Copley, Peter Bruce   (1956 - )

Peter Copley has been Senior Ecologist, Threatened Species & Ecological Communities, with the Parks & Regions Group of the SA Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources. He has been involved with threatened species and communities recovery planning processes since the early 1990s and most closely involved with threatened fauna recovery projects.

Among many other projects, Peter was responsible for the establishment of the Bounceback program focused on yellow-footed rock-wallaby recovery in SA, a co-founder of the Arid Recovery Project near Roxby Downs (SA) and has overseen the successful greater stick-nest rat recovery project. He has a particular interest in island and desert ecosystems.

Peter was included in the Queen's Birthday Honours list for 2019:
"Peter’s medal recognises his contribution and commitment of more than 40 years to help conserve threatened species and ecological communities in South Australia, as well as his role in biodiversity research and policy development. Peter reviewed the daisy genus Ixodia for his Honours at the University of Adelaide and has contributed 3601 collections to the State Herbarium over the years. His interest in botany was no doubt inspired by his father Bruce Copley, a Yorke Peninsula farmer who pursued an interest in his local native flora by collecting and submitting many specimens to the Herbarium."

Peter Copley lead the over decade-long biological survey of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands. The knowledge captured by that survey was greatly enhanced by working with Aboriginal Traditional Owners and Peter's ability to establish close working relationships with the elders and their communities was pivotal in this particular survey's success.

He has served as a member of several park co-management boards including with Mamugnari Conservation Park and the Lake Gairdner and Gawler Ranges National Park. He has conducted extensive remote and isolated field work and has worked and volunteered overseas with government, research institutions, and conservation Non-Government Organisations including in Peru, Scotland, Spain and Guyana.

He has also been a member of an Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition to sub-Antarctic Heard Island and has published of over 20 scientific papers, 50 scientific reports and was voluntary editor of Australian Mammalogy for two years.

Source: Extracted from: https://www.nespthreatenedspecies.edu.au/people/peter-copley
https://know.ourplants.org/news/queens-birthday-honours/
https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/2005038.
Portrait Photo: 2019, Friends of AD Herbarium: https://know.ourplants.org/news/queens-birthday-honours/ .

Collecting localities for 'Copley, P.B.' from AVH (2021)

Data from 1,816 specimens