Professor Martine Maron

Professor

School of the Environment
Faculty of Science
m.maron@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 53836

Overview

Conserving biodiversity is essential for maintaining the health of the environment upon which human life and wellbeing relies. But the task will only get harder, with human pressures increasing in magnitude and ubiquity. My research tackles questions central to this challenge. A particular focus is biodiversity net gain policy, particularly the design and consequences of biodiversity offsetting, as well as the conservation and restoration of Australia’s woodlands and woodland bird assemblages. I collaborate with a broad network of individuals and organisations including government and non-government bodies to help achieve effective uptake of research findings into policy and environmental management. Sound conservation policy is essential if we are to apply ecological knowledge to reduce and ultimately halt biodiversity declines. I provide guidance on offset/no net loss/net gain policy development internationally including in Malaysia, the UK, Mozambique, and Guinea, and to intergovernmental convening bodies including IPBES, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the IUCN. I currently chair the IUCN’s Impact Mitigation and Ecological Compensation Thematic Group, am a director of BirdLife Australia and the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, and am a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists and The Biodiversity Council. My research group is part of the Centre for Biodiversity & Conservation Science.

Research Interests

  • Conservation policy
  • Community ecology
  • Woodland conservation and management
  • Threatened species
  • Spatial ecology
  • Biodiversity accounting

Research Impacts

I collaborate with conservation policymakers at State, National (e.g. New Zealand, Australia, Mozambique) and international (IUCN, UN, IPBES) levels to achieve policy change and benefits for biodiversity. Example impacts include:

  • Science input to the drafting process of goals and targets for the Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 Global Biodiversity Strategy (Diaz et al. 2020)
  • Led writing of the first international policy on biodiversity offsetting for the IUCN
  • Development of the Conceptual Framework for Land Degradation Neutrality, adopted by 129 countries to date, to implement the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
  • Designed several widely-used tools to implement best-practice application of the mitigation hierarchy, including Australia’s Environmental Offsets Assessment Guide and Reef Trust Financial Contributions Offsets Calculator, New Zealand’s offset accounting model, and Mozambique’s new Impact Mitigation decree
  • Participated in the Consultative Group and Technical Group advising the EPBC Act review drafting proposed new National Environmental Standards for Australia for the Samuel Review
  • Achieved listing of a Key Threatening Process under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act: “Aggressive exclusion of birds from potential woodland and forest habitat by over-abundant noisy miners (Manorina melanocephala)” and authored the Threat Abatement Advice for this KTP
  • Developed a definition, condition scoring approach, and nomination for “Temperate and Subtropical Woodland Bird Community” for listing as a threatened under the EPBC Act (currently under consideration)

Qualifications

  • Postgraduate Diploma, University of Southern Queensland
  • Doctor of Philosophy, Monash University
  • Bachelor (Honours) of Science (Advanced), Monash University

Publications

  • Ma, Deqiang, Rhodes, Jonathan, Klein, Carissa J. and Maron, Martine (2023). Redistribution of fishery benefits among commercial and recreational fishers caused by offsetting. Marine Policy, 158 105881, 105881. doi: 10.1016/j.marpol.2023.105881

  • Maron, Martine, Quétier, Fabien, Sarmiento, Mariana, ten Kate, Kerry, Evans, Megan C., Bull, Joseph W., Jones, Julia P. G., zu Ermgassen, Sophus O. S. E., Milner-Gulland, E. J., Brownlie, Susie, Treweek, Jo and von Hase, Amrei (2023). ‘Nature positive’ must incorporate, not undermine, the mitigation hierarchy. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 8 (1), 14-17. doi: 10.1038/s41559-023-02199-2

  • Sonter, Laura J., Maron, Martine, Bull, Joseph W., Giljum, Stefan, Luckeneder, Sebastian, Maus, Victor, McDonald-Madden, Eve, Northey, Stephen A., Sánchez, Luis E., Valenta, Rick, Visconti, Piero, Werner, Tim T. and Watson, James E. M. (2023). How to fuel an energy transition with ecologically responsible mining. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 120 (35) e2307006120, 1-3. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2307006120

View all Publications

Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

  • Doctor Philosophy

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • This exciting project aims to develop a greater understanding of the effects of noisy miners Manorina melaocephala on the health of subtropical woodland ecosystems, and test an experimental approach to reducing negative impacts. The fieldwork will be based in the woodland landscapes around the UQ Hidden Vale Wildlife Centre in south-east Queensland, about 1.5 hours from the St Lucia campus. You would be joining the vibrant Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science at the University of Queensland.

    We are seeking students with experience in Australian bird and/or plant identification and survey methods, and an enthusiasm for field-based work. Field expenses are funded, but the successful applicant would need to apply for PhD candidature and scholarship through The University of Queensland: Doctor of Philosophy - Study - The University of Queensland (uq.edu.au). At this stage, we are only able to accept applications from domestic students.

    To express your interest in this position, please contact Professor Martine Maron m.maron@uq.edu.au with a CV and cover email.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Book

Book Chapter

  • DeClerck, Fabrice A. J., Koziell, Izabella, Benton, Tim, Garibaldi, Lucas A., Kremen, Claire, Maron, Martine, Del Rio, Cristina Rumbaitis, Sidhu, Aman, Wirths, Jonathan, Clark, Michael, Dickens, Chris, Carmona, Natalia Estrada, Fremier, Alexander K., Jones, Sarah K., Khoury, Colin K., Lal, Rattan, Obersteiner, Michael, Remans, Roseline, Rusch, Adrien, Schulte, Lisa A., Simmonds, Jeremy, Stringer, Lindsay C., Weber, Christopher and Winowiecki, Leigh (2023). A whole earth approach to nature-positive food: biodiversity and agriculture. Science and innovations for food systems transformation. (pp. 469-496) edited by Joachim von Braun, Kaosar Afsana, Louise O. Fresco and Mohamed Hag Ali Hassan. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-15703-5_25

  • Maron, Martine (2018). Is "no net loss of biodiversity" a good idea?. Effective conservation science: data not dogma. (pp. 141-146) edited by Peter Kareiva, Michelle Marvier and Brian Silliman. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/oso/9780198808978.003.0022

  • Maron, Martine (2010). Retaining and restoring wildlife values of woodlands. Temperate woodland conservation and management. (pp. 241-248) edited by David Lindenmayer, Andrew Bennett and Richard Hobbs. Collingwood, Melbourne: CSIRO Publishing.

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

Completed Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • This exciting project aims to develop a greater understanding of the effects of noisy miners Manorina melaocephala on the health of subtropical woodland ecosystems, and test an experimental approach to reducing negative impacts. The fieldwork will be based in the woodland landscapes around the UQ Hidden Vale Wildlife Centre in south-east Queensland, about 1.5 hours from the St Lucia campus. You would be joining the vibrant Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation Science at the University of Queensland.

    We are seeking students with experience in Australian bird and/or plant identification and survey methods, and an enthusiasm for field-based work. Field expenses are funded, but the successful applicant would need to apply for PhD candidature and scholarship through The University of Queensland: Doctor of Philosophy - Study - The University of Queensland (uq.edu.au). At this stage, we are only able to accept applications from domestic students.

    To express your interest in this position, please contact Professor Martine Maron m.maron@uq.edu.au with a CV and cover email.