Graeme comes from Harare, Zimbabwe, where he went to Saint George’s College. He studied Zoology and Entomology to the honours level at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. He then moved to Oxford University, U.K., on a Rhodes Scholarship. While at New College, Oxford, Graeme completed his doctorate on ‘The Evolutionary Ecology of African Ticks’ under the supervision of Drs. Sarah Randolph and David Rogers. From Oxford he moved to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, funded by a D. H. Smith Postdoctoral Fellowship from The Nature Conservancy (TNC). In Madison he worked with TNC and Professor Steve Carpenter at the Center for Limnology on applying species-based models to management and conservation-related problems in freshwater systems. After two years as a postdoc, he was hired as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida. Graeme returned to Africa at the end of 2005 and occupied the Pola Pasvolsky Chair in Conservation Biology at the University of Cape Town until end June 2015, when he moved to his current position.

Graeme has a wide range of interests, centering around understanding spatial aspects of ecology and the relevance of broad-scale pattern-process dynamics for ecosystem (and social-ecological system) function and resilience. He is also interested in the applications of landscape ecology and complexity theory to conservation and the sustainable management of natural resources.    

Interests

Research

• landscape ecology community ecology social-ecological systems

Experience

• 2006 to 2015 - Pola Pasvolsky Chair, Percy FitzPatrick Institute (University of Cape Town)
• 2001 to 2005 - Assistant Professor, University of Florida (Gainesville, FL, USA)
• 1999 to 2001 - David H. Smith Fellow, University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI, USA)

Research Disciplines

• Environmental Science and Management (0502)
• Ecological Applications (0501)
• Ecology (0602)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Expanding Knowledge (9701)
• Ecosystem Assessment and Management (9605)
• Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity (9608)

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

• Turner M, Calder W, Cumming G, Hughes T, Jentsch A, LaDeau S, Lenton T, Shuman B, Turetsky M, Ratajczak Z, Williams J, Williams A and Carpenter S (2020) Climate change, ecosystems and abrupt change: science priorities. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 375 (1794), Article: 20190105, DOI:10.1098/rstb.2019.0105.
• Bellwood D, Pratchett M, Morrison T, Gurney G, Hughes T, Álvarez-Romero J, Day J, Grantham R, Grech A, Hoey A, Jones G, Pandolfi J, Tebbett S, Techera E, Weeks R and Cumming G (2019) Coral reef conservation in the Anthropocene: confronting spatial mismatches and prioritizing functions. Biological Conservation, 236, pp. 604-615, DOI:10.1016/j.biocon.2019.05.056.
• Bodin O, Alexander S, Baggio J, Barnes M, Berardo R, Cumming G, Dee L, Fischer A, Fischer M, Garcia M, Guerrero A, Hileman J, Ingold K, Matous P, Morrison T, Nohrstedt D, Pittman J, Robins G and Sayles J (2019) Improving network approaches to the study of complex social-ecological interdependencies. Nature Sustainability, 2 (7), pp. 551-559, DOI:10.1038/s41893-019-0308-0.
• Clements H, Kerley G, Cumming G, De Vos A and Cook C (2019) Privately protected areas provide key opportunities for the regional persistence of large- and medium-sized mammals. Journal of Applied Ecology, 56 (3), pp. 537-546, DOI:10.1111/1365-2664.13300.
• Cumming G and Henry D (2019) Point counts outperform line transects when sampling birds along routes in South African protected areas. African Zoology, 54 (4), pp. 187-198, DOI:10.1080/15627020.2019.1658540.
• Cumming G and Dobbs K (2019) Understanding regulatory frameworks for large marine protected areas: permits of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Biological Conservation, 237, pp. 3-11, DOI:10.1016/j.biocon.2019.06.007.
• De Vos A, Clements H, Biggs D and Cumming G (2019) The dynamics of proclaimed privately protected areas in South Africa over 83 years. Conservation Letters, 12 (6), Article: e12644, DOI:10.1111/conl.12644.
• Grafton R, Doyen L, Bene C, Borgomeo E, Brooks K, Chu L, Cumming G, Dixon J, Dovers S, Garrick D, Helfgott A, Jiang Q, Katic P, Kompas T, Little L, Matthews N, Ringler C, Squires D, Steinshamn S, Villasante S, Wheeler S, Williams J and Wyrwoll P (2019) Realizing resilience for decision-making. Nature Sustainability, 2 (10), pp. 907-913, DOI:10.1038/s41893-019-0376-1.
• Lapointe M, Cumming G and Gurney G (2019) Comparing Ecosystem Service preferences between urban and rural dwellers. BioScience, 69 (2), pp. 108-116, DOI:10.1093/biosci/biy151.
• Mastrángelo M, Pérez-Harguindeguy N, Enrico L, Bennett E, Lavorel S, Cumming G, Abeygunawardane D, Amarilla L, Burkhard B, Egoh B, Frishkoff L, Galetto L, Huber S, Karp D, Ke A, Kowaljow E, Kronenburg-Garcia A, Locatelli B, Martín-López B, Meyfroidt P, Mwampamba T, Nel J, Nicholas K, Nicholson C, Oteros-Rozas E, Rahlao S, Raudsepp-Hearne C, Ricketts T, Shrestha U, Torres C, Winkler K and Zoeller K (2019) Key knowledge gaps to achieve global sustainability goals. Nature Sustainability, 2 (12), pp. 1115-1121, DOI:10.1038/s41893-019-0412-1.
• Mutumi G, Cumming G, Sullivan S, Caron A and Caceres C (2019) Using a multi-isotope approach to understand waterfowl movement in southern Africa. Condor: an international journal of avian biology, 121 (4), DOI:10.1093/condor/duz049.
• Pratchett M and Cumming G (2019) Managing cross-scale dynamics in marine conservation: pest irruptions and lessons from culling of crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster spp.). Biological Conservation, 238, Article: 108211, DOI:10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108211.

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 122+ research outputs authored by Prof Graeme Cumming from 2011 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

• Beyond the Reef: The Influence of Seascape Structure on Fish Communities and Ecological Processes on Coral Reefs (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Global patterns of international fisheries conflict (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Understanding ecosystem service choices made by individual actors and their implications for social--ecological interactions (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Urbanization and human-nature relationships: A comparison of urban and rural dwellers’ perceptions of ecosystem services in the Solomon Islands (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• The temporal dynamics of coral reef-dependent small-scale fisheries as part of diversified coastal livelihoods (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• The resilience of ecologically-dependent human communities to disturbances within volatile social-ecological systems (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Understanding the production of scosystem services and benefits through a socio-cultural approach (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Foraging and Survival Responses in Reef Egrets (Egret sacra) and Common and Black Noddies (Anous sp) to Tropical Reef Degradation caused by Climatic change in the Great Barrier Reef Ecosystem, Australia (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)

Completed

• Space use by fishes on coral reefs: Establishment, fidelity and reef resilience;; (2020, PhD , Secondary Advisor)

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.