Eddie Game
Lead Scientist & Director of Conservation, Asia Pacific
Brisbane, Australia
Eddie Game Eddie Game is the Lead Scientist & Director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy’s Asia Pacific region, and Head of the Oceania Programs. © TNC
AREA OF EXPERTISE
Asia Pacific, Biological Monitoring, Climate Change, Conservation Planning & Reserve Design
Biography
Eddie Game is the Lead Scientist & Director of Conservation for The Nature Conservancy’s Asia Pacific region, and Head of the Oceania Programs. With dual leadership roles, Eddie is responsible for ensuring that TNC remains a world leader in making science-based conservation decisions and brings together our programs in Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands in recognition of the regions' importance and role in tackling global diversity and climate crisis. Eddie has had the privilege of working on conservation in more than 20 countries, helping to apply innovative methods to projects as diverse as community-protected areas in Melanesia, grazing management in northern Kenya, snow leopard conservation in Mongolia, forestry in Indonesia and catchment restoration in Colombia.
Eddie’s work also focuses on how we measure and report on the impact of our work and the role technology can play in helping do so. Eddie and his team have been enthusiastic adopters of ecoacoustics, developing partnerships that bring together cutting-edge academic research with real-world applications in countries including Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Myanmar, Australia and Gabon.
He has published more than 75 papers on aspects of conservation science and climate change, and his first book, Conservation Planning: Informed Decisions for a Healthier Planet, co-authored with Craig Groves, was published in 2015. Eddie is formerly editor-in-chief of the leading conservation journal Conservation Letters (2015-2023). For his work on how climate change data can be used in decision making, he was the recipient of the Great Barrier Reef Foundation’s inaugural prize for innovative concepts to conserve the reef in the face of climate change. Eddie received his PhD in marine conservation and decision science from the University of Queensland and holds an adjunct faculty position there.
What Scientists Can Learn from Sound and Silence
Eddie is using sound data to help answer one of the most vexing questions in conservation: How do we know that our actions are actually conserving animal biodiversity in tropical forests?
How Remote Sensing is Contributing to Conservation Science
Eddie gives the keynote at StemX Brisbane, highlighting three Conservancy projects where remote-sensing data are driving conservation science.
What a Healthy Jungle Sounds Like
Scientific American covers Eddie's work testing the use of ecoacoustics to measure forest health in Papua New Guinea.
Water is Life in the Little Sandy Desert
Eddie speaks to ABC North West WA about feral camels and water holes in Martu Country.
Scientists are Recording 24-Hour Soundtracks of Rainforests
Smithsonian Magazine interviews Eddie on how ecoacoustics data gives scientists clues about the health of ecosystems.
Visit Eddie's Google Scholar Profile for a full list of publications.
Studies
Combining the Where and How of Conservation Planning
What do decision science, good evidence, and creative data have to do with drafting an effective conservation plan? Cool Green Science sat down with scientist Craig Groves to talk about his new book, co-authored with Eddie Game.
Eavesdropping on the Sounds of the Rainforest
Eddie and fellow scientist Tim Boucher venture deep into the mountains of Papua New Guinea to record the soundscape of the forest, gathering biodiversity data for conservation land-use planning. Cool Green Science writer Justine E. Hausheer joins them to report on the research.
How Can Mobile Phones Help Conservation?
Cool Green Science features Eddie's research exploring the use of mobile phones to track human well-being impacts of conservation projects.
How to Tackle Wicked Conservation Problems?
How can conservation can learn from counter-insurgency? Eddie's research is featured in Cool Green Science.
Publications
2017
Brown, C., Parker, B., Ahmadia, G.N., Ardiwijaya, R., Purwanto, P. & Game, E.T. (2017). The cost of enforcing marine protected areas to achieve ecological targets. bioRxiv, 216598.
Burivalova, Z., Towsey, M., Boucher, T., Truskinger, A., Apelis, C., Roe, P. & Game, E.T. (2017). Using soundscapes to detect variable degrees of human influence on tropical forests in Papua New Guinea. Conservation Biology.
Annis, G.M., Pearsall, D.R., Kahl, K.J., Washburn, E.L., May, C.A., Taylor, R.F., Cole, J.B., Ewert, D.N., Game, E.T. & Doran, P.J. (2017). Designing coastal conservation to deliver ecosystem and human well-being benefits. PLOS ONE, 12, e0172458.
Game, E.T., Bremer, L.L., Calvache, A., Moreno, P.H., Vargas, A., Rivera, B. & Rodriguez, L.M. (2017). Fuzzy Models to Inform Social and Environmental Indicator Selection for Conservation Impact Monitoring. Conservation Letters, doi: 10.1111/conl.12338
Thurstan, R.H., Game, E. & Pandolfi, J.M. (2017). Popular media records reveal multi-decadal trends in recreational fishing catch rates. PLOS ONE, 12, e0182345.
2016
McDonald-Madden, E., Sabbadin, R., Game, E.T., Baxter, P.W.J., Chades, I., & Possingham, H.P. (2016). Using food-web theory to conserve ecosystems. Nature Communications, 7, 10245. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms10245
2015
Anthony, K.R.N., Marshall, P.A., Abdulla, A., Beeden, R., Bergh, C., Black, R., Eakin, C.M., Game, E.T., Gooch, M., Graham, N.A.J.,et al. (2015). Operationalizing resilience for adaptive coral reef management under global environmental change. Global Change Biology, 21, 48–61.
Game, E.T., Schwartz, M.W. & Knight, A.T. (2015). Policy relevant conservation science. Conservation Letters, 8, 309–311.
Groves, C. & Game, E. (2015). Conservation Planning: Informed Decisions for a Healthier Planet. 1 edition. Macmillan Learning, New York.
2014
Adams, V.M., Game, E.T. & Bode, M. (2014). Synthesis and review: delivering on conservation promises: the challenges of managing and measuring conservation outcomes. Environ. Res. Lett., 9, 085002.
Ban, N.C., Bax, N.J., Gjerde, K.M., Devillers, R., Dunn, D.C., Dunstan, P.K., Hobday, A.J., Maxwell, S.M., Kaplan, D.M., Pressey, R.L., Ardron, J.A., Game, E.T. & Halpin, P.N. (2014). Systematic conservation planning: a better recipe for managing the high seas for biodiversity conservation and sustainable use. Conservation Letters, 7, 41–54.
Ban, N.C., Maxwell, S.M., Dunn, D.C., Hobday, A.J., Bax, N.J., Ardron, J., Gjerde, K.M., Game, E.T., Devillers, R., Kaplan, D.M., Dunstan, P.K., Halpin, P.N. & Pressey, R.L. (2014). Better integration of sectoral planning and management approaches for the interlinked ecology of the open oceans. Marine Policy, 49, 127–136.
Game, E.T., Meijaard, E., Sheil, D. & McDonald-Madden, E. (2014). Conservation in a wicked complex world; challenges and solutions. Conservation Letters, 7, 271–277.
Moon, K., Adams, V.M., Januchowski-Hartley, S.R., Polyakov, M., Mills, M., Biggs, D., Knight, A.T., Game, E.T. & Raymond, C.M. (2014). A multidisciplinary conceptualization of conservation opportunity. Conservation Biology, 28, 1484–1496.
Moray, C., Game, E.T. & Maxted, N. (2014). Prioritising in situ conservation of crop resources: A case study of African cowpea (Vigna unguiculata). Scientific Reports, 4.
Tear, T.H., Stratton, B.N., Game, E.T., Brown, M.A., Apse, C.D. & Shirer, R.R. (2014). A return-on-investment framework to identify conservation priorities in Africa. Biological Conservation, 173, 42–52.
2013
Game, E.T., Fitzsimons, J.A., Lipsett-Moore, G. & McDonald-Madden, E. (2013). Subjective risk assessment for planning conservation projects. Environ. Res. Lett., 8, 045027.
Game, E.T., Kareiva, P. & Possingham, H.P. (2013). Six common mistakes in conservation priority setting. Conservation Biology, 27, 480–485.
2012
Bottrill, M.C., Mills, M., Pressey, R.L., Game, E.T. & Groves, C. (2012). Evaluating perceived benefits of ecoregional assessments. Conservation Biology, 26, 851–861.
McLeod, E., Green, A., Game, E., Anthony, K., Cinner, J., Heron, S.F., Kleypas, J., Lovelock, C.E., Pandolfi, J.M., Pressey, R.L., Salm, R., Schill, S. & Woodroffe, C. (2012). Integrating climate and ocean change vulnerability into conservation planning. Coastal Management, 40, 651–672.
2011
Game, E.T., Lipsett-Moore, G., Hamilton, R., Peterson, N., Kereseka, J., Atu, W., Watts, M. & Possingham, H. (2011). Informed opportunism for conservation planning in the Solomon Islands. Conservation Letters, 4, 38–46.
Game, E.T., Lipsett-Moore, G., Saxon, E., Peterson, N. & Sheppard, S. (2011). Incorporating climate change adaptation into national conservation assessments. Global Change Biology, 17, 3150–3160.
Hobday, A.J., Game, E.T., Grantham, H.S. & Richardson, A.J. (2011). Conserving the largest habitat on Earth: protected areas in the pelagic ocean. In: Marine Protected Areas: a multidisciplinary approach, Ecology, Biodiversity and Conservation (ed. Claudet, J.). Cambridge University Press, pp. 347–372.
2010
Beger, M., Linke, S., Watts, M., Game, E., Treml, E., Ball, I. & Possingham, H.P. (2010). Incorporating asymmetric connectivity into spatial decision making for conservation. Conservation Letters, 3, 359–368.
McDonald-Madden, E., Baxter, P.W.J., Fuller, R.A., Martin, T.G., Game, E.T., Montambault, J. & Possingham, H.P. (2010). Monitoring does not always count. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 25, 547–550.
2009
Game, E.T., Bode, M., McDonald-Madden, E., Grantham, H.S. & Possingham, H.P. (2009). Dynamic marine protected areas can improve the resilience of coral reef systems. Ecology Letters, 12, 1336–1346.
Game, E.T., Grantham, H.S., Hobday, A.J., Pressey, R.L., Lombard, A.T., Beckley, L.E., Gjerde, K., Bustamante, R., Possingham, H.P. & Richardson, A.J. (2009). Pelagic protected areas: the missing dimension in ocean conservation. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 24, 360–369.
2008
Bottrill, M.C., Joseph, L.N., Carwardine, J., Bode, M., Cook, C., Game, E.T., Grantham, H., Kark, S., Linke, S., McDonald-Madden, E., Pressey, R.L., Walker, S., Wilson, K.A. & Possingham, H.P. (2008). Is conservation triage just smart decision making? Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 23, 649–654.
Game, E.T., McDonald-Maddn, E., Puotinen, M.L. & Possingham, H.P. (2008). Should we protect the strong or the weak? Risk, resilience, and the selection of Marine Protected Areas. Conservation Biology, 22, 1619–1629.
Game, E.T., Watts, M.E., Wooldridge, S. & Possingham, H.P. (2008). Planning for persistence in marine reserves: a question of catastrophic importance. Ecological Applications, 18, 670–680.