Jessie Buettel

Research Fellow, Ecology

Dr Jessie Buettel is a forest and wildlife ecologist with a broad focus on global change, conservation, and the complex interplay between ecological processes and patterns in nature. Jessie is a Research Fellow with Sustainable Farms at the Fenner School of Environment & Society, Australian National University . In this role, her research explores the use of innovative technologies – such as acoustic recorders, drones, and environmental DNA – for providing robust and cost-effective solutions for biodiversity monitoring at large spatial and temporal scales.

Jessie’s research interests lie at the intersection of forest and wildlife ecology, particularly on understanding and predicting how ecological communities and species respond to change. Her aim is to improve the conservation and management of biodiversity, and to explore ways in which humans can live in synergy with nature. If you don’t see her immersed in a book or with a coffee in hand, you’ll find her outdoors hiking, exploring and camping.

She completed her PhD in 2017, which focused on exploring the processes that govern patterns in tall eucalypt forests across Australia. Prior to her role in Sustainable Farms, she was Research Director for the Dynamics of Eco-Evolutionary Patterns group at the University of Tasmania and was a Research Fellow in the Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage. In these roles, she led the establishment of large-scale wildlife monitoring projects across Tasmania and Victoria, explored the impact of fire on cultural sites in GunaiKurnai Country in East Gippsland, and co-developed the Mega-Efficient Wildlife Image Classifier using deep learning and AI.