Rate My Professor Barbara Bowen

Barbara Bowen is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences at Murdoch University, where she serves as Academic Chair for the Conservation and Wildlife Biology major. She obtained her BSc with Honours in Zoology from the University of Western Australia (1979–1982) and her PhD in Botany from the same university (1987–1991). Her early career included a position as Lecturer in the School of Molecular and Life Sciences at Curtin University (June–December 1991), after which she joined Murdoch University, holding affiliations there since 1994.

Bowen's academic interests center on plant ecology and fire responses in Mediterranean-type ecosystems of south-western Australia, particularly the strategies of seeder versus resprouter species, the role of root starch in post-fire recovery, seedling growth and storage characteristics, and adaptations in the Proteaceae family such as pollen release and taproot starch distribution. Her research also encompasses the pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi, with studies showing that time since fire and average fire interval best predict its activity in heathlands; the decline of tuart (Eucalyptus gomphocephala) woodlands, including links to soil bacterial diversity and the need for understorey thinning and burning trials; plant pathology impacts on ecosystems; wetland management; and dietary analyses of mammals like the black-flanked rock-wallaby, euro, and feral goats. She has produced 36 publications garnering 1,102 citations. Prominent works include 'Seedling Growth and Storage Characteristics of Seeder and Resprouter Species of Mediterranean-type Ecosystems of S. W. Australia' (1990), 'The Significance of Root Starch in Post-fire Shoot Recovery of the Resprouter Stirlingia latifolia R. Br. (Proteaceae)' (1993), 'Effect of season of burn on shoot recovery and post-fire flowering performance in the resprouter Stirlingia latifolia R. Br. (Proteaceae)' (2004), 'Time since fire and average fire interval are the best predictors of Phytophthora cinnamomi activity in heathlands of south-western Australia' (2015), and 'Patterns of storage tissue and starch distribution in the young taproot of obligate seeders and resprouters of Australian Proteaceae (Juss.): Possible evidence of homoplastic evolution' (2017). Bowen is associated with the Centre for Phytophthora Science and Management.