Rate My Professor Joseph Fontaine

Dr. Joseph B. Fontaine is a Lecturer in the School of Environmental and Conservation Sciences at Murdoch University, where he has been since 2008. Originally from the western United States, he earned his PhD in Wildlife Science from Oregon State University in 2008, MS in Zoology from Colorado State University, and AB in Chemistry. His research centers on disturbance ecology, with a particular emphasis on fire ecology, exploring how single and multiple disturbances such as fire, drought, and climate change alter ecosystems, affect plant and animal communities, and influence recovery capacity. Fontaine investigates fire impacts on forest structure, wildlife responses, restoration practices like topsoil transfer for biodiversity in urban reserves, and the effects of urbanization on Mediterranean woodlands. His work spans high-severity fires in western North America, bushfire threats and shortened fire intervals in Western Australia, soil fungal dynamics post-fire, and herbicide effects on plant communities. He has supervised numerous PhD students on topics including drought and wildfire effects on forests, urbanisation impacts on woodland plants, and pyrogenic carbon emissions from wildfires.

Fontaine has authored key publications including the highly cited 'Meta-analysis of avian and small-mammal response to fire severity, time since fire, and heterogeneity in fire mosaics' (Ecological Applications, 2012), 'A framework for the practical science necessary to restore sustainable, resilient, and biodiverse ecosystems' (Restoration Ecology, 2017), 'Comment on Self-thinning forest understoreys reduce wildfire severity' (Journal of Applied Ecology, 2024), and 'Ecological Resilience of Restored Mediterranean-Climate Woodlands' (Ecology and Evolution, 2025). He received the Vice Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Research from Murdoch University in 2018. Fontaine has secured Australian Research Council grants such as Discovery Project DP170101288 and Linkage Project LP160100996. His research informs fire management, conservation strategies, and climate adaptation policies, with contributions to public discourse through podcasts, media articles on forest dieback and fire-resilient ecosystems, and editorial roles advocating for evidence-based prescribed burning.