William Laurance is a Distinguished Research Professor at James Cook University in Cairns, Australia, and holds an Australian Laureate Fellowship, one of Australia’s highest scientific awards. He also holds the Prince Bernhard Chair in International Nature Conservation at Utrecht University, Netherlands. 

Laurance received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989.  His research focuses on the impacts of intensive land-uses, such as habitat fragmentation, logging, hunting and wildfires, on tropical forests and their biodiversity.  He is also interested in protected areas, climatic change, the impacts of roads and other infrastructure on biodiversity, and conservation policy.  His research over the past 35 years spans the tropical world, including the Amazon, Africa and Asia-Pacific regions.  To date he has published eight books and over 700 scientific and popular articles. 

A leading voice for conservation, Laurance believes that scientists must actively engage policy makers and the general public, as well as other scientists.  He is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and former president of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. 

Laurance has received many scientific honors including the BBVA Frontiers in Ecology and Conservation Biology Award, a Distinguished Service Award from the Society for Conservation Biology, and the Heineken Environment Prize.  He is also founder and director of ALERT—the Alliance of Leading Environmental Researchers & Thinkers, a group that advocates for environmental sustainability.

Research Disciplines

• Environmental management (4104)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• environmental management (1899)

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Correa D, Stevenson P, Umaña M, Coelho L, Filho D, Salomão R, Leão do Amaral I, Wittmann F, de Almeida Matos F, Castilho C, Phillips O, Guevara J, Carim M, Magnusson W, Sabatier D, Molino J, Irume M, Martins M, da Silva Guimarães J, Banki O, Fernandez Piedade M, Pitman N, Monteagudo Mendoza A, Ramos J, Luize B, Moraes de Leão Novo E, Núñez Vargas P, Silva T, Venticinque E, Manzatto A, Reis N, Terborgh J, Casula K, Honorio Coronado E, Montero J, Schöngart J, López D, Costa F, Quaresma A, Zartman C, Killeen T, Marimon B, Marimon-junior B, Vásquez R, Mostacedo B, Demarchi L, Feldpausch T, Assis R, Baraloto C, Engel J, Petronelli P, Castellanos H, Brilhante de Medeiros M, Simon M, Andrade A, Camargo J, Laurance S, Laurance W, Rincón L, Schietti J, Sousa T, de Sousa Farias E, Lopes M, Magalhães J, Nascimento H, Lima de Queiroz H, Aymard C. G, Brienen R, Cardenas Revilla J, Vieira I, Cintra B, Feitosa Y, Duivenvoorden J, Mogollón H, Araujo-murakami A, Ferreira L, Lozada J, Comiskey J, de Toledo J, Damasco G, Dávila N, Garcia-Villacorta R, Lopes A, Vicentini A, Draper F, Arboleda N, Valverde F, Alonso A, Dallmeier F, Gomes V, Neill D, de Aguiar D, Arroyo L, Carvalho F, de Souza F, do Amaral D, Feeley K, Gribel R, Pansonato M, Barlow J, Berenguer E, Ferreira J, Fine P, Guedes M, Jiménez E, Licona J, Mora M, Villa Zegarra B, Cerón C, Fonty É, Henkel T, Householder J, Maas P, Silveira M, Stropp J, Thomas R, Machado Durgante F, Baker T, Daly D, Huamantupa-Chuquimaco I, Milliken W, Pennington T, Paredes M, Molina P, Fuentes A, Klitgaard B, Peña J, Peres C, Silman M, Tello J, Campelo W, Chave J, Di Fiore A, Hilário R, Phillips J, Rivas-Torres G, Van Andel T, von Hildebrand P, de Oliveira Pereira L, Barbosa E, Barbosa F, de Matos Bonates L, de Sá Carpanedo R, Doza H, Gomez R, Gonzales T, Gonzales G, Hoffman B, Junqueira A, Malhi Y, de Andrade Miranda I, Pinto L, Prieto A, de Jesus Rodrigues D, Rudas A, Ruschell A, Silva N, Vela C, Vos V, Zent S, Zent E, Noronha J, Albuquerque B, Cano A, Márquez Y, Costa J, Flores B, Galbraith D, Holmgren M, Kalamandeen M, Nascimento M, Oliveira A, Ramírez-angulo H, Rocha M, Scudeller V, Sierra R, Tirado M, Van Der Heijden G, Torre E, Vriesendorp C, Pombo M, Reategui M, Baider C, Balslev H, Cárdenas S, Casas L, Farfan-Rios W, Ferreira C, Linares-Palomino R, Mendoza C, Mesones I, Torres-lezama A, Giraldo L, Villarroel D, Zagt R, Parada G, Alexiades M, de Oliveira E, Garcia-Cabrera K, Hernandez L, Cuenca W, Pansini S, Pauletto D, Arevalo F, Sampaio A, Valderrama Sandoval E, Gamarra L and Ter Steege H (2023) Geographic patterns of tree dispersal modes in Amazonia and their ecological correlates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 32 (1). pp. 49-69
• Harvey J, Tougeron K, Gols R, Heinen R, Abarca M, Abram P, Basset Y, Berg M, Boggs C, Brodeur J, Cardoso P, de Boer J, De Snoo G, Deacon C, Dell J, Desneux N, Dillon M, Duffy G, Dyer L, Ellers J, Espíndola A, Fordyce J, Forister M, Fukushima C, Gage M, García?Robledo C, Gely C, Gobbi M, Hallmann C, Hance T, Harte J, Hochkirch A, Hof C, Hoffmann A, Kingsolver J, Lamarre G, Laurance W, Lavandero B, Leather S, Lehmann P, Le Lann C, López?Uribe M, Ma C, Ma G, Moiroux J, Monticelli L, Nice C, Ode P, Pincebourde S, Ripple W, Rowe M, Samways M, Sentis A, Shah A, Stork N, Terblanche J, Thakur M, Thomas M, Tylianakis J, Van Baaren J, van de Pol M, Van der Putten W, Van Dyck H, Verberk W, Wagner D, Weisser W, Wetzel W, Woods H, Wyckhuys K and Chown S (2023) Scientists' warning on climate change and insects. Ecological Monographs, 93 (1).
• Peripato V, Levis C, Moreira G, Gamerman D, Ter Steege H, Pitman N, de Souza J, Iriarte J, Robinson M, Junqueira A, Trindade T, de Almeida F, Moraes C, Lombardo U, Tamanaha E, Maezumi S, Ometto J, Braga J, Campanharo W, Cassol H, Leal P, de Assis M, da Silva A, Phillips O, Costa F, Flores B, Hoffman B, Henkel T, Umaña M, Magnusson W, Valderrama Sandoval E, Barlow J, Milliken W, Lopes M, Simon M, van Andel T, Laurance S, Laurance W, Torres-Lezama A, Assis R, Molino J, Mestre M, Hamblin M, Coelho L, Lima Filho D, Wittmann F, Salomão R, Amaral I, Guevara J, de Almeida Matos F, Castilho C, Carim M, Cárdenas López D, Sabatier D, Irume M, Martins M, Guimarães J, Bánki O, Piedade M, Ramos J, Luize B, Novo E, Núñez Vargas P, Silva T, Venticinque E, Manzatto A, Reis N, Terborgh J, Casula K, Demarchi L, Honorio Coronado E, Monteagudo Mendoza A, Montero J, Schöngart J, Feldpausch T, Quaresma A, Aymard C. G, Baraloto C, Castaño Arboleda N, Engel J, Petronelli P, Zartman C, Killeen T, Marimon B, Marimon-Junior B, Schietti J, Sousa T, Vasquez R, Rincón L, Berenguer E, Ferreira J, Mostacedo B, do Amaral D, Castellanos H, de Medeiros M, Andrade A, Camargo J, Farias E, Magalhães J, Mendonça Nascimento H, de Queiroz H, Brienen R, Cardenas Revilla J, Stevenson P, Araujo-Murakami A, Barçante Ladvocat Cintra B, Feitosa Y, Barbosa F, Carpanedo R, Duivenvoorden J, de Noronha J, Rodrigues D, Mogollón H, Ferreira L, Householder J, Lozada J, Comiskey J, Draper F, de Toledo J, Damasco G, Dávila N, García-Villacorta R, Lopes A, Cornejo Valverde F, Alonso A, Dallmeier F, Gomes V, Jimenez E, Neill D, Peñuela Mora M, de Aguiar D, Arroyo L, Antunes Carvalho F, Coelho de Souza F, Feeley K, Gribel R, Pansonato M, Ríos Paredes M, Brasil da Silva I, Ferreira M, Fine P, Fonty É, Guedes M, Licona J, Pennington T, Peres C, Villa Zegarra B, Parada G, Pardo Molina G, Vos V, Cerón C, Maas P, Silveira M, Stropp J, Thomas R, Baker T, Daly D, Huamantupa-Chuquimaco I, Vieira I, Weiss Albuquerque B, Fuentes A, Klitgaard B, Marcelo-Peña J, Silman M, Tello J, Vriesendorp C, Chave J, Di Fiore A, Hilário R, Phillips J, Rivas-Torres G, von Hildebrand P, Pereira L, Barbosa E, de Matos Bonates L, Doza H, Zárate Gómez R, Gallardo Gonzales G, Gonzales T, Malhi Y, de Andrade Miranda I, Mozombite Pinto L, Prieto A, Rudas A, Ruschel A, Silva N, Vela C, Zent E, Zent S, Cano A, Carrero Márquez Y, Correa D, Costa J, Galbraith D, Holmgren M, Kalamandeen M, Lobo G, Nascimento M, Oliveira A, Ramirez-Angulo H, Rocha M, Scudeller V, Sierra R, Tirado M, van der Heijden G, Vilanova Torre E, Ahuite Reategui M, Baider C, Balslev H, Cárdenas S, Casas L, Farfan-Rios W, Ferreira C, Linares-Palomino R, Mendoza C, Mesones I, Urrego Giraldo L, Villarroel D, Zagt R, Alexiades M, de Oliveira E, Garcia-Cabrera K, Hernandez L, Palacios Cuenca W, Pansini S, Pauletto D, Ramirez Arevalo F, Sampaio A, Valenzuela Gamarra L and Aragão L (2023) More than 10,000 pre-Columbian earthworks are still hidden throughout Amazonia. Science, 382 (6666). pp. 103-109
• Pos E, de Souza Coelho L, de Andrade Lima Filho D, Salomão R, Amaral I, De Almeida Matos F, Castilho C, Phillips O, Guevara J, de Jesus Veiga Carim M, López D, Magnusson W, Wittmann F, Irume M, Martins M, Sabatier D, da Silva Guimarães J, Molino J, Bánki O, Piedade M, Pitman N, Mendoza A, Ramos J, Hawes J, Almeida E, Barbosa L, Cavalheiro L, dos Santos M, Luize B, de Leão Novo E, Vargas P, Silva T, Venticinque E, Manzatto A, Reis N, Terborgh J, Casula K, Coronado E, Montero J, Marimon B, Marimon-Junior B, Feldpausch T, Duque A, Baraloto C, Arboleda N, Engel J, Petronelli P, Zartman C, Killeen T, Vasquez R, Mostacedo B, Assis R, Schöngart J, Castellanos H, de Medeiros M, Simon M, Andrade A, Camargo J, Demarchi L, Laurance W, Laurance S, de Sousa Farias E, Lopes M, Magalhães J, Nascimento H, de Queiroz H, Aymard G, Brienen R, Revilla J, Costa F, Quaresma A, Vieira I, Cintra B, Stevenson P, Feitosa Y, Duivenvoorden J, Mogollón H, Ferreira L, Comiskey J, Draper F, de Toledo J, Damasco G, Dávila N, Garcia-villacorta R, Lopes A, Vicentini A, Noronha J, Barbosa F, de Sá Carpanedo R, Emilio T, Levis C, de Jesus Rodrigues D, Schietti J, Souza P, Alonso A, Dallmeier F, Gomes V, Lloyd J, Neill D, de Aguiar D, Araujo-murakami A, Arroyo L, Carvalho F, de Souza F, do Amaral D, Feeley K, Gribel R, Pansonato M, Barlow J, Berenguer E, Ferreira J, Fine P, Guedes M, Jimenez E, Licona J, Mora M, Peres C, Zegarra B, Cerón C, Henkel T, Maas P, Silveira M, Stropp J, Thomas-Caesar R, Baker T, Daly D, Dexter K, Householder J, Huamantupa-Chuquimaco I, Pennington T, Paredes M, Fuentes A, Pena J, Silman M, Tello J, Chave J, Valverde F, Di Fiore A, Hilário R, Phillips J, Rivas-Torres G, van Andel T, von Hildebrand P, Barbosa E, de Matos Bonates L, Doza H, Fonty É, Gómez R, Gonzales T, Gonzales G, Guillaumet J, Hoffman B, Junqueira A, Malhi Y, de Andrade Miranda I, Pinto L, Prieto A, Rudas A, Ruschel A, Silva N, Vela C, Vos V, Zent E, Zent S, Albuquerque B, Cano A, Correa D, Costa J, Flores B, Holmgren M, Nascimento M, Oliveira A, Ramirez-Angulo H, Rocha M, Scudeller V, Sierra R, Tirado M, Umaña M, van der Heijden G, Torre E, Vriesendorp C, Wang O, Young K, Reategui M, Baider C, Balslev H, Cárdenas S, Casas L, Farfan-Rios W, Ferreira C, Linares-Palomino R, Mendoza C, Mesones I, Torres-Lezama A, Giraldo L, Villarroel D, Zagt R, Alexiades M, Garcia-Cabrera K, Hernandez L, Milliken W, Cuenca W, Pansini S, Pauletto D, Arevalo F, Sampaio A, Sandoval E, Gamarra L, Boenisch G, Kattge J, Kraft N, Levesley A, Melgaço K, Pickavance G, Poorter L and ter Steege H (2023) Unraveling Amazon tree community assembly using Maximum Information Entropy: a quantitative analysis of tropical forest ecology. Scientific Reports, 13.
• Marca?Zevallos M, Moulatlet G, Sousa T, Schietti J, Coelho L, Ramos J, Lima Filho D, Amaral I, de Almeida Matos F, Rincón L, Cardenas Revilla J, Pansonato M, Gribel R, Barbosa E, Miranda I, Bonates L, Guevara J, Salomão R, Ferreira L, Dantas do Amaral D, Pitman N, Vriesendorp C, Baker T, Brienen R, Carim M, Guimarães J, Núñez Vargas P, Huamantupa?Chuquimaco I, Laurance W, Laurance S, Andrade A, Camargo J, Monteagudo Mendoza A, Vásquez R, Valenzuela Gamarra L, Mogollón H, Marimon?Junior B, Marimon B, Killeen T, Farias E, Neill D, de Medeiros M, Simon M, Terborgh J, Carlos Montero J, Licona J, Mostacedo B, García?Villacorta R, Araujo?Murakami A, Arroyo L, Villarroel D, Dávila N, Coelho de Souza F, Carvalho F, Comiskey J, Alonso A, Dallmeier F, Oliveira A, Castilho C, Lloyd J, Feldpausch T, Ríos Paredes M, Castaño Arboleda N, Cárdenas López D, Aymard Corredor G, Di Fiore A, Rudas A, Prieto A, Barbosa F, Noronha J, Rodrigues D, Carpanedo R, Honorio Coronado E, Peres C, Milliken W, Fuentes A, Tello J, Cerón C, Klitgaard B, Tirado M, Sierra R, Young K, Rivas?Torres G, Stevenson P, Cano A, Wang O, Baider C, Barlow J, Ferreira J, Berenguer E, Stropp J, Balslev H, Ahuite Reategui M, Mesones I, Valderrama Sandoval E, Gonzales T, Pansini S, Reis N, Sampaio A, Vos V, Palacios Cuenca W, Manzatto A, Farfan?Rios W, Silman M, Garcia?Cabrera K, von Hildebrand P, Guedes M, Costa J, Phillips J, Vela C, de Toledo J, Pauletto D, Valverde F, Umaña M, Phillips O, Magnusson W, Ter Steege H and Costa F (2022) Local hydrological conditions influence tree diversity and composition across the Amazon basin. Ecography, 2022 (11).
• Sousa T, Schietti J, Ribeiro I, Emilio T, Herrera Fernandez R, ter Steege H, Castilho C, Esquivel-Muelbert A, Baker T, Pontes-Lopes A, Silva C, Silveira J, Derroire G, Castro W, Monteagudo Mendoza A, Ruschel A, Prieto A, Nogueira Lima A, Rudas A, Araujo-Murakami A, Parada Gutierrez A, Andrade A, Roopsind A, Manzatto A, Di Fiore A, Torres-Lezama A, Dourdain A, Marimon B, Marimon B, Burban B, van Ulft B, Herault B, Quesada C, Mendoza C, Stahl C, Bonal D, Galbraith D, Neill D, de Oliveira E, Hase E, Jimenez-Rojas E, Vilanova E, Arets E, Berenguer E, Alvarez-Davila E, Honorio Coronado E, Almeida E, Coelho F, Cornejo Valverde F, Elias F, Brown F, Bongers F, Arevalo F, Lopez-Gonzalez G, van der Heijden G, Aymard G, Llampazo G, Pardo G, Ramirez-Angulo H, do Amaral I, Guimaraes Vieira I, Huamantupa-Chuquimaco I, Comiskey J, Singh J, Silva Espejo J, Del Aguila-Pasquel J, Zwerts J, Talbot J, Terborgh J, Ferreira J, Barroso J, Barlow J, Camargo J, Stropp J, Peacock J, Serrano J, Melgaco K, Ferreira L, Blanc L, Poorter L, Valenzuela Gamarra L, Aragao L, Arroyo L, Silveira M, Cristina Penuela-Mora M, Nunez Vargas M, Toledo M, Disney M, Rejou-Mechain M, Baisie M, Kalamandeen M, Pallqui Camacho N, Davila Cardozo N, Silva N, Pitman N, Higuchi N, Banki O, Alvarez Loayza P, Graca P, Morandi P, van der Meer P, van der Hout P, Naisso P, Camargo P, Salomao R, Thomas R, Boot R, Umetsu R, Silva R, Burnham R, Zagt R, Vasquez Martinez R, Brienen R, Ribeiro S, Lewis S, Vieira S, de Almeida Reis S, Fauset S, Laurance S, Feldpausch T, Erwin T, Killeen T, Wortel V, Chama Moscoso V, Vos V, Huaraca Huasco W, Laurance W, Malhi Y, Magnusson W, Phillips O and Costa F (2022) Water table depth modulates productivity and biomass across Amazonian forests. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 31 (8). pp. 1571-1588
• Timmers R, van Kuijk M, Verweij P, Ghazoul J, Hautier Y, Laurance W, Arriaga-Weiss S, Askins R, Battisti C, Berg Å, Daily G, Estades C, Frank B, Kurosawa R, Pojar R, Woinarski J and Soons M (2022) Conservation of birds in fragmented landscapes requires protected areas. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 20 (6). pp. 361-369
• Vogado N, Engert J, Linde T, Campbell M, Laurance W and Liddell M (2022) Climate Change Affects Reproductive Phenology in Lianas of Australia’s Wet Tropics. Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 5.
• Barnard P, Moomaw W, Fioramonti L, Laurance W, Mahmoud M, O'sullivan J, Rapley C, Rees W, Rhodes C, Ripple W, Semiletov I, Talberth J, Tucker C, Wysham D and Ziervogel G (2021) World scientists' warnings into action, local to global. Science Progress, 104 (4). pp. 1-32
• Draper F, Costa F, Arellano G, Phillips O, Duque A, Macía M, Ter Steege H, Asner G, Berenguer E, Schietti J, Socolar J, de Souza F, Dexter K, Jørgensen P, Tello J, Magnusson W, Baker T, Castilho C, Monteagudo-Mendoza A, Fine P, Ruokolainen K, Coronado E, Aymard G, Dávila N, Sáenz M, Paredes M, Engel J, Fortunel C, Paine C, Goret J, Dourdain A, Petronelli P, Allie E, Andino J, Brienen R, Pérez L, Manzatto Â, Zambrana N, Molino J, Sabatier D, Chave J, Fauset S, Villacorta R, Réjou-Méchain M, Berry P, Melgaço K, Feldpausch T, Sandoval E, Martinez R, Mesones I, Junqueira A, Roucoux K, de Toledo J, Andrade A, Camargo J, del Aguila Pasquel J, Santana F, Laurance W, Laurance S, Lovejoy T, Comiskey J, Galbraith D, Kalamandeen M, Aguilar G, Arenas J, Guerra C, Flores M, Llampazo G, Montenegro L, Gomez R, Pansonato M, Moscoso V, Vleminckx J, Barrantes O, Duivenvoorden J, de Sousa S, Arroyo L, Perdiz R, Cravo J, Marimon B, Junior B, Carvalho F, Damasco G, Disney M, Vital M, Diaz P, Vicentini A, Nascimento H, Higuchi N, Van Andel T, Malhi Y, Ribeiro S, Terborgh J, Thomas R, Dallmeier F, Prieto A, Hilário R, Salomão R, Silva R, Casas L, Vieira I, Araujo-Murakami A, Arevalo F, Ramírez-Angulo H, Torre E, Peñuela M, Killeen T, Pardo G, Jimenez-Rojas E, Castro W, Cabrera D, Pipoly J, de Sousa T, Silvera M, Vos V, Neill D, Vargas P, Vela D, Aragão L, Umetsu R, Sierra R, Wang O, Young K, Prestes N, Massi K, Huaymacari J, Gutierrez G, Aldana A, Alexiades M, Baccaro F, Céron C, Muelbert A, Rios J, Lima A, Lloyd J, Pitman N, Gamarra L, Oroche C, Fuentes A, Palacios W, Patiño S, Torres-Lezama A and Baraloto C (2021) Amazon tree dominance across forest strata. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 5. pp. 757-767
• Engert J, Ishida F and Laurance W (2021) Rerouting a major Indonesian mining road to spare nature and reduce development costs. Conservation Science and Practice, 3 (11).
• ForestPlots.net et al. , [Bird M, [Laurance S, [Laurance W and [Ishida F (2021) Taking the pulse of Earth's tropical forests using networks of highly distributed plots. Biological Conservation, 260.

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ResearchOnline@JCU stores 415+ research outputs authored by Prof Bill Laurance from 1997 onwards.

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• Predicting and Limiting Future Land Cover change due to Infrastructure Expansion in the Tropics (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)

Completed

• Diversity and habitat use of medium-large sized mammals across oil palm landscapes in the Llanos region of Colombia (2018, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Maintaining connectivity for tropical rainforest mammals in agricultural landscapes (2018, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Governing landscape transitions in Cambodia (2020, PhD , Secondary Advisor)

These are the most recent metadata records associated with this researcher. To see a detailed description of all dataset records, visit Research Data Australia.

• Laurance, W. (2020) Planned routes of Pan-Borneo Highway and related roads according to Sabah Structure Plan 2033. James Cook University
• Laurance, W. (2020) Nothofagus forest locations . James Cook University

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.