Professor Christopher Dickman is Professor Emeritus in Terrestrial Ecology in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, at the University of Sydney. He earned a BSc (Hons) from the University of Leeds in 1976 and a PhD from the Australian National University in 1982. His career began as an Academic Visitor at the University of Oxford from 1982 to 1984 and Lecturer in Zoology at the University of Western Australia from 1985 to 1988. Joining the University of Sydney in 1989 as Lecturer in Biology, he progressed to Senior Lecturer (1992–1997), Reader in Biology (1998–2003), and Professor in Terrestrial Ecology on a personal chair from 2004. He served as President of the Australian Mammal Society from 2000 to 2003 and leads the Desert Ecology Research Group.

Dickman's research examines factors influencing the distribution, abundance, and population dynamics of terrestrial vertebrates, particularly small mammals and marsupials in arid Australian ecosystems. His pioneering studies highlight the profound effects of competition, predation, and indirect interactions, reshaping approaches to conservation of threatened species and management of invasive predators like feral cats. He has authored or edited books such as Secret Lives of Carnivorous Marsupials (2018, with Andrew Baker), A Fragile Balance: The Extraordinary Story of Australia's Marsupials (2007), and Desert Channels: The Impulse to Conserve (2010). With over 450 peer-reviewed publications, standout works include Invasive predators and global biodiversity loss (PNAS, 2016), Alien predators are more dangerous than native predators to prey populations (Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2007), and Value of long-term ecological studies (Austral Ecology, 2012). Dickman has supervised more than 140 Honours and postgraduate students, contributed editorially to journals like Austral Ecology, and received major honors including Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Science (2018), Ecological Society of Australia Gold Medal (2018), Clarke Medal (2015), and C. Hart Merriam Award (2008).

Professional Email: chris.dickman@sydney.edu.au