Josh Griffiths

Senior Wildlife Ecologist

Bachelor of Science with Honours (Environmental Biology)

Josh is passionate about the conservation of Australia’s unique wildlife. This motivation is at the core of his personal and professional actions. In his (limited!) spare time, Josh enjoys a variety of outdoor pursuits including camping, hiking, kayaking, and mountain biking. This constant immersion in nature is an important time for Josh to unwind, while also allowing him to pursue his love of wildlife photography.

Josh completed his Environmental Biology degree in Adelaide, and has worked in diverse landscapes from arid South Australia, the highlands of Victoria, and Tasmania’s river systems. His ecological knowledge and extensive field experience allows him to design and implement projects that ensure clients get the information required to develop better management plans, and to understand the effectiveness of those plans. Most importantly to Josh, he interacts with a variety of people from Government agencies, industry and the broader community to share ideas and develop innovative solutions to Australian conservation issues.

Josh also recognises the importance of communicating scientific research to the public and can often be found in front of a community group talking about his specialty species – the platypus!

Lugg WH, Griffiths J, van Rooyen AR, Weeks AR, Tingley R (2018) Optimal survey designs for environmental DNA sampling. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9, 1049-1059.

Serena M, Williams GA, Weeks AR, Griffiths J (2014) Variation in platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) life-history attributes and population trajectories in urban streams. Australian Journal of Zoology 62, 223-234.

Furlan EM, Griffiths J, Gust N, Handasyde KA, Grant TR, Gruber B, Weeks AR (2013) Dispersal patterns and population structuring among platypuses, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, throughout south-eastern Australia. Conservation Genetics 14, 837-853.

Griffiths J, Kelly T, Weeks A (2013) Net-avoidance behavior in platypuses. Australian Mammalogy 35, 245-247.

Furlan E, Stoklosa J, Griffiths J, Gust N, Ellis R, Huggins RM, Weeks AR (2012) Small population size and extremely low levels of genetic diversity in island populations of the platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinusEcology and Evolution 2, 844-857.

Furlan E, Griffiths J, Gust N, Armistead R, Mitrovski P, Handasyde KA, Serena M, Hoffmann AA, Weeks AR (2011) Is body size variation in the platypus, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, associated with environmental variables? Australian Journal of Zoology 59, 201-215.

Geraghty DP, Griffiths J, Stewart N, Robertson IK, Gust N (2011) Hematologic, plasma biochemical, and other indicators of the health of Tasmanian platypuses (Ornithorhynchus anatinus): predictors of mucormycosis. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 47, 483-493.

Gust N, Griffiths J (2011) Platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) body size, condition and population structure in Tasmanian river catchments: variability and potential mucormycosis impacts. Wildlife Research 38, 271-289.

Furlan E, Umina PA, Mitrovski PJ, Gust N, Griffiths J, Weeks AR (2010) High levels of genetic divergence between Tasmanian and Victorian platypuses, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, as revealed by microsatellite loci. Conservation Genetics 11, 319-323.

Gust N, Griffiths J (2009) Platypus mucormycosis and its conservation implications. Australasian Mycologist 28, 1-8.

Gust N, Griffiths J, Driessen M, Phillips A, Stewart N, Geraghty D (2009) Distribution, prevalence and persistence of mucormycosis in Tasmanian platypuses (Ornithorhynchus anatinus). Australian Journal of Zoology 57, 245-254.