Rate My Professor Annabel Smith

Dr. Annabel Smith is a Senior Lecturer in the School of the Environment, Faculty of Science, at the University of Queensland. She obtained her PhD in Ecology from the Australian National University in 2012, following a BSc (Honours) in Biodiversity Conservation from Flinders University in 2006 and a BSc in Biodiversity Conservation in 2005. Her academic career encompasses postdoctoral positions at the Australian National University (2012–2014), the University of Melbourne (2015–2016), and Trinity College Dublin (2016–2017 and 2018–2019, including a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Research Fellowship). Prior to her current role, which she assumed as Lecturer in 2019 and progressed to Senior Lecturer, she worked as a self-employed consultant ecologist in Canberra (2015–2016).

Smith's research interests center on fire ecology, restoration ecology, ecological genomics, wildlife science, conservation biology, and invasive plant ecology. Her work examines the impacts of changing fire regimes on plant-animal interactions, strategies for native grassland restoration, biodiversity management in agricultural landscapes, and genetic connectivity of wildlife such as platypus in urban environments. Notable publications include "Global gene flow releases invasive plants from environmental constraints on genetic diversity" in PNAS (2020), "Fire and biodiversity in the Anthropocene" in Science (2020), "Habitat quality and water availability affect genetic connectivity of platypus across an urban landscape" in Animal Conservation (2025), and "The influence of changing fire regimes on specialized plant–animal interactions" in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B (2025). With 48 peer-reviewed journal articles to her name, her research informs fire management, invasive species control, and conservation practices. Smith contributes to the field through editorial roles, serving as Associate Editor for Wildlife Letters since 2023 and for the Journal of Applied Ecology from 2018 to 2022. At UQ, she teaches and coordinates courses such as Elements of Ecology (AGRC1032), Wildlife Technology (ANIM3018), and People, Fire & Environment (ENVM3215).