Dr Alan Andersen undertakes research for ecological sustainability in the tropical savannas of northern Australia.

Dr Alan Andersen: uncovering the secrets of ant diversity

Dr Alan Andersen is an ant ecologist using a functional group system to predict the structure and dynamics of ant communities throughout the world.

• 9 July 2007 | Updated 14 October 2011

Overview

• Current activities
• Background
• Academic qualifications
• Achievements 

Current activities

Dr Alan Andersen leads the Tropical Savannas research group and is Officer in Charge of CSIRO's Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre in Darwin.

He also leads the Fire and carbon management in regional Australia Focal Project in the Sustainable Regional Development theme.

His research interests focus on three broad areas:

• ant community ecology
• invertebrate bioindicators
• fire ecology and management.

Ant community ecology

Dr Andersen’s major contribution to ant community ecology is the development of a global model of ant community organisation, for the analysis and prediction of ant community structure and dynamics in relation to environmental stress and disturbance.

His work has drawn important parallels between ant community ecology and plant communities. Ants and plants are modular organisms (ant colonies and plants consist of numerous repeated units, referred to as modules) that occupy fixed positions, using their modules to forage for limited resources.

Dr Andersen is an expert on the biogeography and systematics of Australian ants. He has developed an internationally significant ant collection, which includes more than 4 500 Australian species.

Dr Andersen has an interest in the ecology and management of pest ants. He is Chair of the committee overseeing the management of Yellow Crazy Ants from Christmas Island, and contributed to the scientific advisory committee for the Red Imported Fire Ant eradication program in south-eastern Queensland.

Invertebrate bioindicators

In northern Australia, where there’s increasing development pressure on tropical savanna ecosystems, land users and managers are searching for a reliable means of measuring impacts on the land.

Ants and other invertebrates play a vital role in maintaining ecosystem health. They contribute an enormous variety of species to the biodiversity of northern Australian savannas, where one hectare may contain up to twenty million ants, representing 100 or more different species.

Dr Andersen is helping to develop efficient sampling protocols for using invertebrates as bioindicators to measure the effects of mining, fire and grazing management on savanna ecosystems.

Dr Andersen is involved in studying invertebrate responses to land-use, studying the extent to which invertebrates reflect other ecological responses, and developing cost-effective protocols for incorporating invertebrate monitoring in land management.

Fire ecology and management

Dr Andersen led the completion of one of the world’s largest fire experiments, at Kapalga in Kakadu National Park, and led the Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre's Burning for Biodiversity project, which included the establishment of a long-term fire experiment at the Territory Wildlife Park near Darwin. He has contributed to fire management in northern Australia by identifying fire frequency as a key management issue, and promoting an adaptive management framework.

Dr Andersen currently leads the Fire and Carbon Management in Regional Australia core focal project within CSIRO’s Sustainable Regional Development Theme, which addresses the biophysical, economic, policy and anthropological issues relating to savanna fire management for Greenhouse gas abatement, especially on Aboriginal lands.

Background

Dr Andersen joined CSIRO’s Division of Wildlife and Ecology (now Sustainable Ecosystems) in 1986. He has led the Tropical Savannas research group in Darwin, in the Northern Territory, since 1995.

Academic qualifications

After completing a Bachelor of Science with Honours and studying the interactions between ants and plants, Dr Andersen received his Doctor of Philosophy at the School of Botany of the University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

Achievements

In addition to his role within CSIRO, Dr Andersen is also:

• Associate Editor of Diversity and Distributions and Austral Ecology
• Editorial Board member for Journal of Insect Conservation
• member of the Northern Territory Research and Innovation Board
• Chair, Christmas Island Crazy Ant Steering Committee.

Dr Andersen is the author of three books and more than 100 scientific papers.

Dr Andersen’s awards include:

• CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems Leadership Award, 2006
• Australian Entomological Society Service Award, 2006
• Brazilian Council for Scientific and Technological Development Visiting Professor, Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2005
• Commonwealth Science Council Fellowship, 2003
• Winner, Far Eastern Economic Review Asian Innovation Award, 2000
• Distinguished Visiting Ecologist, Colorado State University, USA, 1999.

Read about Darwin: CSIRO Tropical Ecosystems Research Centre (NT).