Our Awards
Student Awards
Each year, SCBO awards prizes for the best student publication and conference presentation.
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To be considered for the student paper award, papers must be first-authored by a student member of the SCB Oceania Section. Each member may only submit one publication to be considered for the award. Papers will be judged by the SCBO Board on their scientific merit, clarity, innovativeness, and relevance to conservation and management. The winner(s) will be awarded SCB membership or registration to an upcoming SCB conference.
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Our student presentation prize is awarded to the best presentation (talk, speed talk or poster) by an SCBO student member at our conference. In the years between our conferences, we may award a student prize for presentations given at the International Congress for Conservation Biology, or other conferences widely attended by our membership.
Applications for SCBO Student Awards are currently closed.
Past winners of SCBO Student Awards:
2022
Pacific Conservation Biology Student Prize for best student presentation: Mark Le Pla, for his presentation David vs Goliath - Describing the response of predators and prey to fire in a biodiverse heathland
SCBO Student Prize for best student poster: Callan Alexander, Using Passive Acoustic Monitoring and Deep Learning Tools to Detect a Cryptic Threatened Owl (Ninox strenua).
2020
Best student publication: Levi Collier-Robinson, for his paper Embedding indigenous principles in genomic research of culturally significant species: a conservation genomics case study published in the New Zealand Journal of Ecology.
2019
Best student presentation: Sofia López-Cubillos for her presentation Crop expansion or active restoration? Using pollination services for economic development and habitat conservation presented at ICCB 2019
CSIRO Best student presentation: Calvin Lee for his presentation Using detection probability to improve time-series analyses of remote sensing data presented at ICCB 2019
Best student publication: Stephanie Galla and Natalie Forsdick for their co-authored publication Reference Genomes from Distantly Related Species Can Be Used for Discovery of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms to Inform Conservation Management published in Genes.
2018
Best student presentation: Grace Nugi, for her talk More dead than alive: vulturine parrot use in Kerowagi, Papua New Guinea presented at SCBO Wellington 2018
Best student presentation: Lauren Tworkowski, for her poster Anthropogenic climate change: are little penguins feeling the heat? presented at the Victorian Biodiversity Conference.
Best student publication: Lily Van Eeden, for her paper Managing conflict between large carnivores and livestock published in Conservation Biology
2017
Best student presentation: Stephanie Galla, for her talk Estimating relatedness in captive breeding for translocation programmes to enhance species recovery, presented at ICCB 2017 in Cartagena.
Best student presentation: Mark Hall, for his poster Landscape diversity of birds is enhanced by retaining key natural components in rural environments, presented at ICCB 2017 in Cartagena, Colombia.
Best student publication: Jessica Rowland for her paper, Comparing the thermal suitability of nest-boxes and tree-hollows for the conservation-management of arboreal marsupials published in Biological Conservation.
2016
Best student presentation: Jasmine Lee, for her talk Islands in the ice: Climate change and ecological connectivity among Antarctica’s ice-free areas, presented at SCBO Brisbane 2016
Best student publication: Rebecca Runting, for her paper Alternative futures for Borneo show the value of integrating economic and conservation targets across borders published in Nature Communications.
2015
Best student presentation: Tim Doherty, for his poster Divergent responses of birds, mammals and reptiles to landscape-scale wildfire, presented at ICCB-ECCB 2015 in Montpellier.
Best student publication: Jessica Walsh, for her paper The effect of scientific evidence on conservation practitioners’ management decisions published in Conservation Biology.
2014
Best student presentation: John Lamaris, for his talk Tambu: a Melanesian model for the sustainability of the Admiralty cuscus (Spilocuscus kraemeri)? at SCBO Fiji 2014.
Best student publication: Rebecca Jarvis for her paper Citizen science and the power of public participation in marine spatial planning published in Marine Policy.
Oceania Distinguished Service Award
In alternate years, SCBO awards a Distinguished Service Award to acknowledge an individual or institution who has made significant contributions to conservation biology within Oceania.
The Oceania Distinguished Service Awards are presented biennially at the SCB Oceania Congress. This regional award has the same prestige as the Global Distinguished Service Awards given in ICCB years (see below).
SCBO is committed to celebrating and supporting diversity. To achieve this, we welcome award nominations from all career stages, all backgrounds, and all genders. We encourage more nominations from women and Pacific Islanders for all awards.
Nominations for Distinguished Service Awards are currently closed.
Past winners of the Oceania Distinguished Service Award:
2024
Nunia Thomas-Moko, Director of NatureFiji-MareqetiViti
For extraordinary contributions to the conservation of Fiji’s natural heritage through project implementation, community engagement, public awareness-raising, and contribution to national and intergovernmental conservation initiatives.
2022
Mauberema Ecotourism, Nature Conservation, Education, Research and Training Centre (PNG)
For extraordinary achievements centred on nature conservation, socioeconomic development and sustainable livelihoods in a megadiverse developing nation.
2020
For their unique efforts to develop youth leadership and local stewardship capacity, resulting in the revitalisation and enhanced protection of Micronesian outer island reef systems.
2018
Associate Professor James Russell, University of Auckland
For outstanding contributions to conservation biology through his leading research in rodent biology and eradication and his impact on national conservation policy.
2016
Locally Managed Marine Areas Network (LMMA), Fiji
For extraordinary achievements in advancing and scaling up the practice of community-based marine resource management and conservation in Oceania.
Global Awards
SCB’s global awards, presented every other year at the ICCB, are given to individuals, groups, or institutions for distinguished service in any field associated with conservation biology and whose work has furthered the mission of SCB.
We are proud to that many global award recipients have come from Oceania.
Previous Global Award Recipients:
2019 - Richard Kingsford, Distinguished Service Award
2015 - Sue Miller-Taei, Edward T. LaRoe III Memorial Award
2015 - Stacy Jupiter, Early Career Conservationist Award
2013 - John Woinarski, Distinguished Service Award
2013 - James Watson, Early Career Conservationist Award
2011 - William Laurance, Distinguished Service Award
2008 - Helene Marsh, Distinguished Service Award