Biodiversity stories
RPS environmental specialists share stories about their work to understand, manage and protect the environment for future generations.
Extended field trip and invaluable experience for RPS ecologist, Jess
Jess Graham is a field ecologist from Newcastle, New South Wales. She was the first employee to take part in a new RPS Global Ecology Mobility Program during the UK spring-summer seasons. From bats to badgers and great crested newts read Jess' story.
In conversation with Jeremy Fitzpatrick, RPS National Lead - Marine Science
From a childhood spent exploring the rockpools of Karratha to documenting marine life in the world's deepest oceans, Jeremy's career has been quite the adventure. Here he shares the story of his life in marine science and love of the sea.
Why understanding pelagic species matters for offshore wind
RPS Marine Scientist Mike Mackie discusses our explorations of the pelagic zone (the largest habitat on earth!) in support of Australia's offshore renewables transition.
On the trail of rare orchids in New South Wales
Occasionally our ecology team's work involves documenting and managing impacts for ultra-rare species. One such plant that we’ve been looking at recently is the endangered terrestrial orchid, Diuris arenaria. More commonly known as ‘Sand Doubletail’, Diuris arenaria exists in a highly restricted zone around the coastal parts of Port Stephens, New South Wales.
RPS specialists making a difference
Writing the story of the Ctenotus monticola skink
When our Ecologists complete surveys in the field, they are usually adding new chapters to an already long story about a particular species’ habitat, behaviour, and health. For RPS environmental scientists Natalie May, Liam Honey, and Monique Palmer, their work in the Atherton Tablelands region of North Queensland is in many ways writing the prologue for Ctenotus monticola - a species of skink only known to science since 1981.
Ecologists at work in the Blue Mountains of NSW
The New South Wales Blue Mountains region is home to some picturesque, yet rugged corners of Australia. While the human population in some of these places may be small, they are home to a wide range of flora and fauna species.
Close encounters between octopus and shark!
This underwater vision was captured as part of the 2020 summer fish surveys for Star of the South.
Seagrass monitoring in the Cockburn Sound
Flanked by the mainland to the east and Garden Island to the west along much of its length, Cockburn Sound is home to extensive seagrass meadows—an ecological community that our Marine Science team is working hard to understand, monitor and protect. Here, the team shares insights from work in the underwater gardens of southern Western Australia (WA).
Sounds of the sea
RPS is providing environmental services and planning expertise to support Australia’s first offshore wind project – Star of the South. This audio of humpback and dwarf minke whale calls was captured as part of our marine ecology survey program!
New techniques for koala population monitoring
RPS Ecologist, Mark Aitkens, is using a combination of contemporary methods to detect and better understand local koala numbers (passive acoustic recordings, detection dogs, DNA analysis and foliar nutritional studies), while RPS Survey Manager, Neil Roberts, is testing how infra-red drone mapping can be used for koala monitoring by the Magnetic Island Koala Hospital.
