Rate My Professor Mathew Crowther

Professor Mathew Crowther is the Professor of Quantitative Conservation Biology in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, at the University of Sydney. He obtained his PhD in ecology and evolution from the University of Sydney in 2001 and his Bachelor of Science in Biology from UNSW Sydney in 1995. Crowther's career at the University of Sydney encompasses more than two decades of contributions to teaching, research, and field surveys in wildlife ecology. He began as a Lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences from 2002 to 2012, progressed to Senior Lecturer from 2013 to 2015, served as Associate Professor from 2016 to 2023, and holds his current professorial position in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences. He leads the Quantitative Conservation Biology Research Group, utilizing statistical modelling, simulations, field experiments, and laboratory analyses to address questions in wildlife ecology, evolution, management, and conservation.

Crowther's research specializes in Australian mammals, including koalas, dingoes, and small mammals, with a focus on integrating empirical data and advanced quantitative methods to evaluate ecological threats, predict outcomes, and support conservation decisions. Key projects encompass fine-scale GPS tracking and remote sensing to study koala behavior, habitat selection, nutrition, thermoregulation, and climate responses, which have informed the NSW Koala Strategy and the Commonwealth's Endangered listing for the koala; investigations into dingo top-down control over mesopredators and herbivores, reshaping national predator management approaches; and analysis of predator chemical cues eliciting fear responses in rodents, yielding applications for urban pest control. He has produced over 260 peer-reviewed publications, earning more than 6,000 citations and an h-index of 40. Notable papers include "Patch quality and habitat fragmentation shape the foraging patterns of a specialist folivore" (2022, Behavioral Ecology), "A Theory of Change for promoting coexistence between dingoes and livestock in Australia" (2020, Conservation Science and Practice), "Impacts of colonisation on dingoes are written in their bones: new research" (2025), and "Routine movement and resource tracking in a specialist arboreal folivore: sex-and season-dependent revisits by koalas" (2026). Crowther is an Associate Editor for Oecologia, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, and Animals, and engages in interdisciplinary collaborations with government agencies, NGOs, and land managers to advance biodiversity protection and policy.