New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
conservation biologist and professor at the
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
.
Career
Russell gained a PhD on the genetics and invasion ecology of rats from the
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
.
Russell is most widely known for his research on
Norway rat
The brown rat (''Rattus norvegicus''), also known as the common rat, street rat, sewer rat, wharf rat, Hanover rat, Norway rat and Norwegian rat, is a widespread species of common rat. One of the largest muroids, it is a brown or grey rodent wi ...
s (''Rattus norvegicus'') in New Zealand. One of the rats he studied swam over 400 metres between two
Hauraki Gulf
The Hauraki Gulf / Tīkapa Moana is a coastal feature of the North Island of New Zealand. It has an area of 4000 km2,Nature (journal), Nature'' in 2005, and later in a children's book by
Witi Ihimaera
Witi Tame Ihimaera-Smiler (; born 7 February 1944) is a New Zealand author. Raised in the small town of Waituhi, he decided to become a writer as a teenager after being convinced that Māori people, Māori people were ignored or mischaracteri ...
in 2006.
He writes a blog for
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...
on island conservation as of 2018.
Eradication research
In 2015, he and a team wrote a paper estimating how much government funding would be required to develop new eradication technologies to eliminate predators in New Zealand, resulting in government funding for a research project."Behind New Zealand's Wild Plan to Purge All Pests" Brian Owens, ''
Scientific American
''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it, with more than 150 Nobel Pri ...
'' (January 11, 2017)
In 2023, the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
described him as a champion of New Zealand's initiative to eradicate predators in New Zealand to save native birds by 2050, called Predator Free 2050 Ltd, a public body. BBC reported that he "did much" to give scientific backing to the project."New Zealand seeks to exterminate predators to save native birds" Henri Astier,
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
(June 26, 2023) Also aiming to eradicate all invasive mammals, the plan was unveiled by Prime Minister
John Key
Sir John Phillip Key (born 9 August 1961) is a New Zealand retired politician who served as the 38th prime minister of New Zealand from 2008 to 2016 and as leader of the National Party from 2006 to 2016.
Following his father's death when ...
in 2016."New Zealand vows to kill every weasel, rat and feral cat on its soil" ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' (July 25, 2016)
In 2022, he co-authored a paper that concluded that New Zealand was the top country in the world for eradicating invasive species, responsible for around a quarter of the world's island pest eradications, followed by Australia."New Zealand leads world in island pest eradication, study finds" Eva Corlett, ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' (August 17, 2022)
Awards and honours
In 2012, Russell was awarded the New Zealand Prime Minister's MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize, worth NZ$200,000, for his work using DNA fingerprinting of rats and statistical modelling to address conservation problems.
In 2014, Russell was awarded a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship, worth NZ$800,000, for research on conservation complexity: scaling vertebrate pest control.