Two men in yellow lifejackets and hardcore rain wear stand on the deck of RSV Nuyina
Dr Aleks Terauds (left) at Macquarie Island in 2024 with Dr Kris Carlyon. Photo: Pete Harmsen

Dr Aleks Terauds: BSc (Hons), PhD

Research interests

I focus on research that delivers the strategic priorities of the Australian Government and influences environmental policy and management at national and international levels.

My research is largely applied, with a strong focus on improving and delivering environmental protection and achieving conservation outcomes in Antarctica, the Southern Ocean and the sub-Antarctic.

I currently lead the Terrestrial and Nearshore Biodiversity and Conservation Program, which facilitates and supports research into the abundance and distribution of Antarctic, sub-Antarctic and nearshore biodiversity and ecosystems. It also examines the threatening processes, and what can be done to mitigate those threats.

 

Current projects

Australian Antarctic Science projects

  • #4636: Sustainable Management of Antarctic Krill and Conservation of the Krill-based Ecosystem
  • #4619: Macquarie Island Wildlife Monitoring Program: strategic monitoring for applied conservation and management

Securing Australia’s Environmental Future (SAEF) projects

Key outcome areas
  • Australian Government Antarctic Policy and Strategy
  • The Antarctic Treaty’s Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP)
  • Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM)
  • Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR)
Collaborations & representations
  • Adjunct Associate Professor – Queensland University of Technology
  • Adjunct Senior Research Fellow – Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania
Publications

Lee, J. R., Terauds, A,…& Chadès, I. (2022). Threat management priorities for conserving Antarctic biodiversity. PloS Biology, 20(12), e3001921.

Hughes, K. A., Santos, M,…& Terauds, A. (2022). Ant-ICON-‘Integrated Science to Inform Antarctic and Southern Ocean Conservation’: a new SCAR Scientific Research Programme. Antarctic Science, 1–10.

Keith, D. A., Ferrer-Paris, J. R.,…Terauds, A.,... & Kingsford, R. T. (2022). A function-based typology for Earth’s ecosystems. Nature, 610(7932), 513–518.

Bird, J. P., Terauds, A.,.,…& Shaw, J. D. (2022). Generating unbiased estimates of burrowing seabird populations. Ecography, e06204.

Wauchope, H. S., Shaw, J. D., & Terauds, A. (2019). A snapshot of biodiversity protection in Antarctica. Nature communications, 10(1), 1–6.

Lee, J. R., Raymond, B.,…,& Terauds, A. (2017). Climate change drives expansion of Antarctic ice-free habitat. Nature, 547(7661), 49–54.

See more of Dr Terauds’ publications on Google Scholar.

Awards
  • 2018 International Polar Mentorship Award – Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS)
  • 2006 Whitley Book Awards, Winner – Best Natural History Publication in Australia
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