)
- Island invasives : scaling up to meet the challenge; Climate change adaptation strategies for Australian birds; Climate change refugia for terrestrial biodiversity; Research priorities for the environment, agriculture and infectious diseases of poverty: technical report of the TDR Thematic Reference Group on Environment, Agriculture and Infectious Diseases of Poverty; The viability of wildlife enterprises in remote Indigenous communities of Australia (citing: Synergies among extinction drivers under global change, 2008)
- Recovery plan for marine turtles in Australia (citing: Flexible inter-nesting behaviour of generalist olive ridley turtles in Australia, 2008)
- The IPBES assessment report on land degradation and restoration; Pakistan : Getting More from Water; Sustainable Forestry for Food Security and Nutrition; High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition (HLPE) Report on Sustainable Forestry for Food Security and Nutrition; Study on soil and water in a changing environment – EU Law and Publications; How Much is the Amazon Worth? The State of Knowledge Concerning the Value of Preserving Amazon Rainforests; Research priorities for the environment, agriculture and infectious diseases of poverty: technical report of the TDR Thematic Reference Group on Environment, Agriculture and Infectious Diseases of Poverty; Ecosystem Services and Green Growth (citing: Global evidence that deforestation amplifies flood risk and severity in the developing world, 2007)
- Designing landscapes for biodiversity under climate change (citing: Minimum viable population size: a meta-analysis of 30 years of published estimates, 2007)
- Approaches to Understanding the Cumulative Effects of Stressors on Marine Mammals (citing: Complex interplay between intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of long-term survival trends in southern elephant seals, 2007)
- Recovery plan for marine turtles in Australia (citing: Satellite tracking reveals unusual diving characteristics for a marine reptile, the olive ridley turtle Lepidochelys olivacea, 2007)
- The impacts and management implications of climate change for the Australian Government’s protected areas – discussion paper (citing: Environmental and allometric drivers of tree growth rates in a north Australian savanna, 2006)
- Bruinvisbeschermingsplan (‘Conservation plan for the Harbour Porpoise Phocoena phocoena in The Netherlands: towards a favourable conservation status’) – Rapport – Rijksoverheid.nl (citing: Mass cetacean strandings – a plea for empiricism, 2006)
- Adapting to change: the state of conservation of World Heritage forests in 2011 (citing: Momentum drives the crash: mass extinction in the tropics, 2006)
- Implications of Climate Change for Australian Fisheries and Aquaculture: A Preliminary Assessment (citing: Periodic variability in cetacean strandings: links to large-scale climate events, 2005)
- The impacts and management implications of climate change for the Australian Government’s protected areas – discussion paper (citing: Population status, trends and a re-examination of the hypotheses explaining the recent declines of the southern elephant seal Mirounga leonina, 2005)
- Approaches to Understanding the Cumulative Effects of Stressors on Marine Mammals (citing: Blubber and buoyancy: monitoring the body condition of free-ranging seals using simple dive characteristics, 2003)
- Marine Mammal Populations and Ocean Noise: Determining When Noise Causes Biologically Significant Effects (citing: Expectations for population growth at new breeding locations for the vulnerable New Zealand sea lion (Phocarctos hookeri) using a simulation model, 2003)
Employment history
- Sir Hubert Wilkins Chair of Climate Change (Professor): School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia (Jan 2015 – Jan 2017)
- Professor and Director of Ecological Modelling, The Environment Institute, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia (Jan 2012 – Dec 2014)
- Senior Scientist (co-appointment), South Australian Research and Development Institute, Australia (Mar 2008 – Dec 2011)
- Associate Professor, The Environment Institute and School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Adelaide, Australia (Mar 2008 – Dec 2009)
- Principal Research Fellow, School for Environmental Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia (Jul 2007 – Feb 2008 )
- Senior Research Fellow, School for Environmental Research, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia (Jan 2005 – Jun 2007 )
- Australian Academy of Science Visiting Research Fellow, Department of Biological Sciences, Institute of Environmental Sustainability, University of Wales Swansea, Swansea, United Kingdom (Jan – Mar 2006)
- Senior Research Fellow, Key Centre for Tropical Wildlife Management, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia (Apr 2004 – Dec 2004)
- ARC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Antarctic Wildlife Research Unit, School of Zoology, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia (Jul 1999 – Apr 2004)
Grants, fellowships, awards
- 2024 Stanford Elsevier World’s Top 2% Scientists
- 2023 Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Research Excellence, Flinders University
- 2022 Finalist, Scientist of the Year, South Australian Science Excellence and Innovation Awards
- 2021 High-Performance Computing User Forum Innovation Award
- 2021 Reuters Hot List of Top Climate Scientists
- Linkage Project Grant, Australian Research Council, 2022-2025, $770K
- Healthy Environments And Lives (HEAL) — National Research Network on Human Health and Environmental Change. National Health and Medical Research Council. Special Initiative in Human Health and Environmental Change, 2021-2024, $5M
- European Union, The Research & Innovation Foundation Programmes for Research, Technological Development & Innovation, 2021-2023, $190K
- Commonwealth Citizen Science Grant, Commonwealth Government Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, 2021-2023, $484K
- Visiting International Research Fellowship Grant, Flinders University, 2018
- Verco Medal, Royal Society of South Australia (2017)
- Bellagio Fellow, Rockefeller Foundation, Villa Serbelloni, Bellagio, Italy, Apr-May 2017
- Discovery Project Grant, Australian Research Council, 2017-2019, $374.5K
- 2017 Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (Chief Investigator), Australian Research Council, 2017-2023, $45.7M
- 2017 World Population and Child Health Research Workshop: modelling the effects of population growth and environmental change on child health. University of Western Australia, Research Collaboration Award ($26K)
- 2015 Visiting Fellowship, Laboratoire Ecologie, Systématique et Evolution, Université Paris-Sud, Orsay, France (€12K)
- 2013 Visiting Fellowship, Fudan University, Shanghai, China (CN¥80K)
- Mid-Career Research Excellence Award, Faculty of Sciences, The University of Adelaide, 2012
- Discovery Project Grant, Australian Research Council, 2013-2015, $515K
- Linkage Project Grant, Australian Research Council, 2012-2015, $245K
- Future Fellow Level 3, Australian Research Council, 2011-2015, $857K
- Discovery Project Grant, Australian Research Council, 2012-2014, $510K
- Linkage Project Grant, Australian Research Council, 2012-2014, $290K
- Linkage Project Grant, Australian Research Council, 2011-2013, $405K
- Linkage, Infrastructure, Equipment & Facilities (LEIF) Grant, Australian Research Council, 2011, $430K
- Australian Centre for Ecological Analysis & Synthesis (ACEAS), Working Group Grant, 2011, $50K
- Super Science Fellowships, Australian Research Council, 2011-2014, AU$530K
- 2010 Australian Ecology Research Award, Ecological Society of Australia
- 2010 Scopus Young Researcher of the Year (Life Science and Biological Science Category), Universities Australia/Elsevier/Scopus
- South Australian Premier’s Science and Research Fund, TRansect for ENvironmental monitoring and Decision making (TREND): adaptive management of productive and native systems for climate change 2010-2012, AU$1.35M
- Australian Academy of Science International Science Linkages-Science Academies fellowship to China 2010
- HG Andrewartha Medal, Royal Society of South Australia 2009
- Young Tall Poppy Science Award recipient, Australian Institute of Policy & Science 2008
- Linkage Project Grant, Australian Research Council, 2009-2013, AU$425K
- ARC-NZ Research Network for Vegetation Function, 2009, ~AU$25K
- ZoNéCo Fisheries Grant, Zone Économique de la Nouvelle Calédonie, 2008-2009, AU$100K
- Discovery Project Grant, Australian Research Council, 2008-2010, AU$315K
- CDU Project Grant, Charles Darwin University (CI Field), 2007-2008, AU$8K
- CDU Project Grant, Charles Darwin University (CI Lehmann), 2007-2008, AU$8K
- Australian Antarctic Science Grant, Australian Antarctic Division, 2008, AU$14K
- Western Australia Department of Environment and Conservation Grant (Australia), 2008, AU$35K
- Department of Environment and Water Resources Grant (Australia), 2008, AU$45K
- Department of Environment and Water Resources Grant (Australia), 2008, AU$55K
- Department of Environment and Water Resources Grant (Australia), 2008, AU$28K
- Linkage Project Grant, Australian Research Council, 2006-2009, AU$265K
- Marine Species Recovery and Protection Program Grant, Natural Heritage Trust of Australia, Department of Environment and Heritage, 2008, AU$55K
- Linkage Project Grant, Australian Research Council, 2006-2008, AU$638K
- Linkage Project Grant, Australian Research Council, 2006-2008, AU$221K
- Scientific Visiting Fellow (UK), Australian Academy of Science, 2004, AU$11K
- Agile Wallaby Management Tender, Darwin City Council, 2005, AU$29K
- Research Excellence Grant, Faculty of Science, Engineering & Technology, University of Tasmania, 2003, AU$5K
- Discovery Project Grant, Australian Research Council (ARC), 1-year research funding, AU$45K
- Large Grant, Australian Research Council (ARC), 3-year research funding, AU$117K
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Australian Research Council, for tenure at University of Tasmania, $165K
- Research Grant, Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation Inc., Queensland, 2000, AU$55K
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Natural Sciences & Engineering Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Canada (for tenure at University of Tasmania), 2000, AU$40K
Memberships
- Kangaroo Island Feral Pig Technical Advisory Committee, Biosecurity, South Australia Department of Primary Industries and Regions (2024 – )
- South Australia Major Research and Technology Infrastructure Steering Group, Office of the Chief Scientist of South Australia (2022 – 2023)
- Specialty Chief Editor, Frontiers in Conservation Science (2020 – 2021)
- Appointed to the Australian Research Council College of Experts (2019-2023)
- Appointed Head of Faculty for the Ecology Section of the Faculty of 1000 (2019 – 2023)
- Member of the Ecology, Evolution, and Behaviour Assessment Panel, Marsden Fund, Royal Society of New Zealand (2018 – 2019)
- Sustainability Advisory Committee Member, Flinders University (2017 – )
- Founding member, Future Child Health (2017– )
- Science Committee Member, Nature Foundation (SA) (2017 – 2018)
- Board Member of Bright New World (2016 – )
- Leading Member of the Alliance of Leading Environmental Researchers & Thinkers (ALERT) (2013 – )
- Faculty of 1000 Member & Advisor for F1000Research (2013 – )
- Indianapolis Prize (Animal Conservation) Jury Member (2014)
- Fellow of the Royal Society of South Australia (2008 – )
- Editor, Ecology Letters (2012 – 2018)
- Editor, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment (2011 – 2014)
- Senior Editor, Conservation Letters (2007 – 2010)
- In Focus Editor, Journal of Animal Ecology, British Ecological Society (2007 – 2014)
- Associate Editor, Journal of Animal Ecology, British Ecological Society (2005 – 2013)
- Former Theme Member, Biodiversity & Resources, Adaptation Research Network, NCCARF Marine Biodiversity and Resources
- Former Member Thematic Reference Group (TRG) on Environment, Agriculture and Infectious Diseases, UNICEF/UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) (2008 – 2011)
- Member of Ecological Society of Australia (2010 – )
- Former Member of IUCN Species Survival Commission Crocodile Specialist Group (2006 – 2008)
- Member of the Society for Conservation Biology (2006 – )
Reviewing
- Scientific reviewer for ~ 70 scientific journals.
- Reviewer/Assessor for Natural Environment Research Council (UK), Marsden Fund (NZ), Australian Research Council, National Science Foundation (USA), Research Council of Norway
Language proficiency
- Fluency in spoken & written English and French
- Intermediate spoken & written Italian & Spanish
- Basic Greek
ConservationBytes.com 
[…] that the exposure outside of academia is a good thing in its own right. Yes, I’ve had some policy successes from my work, and I would like to think that I’ve changed a few minds in the right […]
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