Dr Nicholas Murray is an Australia-based scientist with 15+ years experience working in a variety of academic, agency and private sector positions. After positions at the Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science (UQ), the Remote Sensing Research Centre (UQ) and the Centre for Ecosystem Science (UNSW), he commenced as a Senior Research Fellow at James Cook University in late 2019. He is currently an Australian Research Council DECRA fellow based in the College of Science and Engineering at James Cook University. 

Nick's research focuses on delivering the science necessary to inform large scale environmental management and conservation. He works the interface of ecology, geospatial science and geography, and has ongoing research projects focused around quantifying change in ecosystems and wildlife populations. He has published extensively in the scientific literature on ecosystem dynamics, earth observation, bird ecology and conservation. 

Nick has a particular interest in developing free, open-source analyses, apps and datasets from sensors to support environmental conservation. His work has been recognised with awards including the Eureka Prize (as part of a global conservation team), the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management and the Australian Academy of Science ASPIRE Prize for innovation. He is an active member of IUCN's Red List of Ecosystem's thematic group and serves as an Associate Editor for Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation.

For more on my current research and other information, please visit my personal website: https://www.murrayensis.org

 

Interests

Research

• Dynamics and conservation of coastal ecosystems
• Assessing risks to ecosystems at local to global scales
• Advancing the analysis of earth observation data at the global scale
• Ecology and conservation of migratory species
• Geospatial software development to support conservation
• Developing spatial and time-series datasets to support good conservation decision making

Experience

• 2019 to present - ARC DECRA Fellow, James Cook University (Townsville)
• 2016 to 2019 - Senior Research Fellow, University of New South Wales (Sydney)
• 2016 to 2017 - Senior Research Fellow, University of Queensland (Brisbane)
• 2014 to 2016 - Research Fellow, University of New South Wales (Sydney)
• 2014 - Visiting Fellow, University of Cambridge (Cambridge, UK)
• 2013 to 2014 - Visiting Fellow, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institue (Washington DC, USA)

Research Disciplines

• Environmental management (4104)
• Ecological applications (4102)

Awards

• 2019 - Shortlisted (top six) Robert May Prize, best paper by an early career researcher in 2018 in Methods in Ecology and Evolution (https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13043)
• 2019 - Australia’s nominee for the APEC Science Prize for Innovation, Research and Education (ASPIRE Prize)
• 2016 - IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management Young Professional Award
• 2015 - Australian Museum Eureka Prize for Environmental Research. The IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Team, UNSW, led by Professor David Keith.
• 2015 - Future Leader: World Forum on Ecosystem Governance, Beijing China
• 2014 - Finalist at the Australian Museum Eureka Prizes (Eureka Prize for Environmental Research). The IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Team, UNSW, led by Professor David Keith

Fellowships

• 2019 to 2022 - Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA), Assessing risks to coastal ecosystems with new earth observation models, $417,000
• 2012 to 2013 - Queensland - Smithsonian Fellowship

Other

• 2019 to 2024 - Chief Investigator, ARC Linkage, A global standard for the status of Wetlands of International Importance, $779,000
• 2019 to 2023 - Chief Investigator, ARC Linkage, Ecosystem risk assessment, $416,000
• 2019 to 2022 - Chief Investigator, Australian Antarctic Science grant, Risks to Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems, $165,000

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

• Hill N, Woodworth B, Phinn S, Murray N and Fuller R (in press) Global protected‐area coverage and human pressure on tidal flats. Conservation Biology, , DOI:10.1111/cobi.13638.
• Jackson M, Fuller R, Gan X, Li J, Mao D, Melville D, Murray N, Wang Z and Choi C (2021) Dual threat of tidal flat loss and invasive Spartina alterniflora endanger important shorebird habitat in coastal mainland China. Journal of Environmental Management, 278 (Part 2), Article: 111549, DOI:10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.111549.
• Lee C, Nicholson E, Duncan C and Murray N (in press) Estimating changes and trends in ecosystem extent with dense time-series satellite remote sensing. Conservation Biology, , DOI:10.1111/cobi.13520.
• Shapiro A, Grantham H, Aguilar-Amuchastegui N, Murray N, Gond V, Bonfils D and Rickenbach O (2021) Forest condition in the Congo Basin for the assessment of ecosystem conservation status. Ecological Indicators, 122, Article: 107268, DOI:10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.107268.
• Timmiss L, Martin J, Murray N, Welbergen J, Westcott D, McKeown A and Kingsford R (in press) Threatened but not conserved: flying-fox roosting and foraging habitat in Australia. Australian Journal of Zoology, , DOI:10.1071/ZO20086.
• Grantham H, Duncan A, Evans T, Jones K, Beyer H, Schuster R, Walston J, Ray J, Robinson J, Callow M, Clements T, Costa H, DeGemmis A, Elsen P, Ervin J, Franco P, Goldman E, Goetz S, Hansen A, Hofsvang E, Jantz P, Jupiter S, Kang A, Langhammer P, Laurance W, Lieberman S, Linkie M, Malhi Y, Maxwell S, Mendez M, Mittermeier R, Murray N, Possingham H, Radachowsky J, Saatchi S, Samper C, Silverman J, Shapiro A, Strassburg B, Stevens T, Stokes E, Taylor R, Tear T, Tizard R, Venter O, Visconti P, Wang S and Watson J (2020) Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity. Nature Communications, 11, Article: 5978, DOI:10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3.
• Grantham H, Duncan A, Evans T, Jones K, Beyer H, Schuster R, Walston J, Ray J, Robinson J, Callow M, Clement T, Costa H, DeGemmis A, Elsen P, Ervin J, Franco P, Goldman E, Goetz S, Hansen A, Hofsvang E, Jantz P, Jupiter S, Kang A, Langhammer P, Laurance W, Lieberman S, Linkie M, Malhi Y, Maxwell S, Mendez M, Mittermeier R, Murray N, Possingham H, Radachowsky J, Saatchi S, Samper C, Silverman J, Shapiro A, Strassburg B, Stevens T, Stokes E, Taylor R, Tear T, Tizard R, Venter O and Visconti P (2020) Modification of forests by people means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity. Nature Communications, 11, Article: 5978, DOI:10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3.
• Li J, Knapp D, Fabina N, Kennedy E, Larsen K, Lyons M, Murray N, Phinn S, Roelfsema C and Asner G (2020) A global coral reef probability map generated using convolutional neural networks. Coral Reefs, 39 (6), pp. 1805-1815, DOI:10.1007/s00338-020-02005-6.
• Lyons M, Roelfsema C, Kennedy E, Kovacs E, Borrego-Acevedo R, Markey K, Roe M, Yuwono D, Harris D, Phinn S, Asner G, Li J, Knapp D, Fabina N, Larsen K, Traganos D and Murray N (2020) Mapping the world's coral reefs using a global multiscale earth observation framework. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation, 6 (4), pp. 557-568, DOI:10.1002/rse2.157.
• Murray N, Keith D, Duncan A, Tizard R, Ferrer-Paris J, Worthington T, Armstrong K, Hlaing N, Htut W, Oo A, Zay Ya K and Grantham H (2020) Myanmar's terrestrial ecosystems: status, threats and conservation opportunities. Biological Conservation, 252, Article: 108834, DOI:10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108834.
• Worthington T, Andradi-Brown D, Bhargava R, Buelow C, Bunting P, Duncan C, Fatoyinbo L, Friess D, Goldberg L, Hilarides L, Lagomasino D, Landis E, Longley-Wood K, Lovelock C, Murray N, Narayan S, Rosenqvist A, Sievers M, Simard M, Thomas N, van Eijk P, Zganjar C and Spalding M (2020) Harnessing big data to support the conservation and rehabilitation of mangrove forests globally. One Earth, 2 (5), pp. 429-443, DOI:10.1016/j.oneear.2020.04.018.
• Worthington T, zu Ermgassen P, Friess D, Krauss K, Lovelock C, Thorley J, Tingey R, Woodroffe C, Bunting P, Cormier N, Lagomasino D, Lucas R, Murray N, Sutherland W and Spalding M (2020) A global biophysical typology of mangroves and its relevance for ecosystem structure and deforestation. Scientific Reports, 10 (1), Article: 14652, DOI:10.1038/s41598-020-71194-5.

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ResearchOnline@JCU stores 42+ research outputs authored by Dr Nicholas Murray from 2013 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

• Saving a cryptic tropical species: combining spatial and reproductive sciences to determine the future of the endangered pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Applying vulnerability assessments within social-ecological systems: Developing a dynamic integrated vulnerability assessment (DIVA) in the Solomon Islands;; (PhD , External Advisor)
• Identifying key indicators to quantify ecological recovery and adaptation of coral reefs across space and time (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Exploring Fine-Scale Habitat use by Green Turtle (Chelonia Mydas) in Port Curtis with Satellite Telemetry (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.