Alison Shapcott

Professor Alison Shapcott is a Professor of Vegetation and Plant Ecology at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC), affiliated with the Centre for Bioinnovation. She specializes in plant conservation, population genetics, and climate change impacts. Her work focuses on rainforest plants, endangered species recovery, and restoration ecology. Shapcott has a BSc(Hons) from Griffith University and a PhD from the University of Tasmania.

Her research integrates disciplines like systematics, population modeling, and GIS to address biodiversity challenges. She collaborates internationally with institutions such as the Royal Botanical Gardens (Kew) and the Smithsonian Institution. Key projects include translocation of endangered species, fire regime impacts, and DNA barcoding for biodiversity assessment.

Shapcott’s awards include a 2012 Smithsonian Fellowship. She advises on threatened species recovery teams and has led restoration projects involving governments, developers, and Indigenous groups. Her recent work emphasizes climate change adaptation and the conservation of dry rainforests in Central Queensland.

Publications span 214 outputs, with a focus on endangered species viability, translocation success, and phylogenetic diversity. She supervises postgraduate students and contributes to agroforestry and biocontrol research.