David Cleland Paton | |
---|---|
Occupation(s) | Conservation ecologist, ornithologist, academic, and author |
Relatives | Joan Paton, mother John Burton Cleland, grandfather |
Awards | SA Great Award for the Environment, South Australian Government Premiers Science Excellence Award, South Australian Government Member of the Order of Australia (AM), Commonwealth of Australia D.L. Seventy Medal, BirdLife Australia |
Academic background | |
Education | B.Sc. (Hons) and Ph.D. |
Alma mater | University of Adelaide Monash University |
Academic work | |
Institutions | University of Adelaide Bio-R |
David Cleland Paton AM is a conservation ecologist,ornithologist,academic,and author. He is an Adjunct Associate Professor of the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Adelaide and Director of Bio-R,which is an Adelaide-based nonprofit organization. He also co-founded the non-profit organization,Arid Recovery. [1]
Paton is most known for his work on avian ecology and conservation biology,his research on Kangaroo Island and the Coorong,and his contributions to the understanding of the natural systems in Australia for their sustainable management. [2] He is the author of books,At the End of the River:The Coorong and Lower Lakes, [3] and Overview of Feral and Managed Honeybees in Australia:Distribution,Abundance,Extent of Interactions with Native Biota,Evidence of Impacts and Future Research. [1]
Paton is a Member of the Order of Australia (AM), [4] and is an Honorary Life Member of the South Australian Ornithological Association,and Birdlife Australia. [5]
Paton earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Adelaide in 1975,and completed his Ph.D. at Monash University in 1980. [1]
Paton began his academic career at the University of California as a Research Biologist in 1979. In 1981,he was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Fellowship and spent two years conducting research at the Australian Museum before becoming a Senior Teaching Fellow in the Department of Zoology at the University of Adelaide from 1983 until 1986. He then held various research appointments in the Department of Zoology at the University of Adelaide between 1987 and 1996. Subsequently,he joined the Department of Environmental Biology at University of Adelaide as a Lecturer in 1997,and was appointed a Senior Lecturer in 2000. [6] Having served at that position till 2003,he held an appointment as an associate professor in the School of Earth and Environmental Science there from 2003 till 2019,when he retired. [7] Since 2020,he has been serving as an Adjunct Associate Professor of the School of Biological Sciences in the Faculty of Sciences,Engineering,and Technology at the University of Adelaide. [8]
He managed the Flinders-Baudin (Field) Research Centre on Kangaroo Island for the University of Adelaide from 2000,until the facility was destroyed by wildfire in January 2020. [9]
Paton was a co-founder of the non-profit organization,Arid Recovery,which works for the sustainable restoration of arid ecosystems and the conservation of threatened species in Australia,and served as a board member from 2009 to 2013. [10] He also co-founded Bio-R,and has been directing restoration programs,and revegetation works in Southern Australia since 2008. [11]
Paton's research works have received numerous awards,such as the D.L. Seventy Medal,Member of the Order of Australia,and South Australian Premier's Science Excellence Award. His research spans the fields of ecology,conservation biology,ecosystem restoration,and conservation,with a particular focus on understanding,and managing the natural systems of South Australia. [12]
Paton's early research provided the initial evidence that birds,particularly honeyeaters, [13] are efficient pollinators of many of the dominant plant genera in temperate Australia. [14] From the 1970s to the 1990s,his research included detailed field observations combined with small-scale experimental treatments that focused on testing and quantifying various aspects of plant-animal interactions. He investigated the ecology and behavior of the New Holland Honeyeater [15] documenting their diet, [16] breeding schedules,territoriality,population structure and competitive interactions with other honeyeaters. [17] His research also demonstrated how the ecology of many honeyeaters depends on carbohydrates (sugars) with a chemical structure similar to nectar,such as manna,honeydew,and lerp. [18]
Paton's research on the interactions between honeybees and Australian biota highlighted that,while honeybees were thought to be beneficial for the Australian environment because they may aid in the pollination of native plants,they can displace native pollinators and not contribute to pollination. He indicated how the interactions between honeybees,and biota are rather complex,both spatially and temporally. [19] Later,he and Thomas Celebrezze investigated the effect of introducing honeybees on the pollination of bird-adapted Australian plants,reporting that,while honeybees were significantly more frequent visitors to flowers,native birds played an important role in maximizing fruit set. [20]
Paton has contributed to the study and management of Australia's natural environment for decades,and is known for his research work on Kangaroo Island and the Coorong,with a particular emphasis on managing and protecting ecosystems. [11] [21]
Paton established and has maintained long-term monitoring initiatives since the 1990s in order to record trends,educate the public,and support local efforts intended to deliver quantifiable biodiversity outcomes. This includes monitoring woodland birds and their habitats in the Mt Lofty region,and biota using mallee-heaths in South Australia. One of the significant long-term programs includes monitoring waterbirds in the Coorong and a key aquatic plant Ruppia tuberosa in the Coorong. He highlighted the progressive loss of this plant species,which is considered critical to the Coorong's ecology,i.e.,as a food source for waterbirds and a habitat for invertebrates and fish in the Coorong. [22] [23] The findings also emphasized that declining flows to the Murray Mouth in spring was a crucial issue that must be addressed since the reduced flows restrict the time available for these plants to establish,grow,and reproduce. As part of the Coorong monitoring program,recent investigations showed how filamentous green algae affected seed production of Ruppia tuberosa as well as access to food for waterbirds. [24]
Paton's long-term research and monitoring have highlighted the ongoing declines of woodland birds in the Mt. Lofty region of South Australia and the need for large-scale habitat re-establishment to prevent these declines. [25] This has resulted in an increased emphasis on how to re-establish self-sustaining and resilient woodland habitats on land cleared for agriculture at landscape scales to help meet the needs of declining species. These revegetation projects are largely managed through Bio-R and include restoring native vegetation to Cygnet Park on Kangaroo Island [26] and to Frahns Farm,near Monarto,South Australia. [27] [28]
Paton's mother was ornithologist Joan Paton (1916–2000). His grandfather was naturalist and microbiologist John Burton Cleland (1878–1971). [32]
A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains.
Lake Alexandrina is a coastal freshwater lake located between the Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island and Murray and Mallee regions of South Australia,about 100 kilometres (62 mi) south-east of Adelaide. The lake adjoins the smaller Lake Albert and a coastal lagoon called The Coorong to its southeast,before draining into the Great Australian Bight via a short,narrow opening known as Murray Mouth.
The red wattlebird is a passerine bird native to southern Australia. At 33–37 cm in length,it is the second largest species of Australian honeyeater. It has mainly grey-brown plumage,with red eyes,distinctive pinkish-red wattles on either side of the neck,white streaks on the chest and a large bright yellow patch on the lower belly. The sexes are similar in plumage. Juveniles have less prominent wattles and browner eyes. John White described the red wattlebird in 1790. Three subspecies are recognized.
The New Holland honeyeater is a honeyeater species found throughout southern Australia. It was among the first birds to be scientifically described in Australia,and was initially named Certhia novaehollandiae.
The white-plumed honeyeater is a small passerine bird endemic to Australia. White-plumed honeyeaters are common around water and are often seen in backyards and suburbs with vegetation cover.
Dr Hugh Alastair Ford is an Australian ornithologist.
Calothamnus quadrifidus,commonly known as one-sided bottlebrush,is a plant in the myrtle family,Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The common name alludes to the arrangement of the flowers in the inflorescence which line up on one side of the stem. It is a shrub with grey-green,pine-like foliage covered with soft hairs and red,four-part flowers in spring. Widely cultivated because of its attractive foliage,colourful,unusual and prolific flowers,it grows in a variety of habitats and soils. In 2010,Alex George published a review of the species based on recent research and described a number of new subspecies.
Grevillea mucronulata,also known as green spider flower or green grevillea,is a species of flowering plant of the family Proteaceae and is endemic to New South Wales in Australia. Described by Robert Brown in 1810,it is found in open sclerophyll forest or woodland around the Sydney region and New South Wales south coast. It grows as a small bush to 3 m (9.8 ft) high and wide,with variable foliage and greenish flowers that appear over the cooler months from May to October. The flowers are attractive to birds.
The spiny-cheeked honeyeater is the only species in the genus Acanthagenys. It is large for a honeyeater,ranging from 22 to 27 centimeters tall and weighing around 52 grams. The birds are sociable,aggressive,and often observed foraging in large flocks.
The crescent honeyeater is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to southeastern Australia. A member of the genus Phylidonyris,it is most closely related to the common New Holland honeyeater and the white-cheeked honeyeater. Two subspecies are recognized,with P. p. halmaturinus restricted in range to Kangaroo Island and the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia.
The purple-gaped honeyeater is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to semi-arid southern Australia,where it inhabits mallee,tall heath and associated low eucalypt woodland.
Macropidia fuliginosa,the sole species of genus Macropidia,is a perennial rhizomatous flowering plant. A relation of the kangaroo paws,Anigozanthus,which are also endemic to Southwest Australia,it is referred to as the black kangaroo paw. Bearing unusual black and green flowers,it occurs on a coastal plain from Perth to Geraldton.
Clayton Bay is a town in South Australia located on Lake Alexandrina and Lower Murray River,part of the lower lakes and Coorong region at the end of the Murray River System. The town is located north of the north-east tip of Hindmarsh Island about 87 kilometres (54 mi) from Adelaide and 30.7 kilometres (19 mi) by road from Goolwa.
The Environment Institute at the University of Adelaide brings together research groups in fields of science,engineering and economics relating to the management and use of natural resources and infrastructure. Research undertaken within the Institute aims to contribute to improvements in the management of natural resources including water,soil,land and native flora and fauna,particularly under changing climate and economic conditions. It was launched on the eve of World Environment Day,4 June 2009.
The Paroo-Darling National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Far West region of New South Wales,in eastern Australia. The 178,053-hectare (439,980-acre) national park spans two distinct regions in the outback area. This region covers the arid catchments of the Paroo River and the Paroo-Darling confluence to the south.
Gum Lagoon Conservation Park is an 8765 ha protected area about 40 km south-west of Keith in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia. It lies about 20 km inland from the southern end of the Coorong. It contains an isolated block of mallee woodland important for malleefowl conservation.
The Watervalley Wetlands is a nationally important wetland system located in the Australian state of South Australia which consists of a series of contiguous wetlands,lying on 56.6 square kilometres (21.9 sq mi) of private land between the Coorong National Park and Gum Lagoon Conservation Park,in the state's south-east.
Ferries McDonald Conservation Park is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located in the gazetted locality of Monarto South about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south-west of Murray Bridge. It covers an area of 845 hectares and provides a habitat for a range of native and endangered species. It is one of a number of protected patches of remnant mallee bushland within the region. Conservation organisations are now attempting to restore and connect these patches of the fragmented Murray plains in an attempt to heighten the prospects of various rare and endangered species.
Peter Menkhorst is an Australian ecologist and an authority on Australian mammals and birds. He is experienced in wildlife management,including management of over-abundant Koalas,and in threatened species recovery;he has developed recovery plans and led recovery teams for a number of species including the Orange-bellied Parrot;Helmeted Honeyeater,Regent Honeyeater,Mountain Pygmy Possum and Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby. Menkhorst is also a natural history author and recently co-authored The Australian Bird Guide.
Pollen theft,also known as pollen robbery or floral larceny,occurs when an animal actively eats or collects pollen from a plant species but provides little or no pollination in return. Pollen theft was named as a concept at least as early as the 1980,and examples have been documented well before that. For example,native honey bees were documented 'stealing' large amounts of pollen from the large,bat-pollinated flowers of Parkia clappertoniana in Ghana in the 1950s. Nevertheless,pollen theft has typically received far less research attention than nectar robbing,despite the more direct consequences on plant reproduction.
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