Professor Mathew Crowther
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Professor Mathew Crowther

Professor in Quantitative Conservation Biology
Phone
+61 2 9351 7661
Fax
+61 2 9351 4119
Professor Mathew Crowther

Professor Mathew Crowther has an extensive background in wildlife ecology evolution and management with over 20 years teaching, research and field survey experience. He has conducted research and field studies on terrestrial wildlife both throughout Australia and internationally. The habitats ranged from tropical islands and savanna to temperate forests and sandy deserts, often in remote areas. he has a comprehensive knowledge of and experience with the identification, taxonomy, distribution, habitat and ecology of terrestrial vertebrate fauna. He is an acknowledged expert in mammals, and he has discovered and described two species and one subspecies. He is now on the leading experts in Koalas, being on many committees. His latest research is mainly on koalas, dingoes and rodents. He is also working on the chemical mechanisms of fear of cats by rodents. Recently he has branched into using the same approaches in animal performance to sports science.

Professor Mathew Crowther has a PhD in the ecology and evolution of Antechinus in eastern Australia (particularly in northern NSW) from the University in Sydney and a BSc (Hons) from UNSW. He has lectured in zoology, ecology, statistics, wildlife management and environmental impact assessment at the University of Sydney for 15 years, as well as being a Project Officer in Koala Survey at the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water for 3 years. Hence, he has a broad background in the wildlife management and conservation from the survey and research level through to the policy and legislative level. He has an extensive publication record and have authored or co-authored over 140 publications in various aspects of wildlife biology (h-index 35, 4462 citations), and have held two ARC grants as CI. He regularly comment on plans for government and private consultancies, and he has also worked internationally as a consultant in the Environmental Impact Assessment industry, including an assessment of a gas pipeline in PNG.

My research covers a wide range of topics in the quantative analysis of the ecology and evolution of vetebrates. These include:

  • Responses of fauna to climate change, fire and predation.
  • Evolution and ecology of small mammals
  • Behavioural, population and landscape ecology of koalas
  • Ecosystem regulation by apex predators.
  • Responses of rodent to predator odour
  • Conservation biology and ecology of mammals, birds and reptiles.
  • Population control in pest mammals.
  • Using ecological methods in the study of football

Teaching

  • BIOL3010 Tropical Wildlife Biology
  • BIOL2022 Experimental design and data analysis
  • BIOL2021_2921 Zoology
  • ENVX2001 Applied Statistical Analysis
  • Ecosystem regulation by apex predators
  • Movement of koalas in response to roads and vegetation
  • Koala population ecology in response to disease
  • Prediction of koala habitat using aircraft and hyperspectral imagery
  • Reponses of rodents to predator odour
  • Differentiation of small mammals using odour profiles
Ecology and Evolution, Wildlife and conservation
Project titleResearch student
Carrion and Scavenging as an Ecological IndicatorRhys CAIRNCROSS

Publications

Book Chapters

  • Han, S., Filippi, P., Roman Dobarco, M., Harianto, J., Crowther, M., Bishop, T. (2023). Multivariate analysis for soil science. In Michael J. Goss and Margaret Oliver (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Soils in the Environment, (pp. 499-508). UK: Elsevier Ltd.
  • Letnic, M., Fillios, M., Crowther, M. (2014). The arrival and impacts of the dingo. In Alistair Glen, Christopher Dickman (Eds.), Carnivores of Australia: Past, Present and Future, (pp. 53-67). Collingwood, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. [More Information]
  • Crowther, M., Lunney, D., Parnaby, H. (2012). Are Journal Impact Factors Another Key Threatening Process to the Australian Fauna? The potential bias of journal impact factors in the selection of subjects for research and publishing. In P. Banks, D. Lunney, C. Dickman (Eds.), Science Under Siege. Australia: Royal Zoological Society of NSW.

Journals

  • Brewster, R., Jameson, T., Roncolato, F., Crowther, M., Finnerty, P., Newsome, T. (2024). Islands in the sky - Could complex topography help us rewild beyond the fence? Pacific Conservation Biology, 30(5), PC24022. [More Information]
  • Orlando, C., Crowther, M. (2024). Megafires and koala occurrence: A comparative analysis of field data and satellite imagery. Australian Mammalogy, 46(2), AM23054. [More Information]
  • Lott, M., Frankham, G., Eldridge, M., Alquezar-Planas, D., Donnelly, L., Zenger, K., Leigh, K., Kjeldsen, S., Field, M., Lemon, J., Lunney, D., Crowther, M., Krockenberger, M., et al (2024). Reversing the decline of threatened koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations in New South Wales: Using genomics to enhance conservation outcomes. Ecology and Evolution, 14(8). [More Information]

Conferences

  • Lunney, D., Lemon, J., Crowther, M., Stalenberg, E., Ross, K., Wheeler, R. (2012). An Ecological Approach to Koala Conservation in a Mined Landscape. Life-of-Mine Conference 2012, South Carlton, Victoria: AusIMM.
  • Lunney, D., Crowther, M., Wallis, I., Foley, W., Lemon, J., Wheeler, R., Madani, G., Orscheg, C., Griffith, J., Krockenberger, M., Retamales, M., et al (2012). Koalas and climate change: A case study on the Liverpool Plains, north-west New South Wales. Royal Zoological Society Forum 2010: Wildlife and climate change: towards robust conservation strategies for Australian fauna, Mosman, NSW: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. [More Information]
  • Lunney, D., Close, R., Bryant, J., Crowther, M., Shannon, I., Madden, K., Ward, S. (2010). Campbelltown's koalas: their place in the natural history of Sydney. Royal Zoological Society of NSW 2007 Forum The Natural History of Sydney, Mosman, NSW: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. [More Information]

Reference Works

  • Crowther, M. (2008). Brown Antechinus (Antechinus stuartii). In S. Van Dyck and R. Strahan (Eds.), (pp. 94-96). New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd.
  • Crowther, M. (2008). Rusty Antechinus (Antechinus adustus). In S. Van Dyck and R. Strahan (Eds.), (pp. 81-82). New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd.
  • Crowther, M. (2008). Subtropical Antechinus (Antechinus subtropicus). In S. Van Dyck and R. Strahan (Eds.), (pp. 97-98). New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd.

2024

  • Brewster, R., Jameson, T., Roncolato, F., Crowther, M., Finnerty, P., Newsome, T. (2024). Islands in the sky - Could complex topography help us rewild beyond the fence? Pacific Conservation Biology, 30(5), PC24022. [More Information]
  • Orlando, C., Crowther, M. (2024). Megafires and koala occurrence: A comparative analysis of field data and satellite imagery. Australian Mammalogy, 46(2), AM23054. [More Information]
  • Lott, M., Frankham, G., Eldridge, M., Alquezar-Planas, D., Donnelly, L., Zenger, K., Leigh, K., Kjeldsen, S., Field, M., Lemon, J., Lunney, D., Crowther, M., Krockenberger, M., et al (2024). Reversing the decline of threatened koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations in New South Wales: Using genomics to enhance conservation outcomes. Ecology and Evolution, 14(8). [More Information]

2023

  • Vandersteen, J., Fust, C., Crowther, M., Smith, M., Viola, B., Barton, P., Newsome, T. (2023). Carcass use by mesoscavengers drives seasonal shifts in Australian alpine scavenging dynamics. Wildlife Research, 50(12), 1031-1045.
  • Cairns, K., Crowther, M., Parker, H., Ostrander, E., Letnic, M. (2023). Genome-wide variant analyses reveal new patterns of admixture and population structure in Australian dingoes. Molecular Ecology, 32(15), 4133-4150. [More Information]
  • Bragato, P., Spencer, E., Dickman, C., Crowther, M., Tulloch, A., Newsome, T. (2023). Habitat but not group size or recent predator activity affect corvid collective vigilance at carcasses. Austral Ecology. [More Information]

2022

  • Kan, A., Schmertmann, L., McArthur, C., Mella, V., Crowther, M., Monteiro de Miranda, L., Malik, R., Meyer, W., Krockenberger, M. (2022). A Possible Link between the Environment and Cryptococcus gattii Nasal Colonisation in Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) in the Liverpool Plains, New South Wales. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(8), 4603. [More Information]
  • Hunter, A., Smith, N., Camata, T., Crowther, M., Mather, A., Souza, N., Ramos-Silva, L., Pazetto, N., Moura, F., Wilson, R. (2022). Age- and size-corrected kicking speed and accuracy in elite junior soccer players. Science and Medicine in Football, 6(1), 29-39. [More Information]
  • Hunter, A., Smith, N., Camata, T., Crowther, M., Mather, A., Moura, F., Santiago, P., Wilson, R. (2022). Are soccer players born later in the year more technically skilled than those born earlier in the year. International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching. [More Information]

2021

  • van Eeden, L., Dickman, C., Crowther, M., Newsome, T. (2021). A Theory of Change for promoting coexistence between dingoes and livestock production. Conservation Science and Practice, 3(3), e304-1-e304-12. [More Information]
  • Bedoya-Perez, M., Le, A., McGregor, I., Crowther, M. (2021). Antipredator responses toward cat fur in wild brown rats tested in a semi-natural environment. Behavioral Ecology, 32(5), 835-844. [More Information]
  • Fardell, L., Bedoya-Perez, M., Dickman, C., Crowther, M., Pavey, C., Narayan, E. (2021). Are physiological and behavioural responses to stressors displayed concordantly by wild urban rodents? Science of Nature, 108(1), 5. [More Information]

2020

  • Rees, J., Crowther, M., Kingsford, R., Letnic, M. (2020). Direct and indirect effects of carrion subsidies in an arid rangeland: Carrion has positive effects on facultative scavengers and negative effects on a small songbird. Journal of Arid Environments, 179, 104174. [More Information]
  • van Eeden, L., Newsome, T., Crowther, M., Dickman, C., Bruskotter, J. (2020). Diverse public perceptions of species' status and management align with conflicting conservation frameworks. Biological Conservation, 242, 108416. [More Information]
  • Parsons, M., Jardine, C., Crowther, M., Himsworth, C. (2020). Editorial: Trends in Urban Rodent Monitoring and Mitigation: Improving Our Understanding of Population and Disease Ecology, Surveillance and Control. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 7, 522. [More Information]

2019

  • van Eeden, L., Smith, B., Crowther, M., Dickman, C., Newsome, T. (2019). 'The dingo menace': an historic survey on graziers' management of an Australian carnivore. Pacific Conservation Biology, 25(3), 245-256. [More Information]
  • van Eeden, L., Dickman, C., Crowther, M., Newsome, T. (2019). A snapshot of changes in graziers' management and attitudes towards dingoes over 60 years. Pacific Conservation Biology, 25(4), 413-420. [More Information]
  • Moseby, K., Crowther, M., Letnic, M. (2019). Ecological Role of an Apex Predator Revealed by a Reintroduction Experiment and Bayesian Statistics. Ecosystems, 22(2), 283-295. [More Information]

2018

  • van Eeden, L., Eklund, A., Miller, J., Lopez-Bao, J., Chapron, G., Cejtin, M., Crowther, M., Dickman, C., Frank, J., Krofel, M., Newsome, T., et al (2018). Carnivore conservation needs evidence-based livestock protection. PLoS Biology, 16(9), 1-8. [More Information]
  • Bleeker, A., Crowther, M., Darke, S., Lintzeris, N., McGregor, I. (2018). David J. Allsop (7.12.1974-2013.8.2018). Drug and Alcohol Review, 37(7), 922-923. [More Information]
  • Mella, V., McArthur, C., Frend, R., Crowther, M. (2018). Foxes in trees: A threat for Australian arboreal fauna? Australian Mammalogy, 40(1), 103-105. [More Information]

2017

  • Reckless, H., Murray, M., Crowther, M. (2017). A review of climatic change as a determinant of the viability of koala populations. Wildlife Research, 44, 458-470. [More Information]
  • Hanford, J., Crowther, M., Hochuli, D. (2017). Effectiveness of vegetation-based biodiversity offset metrics as surrogates for ants. Conservation Biology, 31(1), 161-171. [More Information]
  • Cremona, T., Crowther, M., Webb, J. (2017). High mortality and small population size prevent population recovery of a reintroduced mesopredator. Animal Conservation, 20(6), 555-563. [More Information]

2016

  • Parr, W., Wilson, L., Wroe, S., Colman, N., Crowther, M., Letnic, M. (2016). Cranial Shape and the Modularity of Hybridization in Dingoes and Dogs; Hybridization Does Not Spell the End for Native Morphology. Evolutionary biology, 43(2), 171-187. [More Information]
  • Crowther, M., Ortac, G., Pedersen, S., McArthur, C. (2016). Interactions between fire and introduced deer herbivory on coastal heath vegetation. Austral Ecology, 41(6), 604-612. [More Information]
  • Predavec, M., Lunney, D., Hope, B., Stalenberg, E., Shannon, I., Crowther, M., Miller, I. (2016). The contribution of community wisdom to conservation ecology. Conservation Biology, 30(3), 496-505. [More Information]

2015

  • Rees, J., Webb, J., Crowther, M., Letnic, M. (2015). Carrion subsidies provided by fishermen increase predation of beach-nesting bird nests by facultative scavengers. Animal Conservation, 18, 44-49. [More Information]
  • Cremona, T., Mella, V., Webb, J., Crowther, M. (2015). Do individual differences in behavior influence wild rodents more than predation risk? Journal of Mammalogy, 96(6), 1337-1343. [More Information]
  • Mowat, E., Webb, J., Crowther, M. (2015). Fire-mediated niche-separation between two sympatric small mammal species. Austral Ecology, 40(1), 50-59. [More Information]

2014

  • Crowther, M., Fillios, M., Colman, N., Letnic, M. (2014). An updated description of the Australian dingo (Canis dingo Meyer, 1793). Journal of Zoology, 293(3), 192-203. [More Information]
  • Crowther, M., Lunney, D., Lemon, J., Stalenberg, E., Wheeler, R., Madani, G., Ross, K., Ellis, M. (2014). Climate-mediated habitat selection in an arboreal folivore. Ecography, 37(4), 336-343. [More Information]
  • Spencer, E., Crowther, M., Dickman, C. (2014). Diet and prey selectivity of three species of sympatric mammalian predators in central Australia. Journal of Mammalogy, 95(6), 1278-1288. [More Information]

2013

  • Kamper, W., Webb, J., Crowther, M., Greenlees, M., Shine, R. (2013). Behaviour and survivorship of a dasyurid predator (Antechinus flavipes) in response to encounters with the toxic and invasive cane toad (Rhinella marina). Australian Mammalogy, 35, 136-143. [More Information]
  • Croak, B., Crowther, M., Webb, J., Shine, R. (2013). Movements and Habitat Use of an Endangered Snake, Hoplocephalus bungaroides (Elapidae): Implications for Conservation. PloS One, 8(4), 1-10. [More Information]
  • Letnic, M., Crowther, M. (2013). Patterns in the abundance of kangaroo populations in arid Australia are consistent with the exploitation ecosystems hypothesis. Oikos, 122(5), 761-769. [More Information]

2012

  • Radford, C., Letnic, M., Fillios, M., Crowther, M. (2012). An assessment of the taxonomic status of wild canids in south-eastern New South Wales: Phenotypic variation in dingoes. Australian Journal of Zoology, 60(2), 73-80. [More Information]
  • Lunney, D., Lemon, J., Crowther, M., Stalenberg, E., Ross, K., Wheeler, R. (2012). An Ecological Approach to Koala Conservation in a Mined Landscape. Life-of-Mine Conference 2012, South Carlton, Victoria: AusIMM.
  • Crowther, M., Lunney, D., Parnaby, H. (2012). Are Journal Impact Factors Another Key Threatening Process to the Australian Fauna? The potential bias of journal impact factors in the selection of subjects for research and publishing. In P. Banks, D. Lunney, C. Dickman (Eds.), Science Under Siege. Australia: Royal Zoological Society of NSW.

2011

  • Letnic, M., Crowther, M., Dickman, C., Ritchie, E. (2011). Demonising the dingo: How much wild dogma is enough? Current Zoology, 57(5), 668-670.
  • Cupples, J., Crowther, M., Story, G., Letnic, M. (2011). Dietary overlap and prey selectivity among sympatric carnivores: Could dingoes suppress foxes through competition for prey? Journal of Mammalogy, 92(3), 590-600. [More Information]
  • Tuft, K., Crowther, M., McArthur, C. (2011). Multiple scales of diet selection by brush-tailed rock-wallabies, Petrogale penicillata. Australian Mammalogy, 33(2), 169-180. [More Information]

2010

  • Lunney, D., Close, R., Bryant, J., Crowther, M., Shannon, I., Madden, K., Ward, S. (2010). Campbelltown's koalas: their place in the natural history of Australia. In Daniel Lunney, Pat Hutchings and Dieter Hochuli (Eds.), The Natural History of Sydney, (pp. 319-325). Mosman NSW 2088: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales.
  • Lunney, D., Close, R., Bryant, J., Crowther, M., Shannon, I., Madden, K., Ward, S. (2010). Campbelltown's koalas: their place in the natural history of Sydney. Royal Zoological Society of NSW 2007 Forum The Natural History of Sydney, Mosman, NSW: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales. [More Information]
  • Lunney, D., Close, R., Bryant, J., Crowther, M., Shannon, I., Madden, K., Ward, S. (2010). The koalas of campbelltown, south-western Sydney: does their natural history foretell of an unnatural future? Royal Zoological Society of NSW 2007 Forum The Natural History of Sydney, Mosman, NSW: Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales.

2009

  • Stojanovic, D., Maguire, G., Weston, M., Dickman, C., Crowther, M. (2009). Attempted incubation and nest-maintenance behaviour of artificially deployed quail egg clutches by Hooded Plovers Thinornis rubricollis. Wader Study Group Bulletin, 116(1), 41-43.
  • Lunney, D., Crowther, M., Bryant, J., Shannon, I. (2009). Combining a map-based public survey with an estimation of site occupancy to determine the recent and changing distribution of the koala in New South Wales. Wildlife Research, 36(3), 262-273. [More Information]
  • Vine, S., Crowther, M., Lapidge, S., Dickman, C., Mooney, N., Piggott, M., English, A. (2009). Comparison of methods to detect rare and cryptic species: a case study using the red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Wildlife Research, 36(5), 436-446. [More Information]

2008

  • Crowther, M. (2008). Brown Antechinus (Antechinus stuartii). In S. Van Dyck and R. Strahan (Eds.), (pp. 94-96). New Holland Publishers (Australia) Pty Ltd.
  • Crowther, M., Braithwaite, R. (2008). Brown Antechinus Antechinus Stuartii. In Steve van Dyck and Ronald Strahan (Eds.), The Mammals of Australia, (pp. 94-96). Sydney: Reed New Holland.
  • Daly, B., Dickman, C., Crowther, M. (2008). Causes of habitat divergence in two species of agamid lizards in arid central Australia. Ecology, 89(1), 65-76. [More Information]

2007

  • Pizzuto, T., Finlayson, G., Crowther, M., Dickman, C. (2007). Microhabitat use by the brush-tailed bettong (Bettongia penicillata) and burrowing bettong (B-lesueur) in semiarid New South Wales: implications for reintroduction programs. Wildlife Research, 34(4), 271-279. [More Information]
  • Daly, B., Dickman, C., Crowther, M. (2007). Selection of habitat components by two species of agamid lizards in sandridge desert, central Australia. Austral Ecology, 32(7), 825-833. [More Information]

2006

  • McAllan, B., Dickman, C., Crowther, M. (2006). Photoperiod as a reproductive cue in the marsupial genus Antechinus: ecological and evolutionary consequences. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 87(3), 365-379. [More Information]
  • Holleley, C., Dickman, C., Crowther, M., Oldroyd, B. (2006). Size breeds success: multiple paternity, multivariate selection and male semelparity in a small marsupial, Antechinus stuartii. Molecular Ecology, 15(11), 3439-3448. [More Information]

2004

  • Murray, B., Brown, A., Dickman, C., Crowther, M. (2004). Geographical Gradients In Seed Mass In Relation To Climate. Journal of Biogeography, 31(3), 379-388. [More Information]
  • Wroe, S., Crowther, M., Dortch, J., Chong, J. (2004). The Size Of The Largest Marsupial And Why It Matters. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 271, S34-S36. [More Information]

2003

  • Wroe, S., Myers, T., Seebacher, F., Kear, B., Gillespie, A., Crowther, M., Salisbury, S. (2003). An alternative method for predicting body mass: the case of the Pleistocence marsupial lion. Paleobiology, 29(3), 403-411.
  • Crowther, M., Blacket, M. (2003). Biogeography and speciation in the Dasyuridae: why are there so many kinds of Dasyurids? In Jones, Dickman, Archer (Eds.), Predators with Pouches, (pp. 124-130). Australia: CSIRO Publishing.
  • Masters, P., Dickman, C., Crowther, M. (2003). Effects of cover reduction on mulgara Dasycercus cristicauda (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae), rodent and invertebrate populations in central Australia: Implications for land management. Austral Ecology, 28(6), 658-665. [More Information]

2002

  • Crowther, M., Spencer, P., Alpers, D., Dickman, C. (2002). Taxonomic status of the mardo, Antechinus flavipes leucogaster (Marsupialia: Dasyuridae): a morphological, molecular, reproductive and bioclimatic approach. Australian Journal of Zoology, 50(6), 627-647. [More Information]

Selected Grants

2022

  • Air bears: Predicting koala habitat by combining leaf chemistry with hyperspectral imagery, Crowther M, Van Ogtrop F, Faculty of Science/SOLES Strategic Partnership Seeding Grants

2019

  • Impacts and drivers of chlamydial disease in the koala: relationships between the host, pathogen and environment, Higgins D, Krockenberger M, Crowther M, Mella V, McArthur C, Office of Environment and Heritage (NSW)/NSW Koala Research Plan
  • Vaccination against Chlamydiosis: An effective disease management tool in wild populations, Krockenberger M, Higgins D, Wylie C, Crowther M, Mella V, McArthur C, Office of Environment and Heritage (NSW)/NSW Koala Research Plan

Related research articles

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