I study how human activities impact tropical rainforest plant and wildlife communities.  I am especially interested in how vulnerable wildlife and plant species are affected by major land-use and climate change.  My work spans much of the tropical world, including the Amazon and tropical Australia.

I have maintained a long-term involvement at the Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project in Brazil, which is the largest, longest-running experimental study into how human land-use impacts rainforest communities. This dataset has also contributed significantly to our current understanding of forest dynamics, floristic diversity and carbon stock and pulses in tropical rainforests.  

In Australia, I have developed an extensive research program that continues my work in global change and tropical forests at the Daintree Rainforest Observatory (DRO), where we have initiated an ambitious experiment to induce an artifical drought in order to study its effects on rainforest biodiversity.  My other research programs include understanding the biotic and abiotic drivers of secondary forest composition and carbon sequestration, and how fragmentation and human land-use influences disease vectors. I am lead investigator on $1.6 million in research grants and have authored more than 100 peer-reviewed reserach articles. 

You can see the Daintree Drought Experiment on JCU’s Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFW20Flf650&feature=youtu.be

Teaching

• BZ2450: Biodiversity of Tropical Australia (Level 2; CNS)
• BZ2490: Toolkit for the Field Biologist (Level 2; CNS)
• BZ2880: Ecology: Distribution, Abundance and Diversity (Level 2; CNS)
• BZ5755: Biodiversity and Climate Change: Impact, Mitigation and Adaptation (Level 5; TSV)
• BZ5880: Ecology: Distribution, Abundance and Diversity (Level 5; CNS)
• BZ5990: Toolkit for the Field Biologist (Level 5; CNS)

Interests

Research

• Ecology Conservation Biology Restoration Ecology Climate Change Rainforest Ecology
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CFW20Flf650&feature=youtu.be

Experience

• 2010 to 2015 - Tropical Leader, James Cook University (Cairns)
• 2001 to 2009 - Post-doctoral researcher, STRI (Brazil & Panama)
• 1996 to 2001 - Herbarium manager, BDFFP (Brazil)
• 1990 to 1995 - Conservation officer, QNPWS (Cairns)

Research Disciplines

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

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity (9608)
• Climate and Climate Change (9603)
• Ecosystem Assessment and Management (9605)

Awards

• 2014 to 2017 - ARC Future Fellow ($680,000), Global Change: Rainforest responses to experimental drought
• 2012 to 2015 - Lead Investigator, ARC Discovery Grant ($365,000), Response and vulnerability of tropical rainforest plants to experimental drought
• 2011 to 2014 - Lead investigator, ARC Linkage Grant ($460,000), Accelerating species and biomass gains in tropical secondary forests
• 2011 to 2014 - Lead Investigator, NERP/RRRC Grant ($102,000), Land use and disease dynamics across the Torres Straits

Fellowships

• 2015 to 2050 - Fellow of the Royal Society of Quensland
• 2007 to 2009 - NSF Post-doctoral Fellow, STRI Panama
• 2004 to 2006 - Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, STRI Panama
• 2002 to 2004 - NASA LBA Post-doctoral Fellow, INPA Brazil & STRI Panama

Memberships

• 2009 to 2016 - Research Associate, Smithsonian Tropical Reseach Institute
• 1996 to 2016 - Research Associate, Biological Dynamics of Forest Fragments Project, Brazil
• 2013 to 2015 - President of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC)
• 2011 to 2014 - Deputy Chair, Scientific Advisory Committee of the Wet Tropics Management Authority, Cairns
• 2009 to 2011 - Councilor of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation

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

• Addicott E, Laurance S, Lyons M, Butler D and Nelder J (2018) When rare species are not important: linking plot-based vegetation classifications and landscape-scale mapping in Australian savanna vegetation. Community Ecology, 19 (1). pp. 67-76
• Edwards W, Liddell M, Franks P, Nichols C and Laurance S (2018) Seasonal patterns in rainforest litterfall: detecting endogenous and environmental influences from long-term sampling. Austral Ecology, 43. pp. 225-235
• Gomes V, Ijff S, Raes N, Amaral I, Salamão R, Coelho L, De Almeida Matos F, Castilho C, Limo Filho D, López D, Guevara J, Magnusson W, Phillips O, Wittmann F, Veiga Carim M, Martins M, Irume M, Sabatier D, Molino J, Bánki O, da Silva Guimarães J, Pitman N, Fernandez Piedade M, Mendoza A, Luize B, Venticinque E, de Leão Novo E, Vargas P, Silva T, Manzatoo A, Terborgh J, Reis N, Montero J, Casula K, Marimon B, Marimon-junior B, Honorio Coronado N, Feldpausch T, Duque A, Zartman C, Arboleda N, Killeen T, Mostacedo B, Vásquez R, Schöngart J, Assis R, Medeiros M, Simon M, Andrade A, Laurance W, Camargo J, Demarchi L, Laurance S, de Sousa Farias E, Nascimento H, Revilla J, Quaresma A, Costa F, Vieira I, Cintra B, Castellanos H, Brienan R, Stevenson P, Feitosa Y, Duivenvoorden J, Aymard C. G, Mogollón H, Targhetta N, Comiskey J, Vicentini A, Lopes A, Damasco G, Dávila N, Garcia-Villacorta R, Levis C, Schietti J, Souza P, Emilio T, Alonso A, Neill D, Dallmeier F, Ferreira L, Araujo-Murakami A, Praia D, do Amaral D, Carvalho F, de Souza F, Feeley K, Arroyo L, Pansonato M, Gribel R, Villa B, Licona J, Fine P, Cerón C, Baraloto C, Jiménez E, Stropp J, Engel J, Silveira M, Mora M, Petronelli P, Maas P, Thomas-Caesar R, Henkel T, Daly D, Paredes M, Baker T, Fuentes A, Peres C, Chave J, Pena J, Dexter K, Silman M, Jørgensen P, Pennington T, De Fiore A, Valverde F, Phillips J, Rivas-Torres G, von Hildebrand P, van Andel T, Ruschel A, Prieto A, Rudas A, Hoffman B, Vela C, Barbosa E, Zent E, Gonzales G, Doza H, Miranda I, Guillaumet J, Pinto L, Bonates L, Silva N, Gómez R, Zent S, Gonzales T, Vos V, Malhi Y, Oliveira A, Cano A, Albuquerque B, Vriesendorp C, Correa D, Torre E, Van Der Heijden G, Ramírez-Angulo H, Ramos J, Young K, Rocha M, Nascimento M, Medina M, Tirado M, Wang O, Sierra R, Torres-Lezama A, Mendoza C, Ferreira C, Baider C, Villarroel D, Balslev H, Mesones I, Giraldo L, Casas L, Reategui M, Linares-Palomino R, Zagt R, Cárdenas S, Farfan-Rios W, Sampaio A, Pauletto D, Sandoval E, Arevalo F, Huamantupa-Chuquimaco I, Garcia-Cabrera K, Hernandez L, Gamarra L, Alexiades M, Pansini S, Cuenca W, Milliken W, Ricardo J, López-González G, Pos E and ter Steege H (2018) Species distribution modelling: contrasting presence-only models with plot abundance data. Scientific Reports, 8.
• Laurance W, Camargo J, Fearnside P, Lovejoy T, Williamson G, Mesquita R, Meyer C, Bobrowiec P and Laurance S (2018) An Amazonian rainforest and its fragments as a laboratory of global change. Biological Reviews, 93 (1). pp. 223-247
• Northfield T, Laurance S, Mayfield M, Paini D, Snyder W, Stouffer D, Wright J and Lach L (2018) Native turncoats and indirect facilitation of species invasions. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences, 285 (1871).
• Apgaua D, Tng D, Cernusak L, Cheesman A, Santos R, Edwards W and Laurance S (2017) Plant functional groups within a tropical forest exhibit different wood functional anatomy. Functional Ecology, 31 (3). pp. 582-591
• Campbell M, Edwards W, Magrach A, Laurance S, Alamgir M, Porolak G and Laurance W (2017) Forest edge disturbance increases rattan abundance in tropical rain forest fragments. Scientific Reports, 7. pp. 1-12
• Ewers R, Andrade A, Laurance S, Camargo J, Lovejoy T and Laurance W (2017) Predicted trajectories of tree community change in Amazonian rainforest fragments. Ecography, 40 (1). pp. 26-35
• Graham V, Laurance S, Grech A and Venter O (2017) Spatially explicit estimates of forest carbon emissions, mitigation costs and REDD+ opportunities in Indonesia. Environmental Research Letters, 12. pp. 1-11
• Levis C, Costa F, Bongers F, Peña-Claros M, Clement C, Junqueira A, Neves E, Tamanaha E, Figueiredo F, Salomão R, Castilho C, Magnusson W, Phillips O, Guevara J, Sabatier D, Molino J, Cárdenas López D, Monteagudo Mendoza A, Pitman N, Duque A, Núñez Vargas P, Zartman C, Vásquez R, Andrade A, Camargo J, Feldpausch T, Laurance S, Laurance W, Killeen T, Mendonça Nascimento H, Montero J, Mostacedo B, Amaral I, Guimarães Vieira I, Brienen R, Castellanos H, Terborgh J, de Jesus Veiga Carim M, da Silva Guimaraes J, de Souza Coelho L, de Almeida Matos F, Wittman F, Mogollón H, Damasco G, Dávila N, García-Villacorta R, Honorio Coronado E, Emilio T, de Andrade Lima Filho D, Schlietti J, Souza P, Targhetta N, Comiskey J, Marimon B, Marimon Jr. B, Neill D, Alonso A, Arroyo L, Carvalho F, Coelho de Sousa F, Dallmeier F, Pansonato M, Duivenvoorden J, Fine P, Stevenson P, Araujo-Murakami A, Aymard C. G, Baraloto C, do Amaral D, Engel J, Henkel T, Maas P, Petronelli P, Cardenas Revilla J, Stropp J, Daly D, Gribel R, Ríos Paredes M, Silviera M, Thomas-Caesar R, Baker T, Ferriera da Silva N, Ferriera L, Peres C, Silman M, Cerón C, Valverde F, Di Fiore A, Jiminez E, Peñuala Mora M, Toledo M, Barbosa E, de Matos Bonates L, Arboleda N, de Sousa Farias E, Fuentes A, Guillaumet J, Jørgensen P, Malhi Y, de Andrade Miranda I, Phillips J, Prieto A, Rudas A, Ruschell A, Silva N, von Hildebrand P, Vos V, Zent E, Zent S, Ladvocat Cintra B, Nascimento M, Oliveira A, Ramírez-Angulo H, Ramos J, Rivas-Torres G, Schöngart J, Sierra R, Tirado M, van der Heijden G, Vilanova Torre E, Wang O, Young K, Baider C, Cano A, Farfan-Rios W, Ferreira C, Hoffman B, Mendoza C, Mesones I, Torres-Lezama A, Umaña Medina M, van Andel T, Villarroel D, Zagt R, Alexiades M, Balslev H, Garcia-Cabrera K, Gonzales T, Hernandez L, Huamantupa-Chuquimaco I, Manzatto A, Milliken W, Palacios Cuenca W, Pansini S, Pauletto D, Ramirez Arevalo F, Costa Reis N, Sampaio A, Urrego Giraldo L, Valderrama Sandoval E, Valenzuela Gamarra L, Vela C and ter Steege H (2017) Persistent effects of pre-Columbian plant domestication on Amazonian forest composition. Science, 355 (6328). pp. 925-931
• Massi K, Bird M, Marimon B, Marimon B, Nogueira D, Oliveira E, Phillips O, Quesada C, Andrade A, Brienen R, Camargo J, Chave J, Honorio Coronado E, Ferreira L, Higuchi N, Laurance S, Laurance W, Lovejoy T, Malhi Y, Martinez R, Monteagudo A, Neill D, Prieto A, Ramírez-angulo H, Ter Steege H, Vilanova E and Feldpausch T (2017) Does soil pyrogenic carbon determine plant functional traits in Amazon Basin forests? Plant Ecology, 218 (9). pp. 1047-1062
• Preece N, Abell S, Grogan L, Wayne A, Skerratt L, Van Oosterzee P, SHIMA A, Daszak P, Field H, Reiss A, Berger L, Rymer T, Fisher D, Lawes M, Laurance S, McCallum H, Esson C and Epstein J (2017) A guide for ecologists: detecting the role of disease in faunal declines and managing population recovery. Biological Conservation, 214. pp. 136-146

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ResearchOnline@JCU stores 85+ research outputs authored by A/Prof Susan Laurance from 1999 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

• Floristic diversity and patch dynamics in hyper-disturbed tropical lowland rainforest fragments in North Queensland: No evidence for cyclone-disturbance and fragmentation driving species assemblages towards early-successional states;; (Masters , Primary Advisor)
• Diversity, Habitat Use and Movements of Small Mammals in Fragmented Landscapes (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Vegetation Communities of Cape Your Peninsula: Evaluating Queensland's Regional Ecosystem Classification (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Using Mosquito Excreta to Enhance Mosquito-Borne Disease Surveillance (PhD , Secondary Advisor)

Completed

• Recruitment and dispersal limitations in a chronosequence of secondary forests in tropical Australia (2016, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) communities across land uses in tropical Australia (2016, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Cloud to coast: assessing, monitoring and managing forest carbon in Papua New Guinea (2016, PhD , Associate Advisor)
• Conservation challenges of wet-tropical nature reserves in north-east India (2015, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Patterns of secondary forest recovery in two soil types (2016, PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Patching Up the Divide: Population Dynamics and Genetics of Small Mammals in a Fragmented Rainforest Landscape. (2014, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Examining spatio-temporal patterns of seed dispersal by a terrestrial non-obligate frugivore (2017, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Maintaining connectivity for tropical rainforest mammals in agricultural landscapes (2018, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Opportunities for REDD+ to minimise forest carbon emissions and mitigate climate change in Southeast Asia (2017, Masters , 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.