Ben Sparrow – The Conversation

A citizen science birdwatching event at the Samford Ecological Research Facility, Queensland University of Technology. Nicolas Rakotopare

July 23, 2026

How retirees, beachcombers and communities help scientists track everything from threatened species to algal blooms

Katie Irvine, Adelaide University and Ben Sparrow, Adelaide University

Scientists and authorities are increasingly calling for help from citizen scientists to track species and changes.

Birdwatchers are keeping parrots’ locations a closely guarded secret. Adventure Australia

July 13, 2017

Publish and don’t perish – how to keep rare species’ data away from poachers

Andrew Lowe, University of Adelaide; Anita Smyth, University of Adelaide; Ben Sparrow, University of Adelaide, and Glenda Wardle, University of Sydney

With the right approach to data security, scientists’ discoveries of the locations of rare and sought-after species needn’t leave a trail for poachers to follow.

A coolabah forest in Western Australia – one of the world’s previously unrecognised dryland forests. TERN Ausplots

May 11, 2017

Found: ‘lost’ forests covering an area two‑thirds the size of Australia

Andrew Lowe, University of Adelaide and Ben Sparrow, University of Adelaide

A new survey has identified millions of hectares of forest in dryland areas, a finding that boosts the total global forest cover by 9% and has significant consequences for carbon budgets.

Contact Ben for