Dr Chris O'Bryan
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
School of the Environment
McDonald-Madden Lab
Researcher biography
I have a background in spatial ecology and landscape-scale conservation ranging from reptile movement patterns and habitat selection to private land management in the USA. I studied my PhD under Eve McDonald-Madden, James Watson, and Matthew Holden at The University of Queensland, working on projects investigating large-scale human-wildlife coexistence questions that incorporate our knowledge of ecosystem services and exposure of species to human pressure, with an emphasis on the world’s carnivores. I also have experience teaching the university’s first Environmental Problem Solving course, which uses structured decision making frameworks to tackle large environmental challenges.
Publications
Journal Articles
Braczkowski, Alexander R., Elliot, Nicholas, Rwetsiba, Aggrey, Mudumba, Tutilo, Gopalaswamy, Arjun M., O’Bryan, Christopher J., Crysell, Anna, Biggs, Duan, McCallum, Hamish, Cima, Michael, Musobozi, Silvan, Namukose, Lilian, Jingo, Sophia, Luhonda, Peter, Schenk, Ralph, Okello, Patrick, Komakech, Innocent, Kisembo, Jimmy, Pereira, Keren S., Drileyo, Gilbert, Cornille, Orin, Atukwatse, Bosco, Engelmann, Anna, Kigongo, Herbert, Kiboneka, Philipp, James, Kevin, Moman, Praveen, Omwesigye, Jonath, Debref, Kris ... Gibson, Luke (2024). Insights into large carnivore populations in Uganda: a participatory survey of lions, leopards, and hyenas using spatial capture-recapture. Global Ecology and Conservation, 56 e03312. doi: 10.1016/j.gecco.2024.e03312
Braczkowski, Alexander R., Namukose, Lilian, Musobozi, Silvan, Cornille, Orin, Mudumba, Tutilo, Drileyo, Gilbert, Broekhuis, Femke, Jingo, Sophia, Asimwe, Brenda, Luhonda, Peter, Atukwatse, Bosco, O’Bryan, Christopher J., McCallum, Hamish, Biggs, Duan, Gibson, Luke, Rwetsiba, Aggrey, Gopalaswamy, Arjun M., Lindsey, Peter and Elliot, Nicholas (2024). Rangers on the frontline of wildlife monitoring: a case study on African lions in Uganda’s Nile Delta. Communications Biology, 7 (1) 1308, 1308. doi: 10.1038/s42003-024-06796-0
Abeysinghe, Nisansala, O'Bryan, Christopher J., Rhodes, Jonathan R., McDonald-Madden, Eve and Guerrero, Angela M. (2024). Diversity in invasive species management networks. Journal of Environmental Management, 365 121424. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121424
Braczkowski, A., Ochse, L., Atukwatse, B., Cornille, O., O'Bryan, C., Lindsey, P., Kotze, R., Gibson, L. and Biggs, D. (2024). Long‐distance swimming by African lions in Uganda. Ecology and Evolution, 14 (7) e11597. doi: 10.1002/ece3.11597
Berdejo-Espinola, Violeta, Zahnow, Renee, O’Bryan, Christopher J. and Fuller, Richard A. (2024). Virtual reality for nature experiences. Nature Human Behaviour, 8 (6), 1-3. doi: 10.1038/s41562-024-01857-0
Arenas-Castro, Henry, Berdejo-Espinola, Violeta, Chowdhury, Shawan, Rodríguez-Contreras, Argelia, James, Aubrie R. M., Raja, Nussaïbah B., Dunne, Emma M., Bertolino, Sandro, Emidio, Nayara Braga, Derez, Chantelle M., Drobniak, Szymon M., Fulton, Graham R., Henao-Diaz, L. Francisco, Kaur, Avneet, Kim, Catherine J. S., Lagisz, Malgorzata, Medina, Iliana, Mikula, Peter, Narayan, Vikram P., O'Bryan, Christopher J., Oh, Rachel Rui Ying, Ovsyanikova, Ekaterina, Pérez-Hämmerle, Katharina-Victoria, Pottier, Patrice, Powers, Jennifer Sarah, Rodriguez-Acevedo, Astrid J., Rozak, Andes Hamuraby, Sena, Pedro H. A., Sockhill, Nicola J. ... Amano, Tatsuya (2024). Academic publishing requires linguistically inclusive policies. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 291 (2018) 20232840, 20232840. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2023.2840
Abeysinghe, Nisansala, O'Bryan, Christopher J., Guerrero, Angela M., Rhodes, Jonathan R. and McDonald‐Madden, Eve (2023). Unravelling how collaboration impacts success of invasive species management. People and Nature, 5 (6), 2093-2106. doi: 10.1002/pan3.10544
Abeysinghe, Nisansala, Guerrero, Angela M., Rhodes, Jonathan R., McDonald-Madden, Eve and O'Bryan, Christopher J. (2023). How success is evaluated in collaborative invasive species management: A systematic review. Journal of Environmental Management, 348 119272, 1-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.119272
O'Bryan, Christopher J., Rhodes, Jonathan R., Osunkoya, Olusegun O., Lundie-Jenkins, Geoff, Mudiyanselage, Nisansala Abeysinghe, Sydes, Travis, Calvert, Moya, McDonald-Madden, Eve and Bode, Michael (2023). Setting conservation priorities in multi-actor systems. BioScience, 73 (7), 522-532. doi: 10.1093/biosci/biad046
Braczkowski, Alexander R., O'Bryan, Christopher J., Lessmann, Christian, Rondinini, Carlo, Crysell, Anna P., Gilbert, Sophie, Stringer, Martin, Gibson, Luke and Biggs, Duan (2023). The unequal burden of human-wildlife conflict. Communications Biology, 6 (1) 182, 182. doi: 10.1038/s42003-023-04493-y
Sonter, Laura J., Lloyd, Thomas J., Kearney, Stephen G., Di Marco, Moreno, O'Bryan, Christopher J., Valenta, Richard K. and Watson, James E. M. (2022). Conservation implications and opportunities of mining activities for terrestrial mammal habitat. Conservation Science and Practice, 4 (12) e12806, 1-11. doi: 10.1111/csp2.12806
O’Bryan, Christopher J., Allan, James R., Suarez-Castro, Andres Felipe, Delsen, Dobrochna M., Buij, Ralph, McClure, Christopher J. W., Rehbein, Jose A., Virani, Munir Z., McCabe, Jennifer D., Tyrrell, Peter, Negret, Pablo J., Greig, Chris, Brehony, Peadar and Kissling, W. Daniel (2022). Human impacts on the world’s raptors. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10 624896, 1-14. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2022.624896
O'Bryan, Christopher J., Hamed, M. Kevin, Laughlin, Thomas F. and Coffey, J. Wallace (2022). Body-size and aerial basking dynamics of the Spiny Softshell (Apalone spinifera) in a human-modified landscape in Tennessee, USA. Journal of North American Herpetology, 2022 (1) 1, 8-13. doi: 10.17161/jnah.v2022i1.14515
O’Bryan, Christopher J., Patton, Nicholas R., Hone, Jim, Lewis, Jesse S., Berdejo‐Espinola, Violeta, Risch, Derek R., Holden, Matthew H. and McDonald‐Madden, Eve (2021). Invasive wild pigs (Sus scrofa) as a human‐mediated source of soil carbon emissions: Uncertainties and future directions. Global Change Biology, 28 (3), e1-e3. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15992
de Andrade Junior, Milton A. U., Watson, James E. M., Williams, Brooke A., Allan, James R., O'Bryan, Christopher J. and Maxwell, Sean L. (2021). How to halve the carbon and biodiversity impacts of biofuel-driven land-use change in Brazil. Biological Conservation, 260 109214, 109214. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109214
O’Bryan, Christopher J., Patton, Nicholas R., Hone, Jim, Lewis, Jesse S., Berdejo‐Espinola, Violeta, Risch, Derek R., Holden, Matthew H. and McDonald‐Madden, Eve (2021). Unrecognized threat to global soil carbon by a widespread invasive species. Global Change Biology, 28 (3) gcb.15769, 1-6. doi: 10.1111/gcb.15769
Braczkowski, Alexander, Fattebert, Julien, Schenk, Ralph, O'Bryan, Christopher, Biggs, Duan and Maron, Martine (2020). Evidence for increasing human-wildlife conflict despite a financial compensation scheme on the edge of a Ugandan National Park. Conservation Science and Practice, 2 (12) e309. doi: 10.1111/csp2.309
O'Bryan, Christopher J., Garnett, Stephen T., Fa, John E., Leiper, Ian, Rehbein, Jose, Fernández‐Llamazares, Álvaro, Jackson, Micha V., Jonas, Harry D., Brondizio, Eduardo S., Burgess, Neil D., Robinson, Catherine J., Zander, Kerstin K., Venter, Oscar and Watson, James E.M. (2020). The importance of indigenous peoples’ lands for the conservation of terrestrial mammals. Conservation Biology, 35 (3) cobi.13620, 1002-1008. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13620
O'Bryan, Christopher J., Braczkowski, Alexander R., Magalhães, Ricardo J. Soares and McDonald-Madden, Eve (2020). Conservation epidemiology of predators and scavengers to reduce zoonotic risk. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4 (8), e304-e305. doi: 10.1016/S2542-5196(20)30166-2
O'Bryan, Christopher J., Allan, James R., Holden, Matthew, Sanderson, Christopher, Venter, Oscar, Di Marco, Moreno, McDonald-Madden, Eve and Watson, James E.M. (2020). Intense human pressure is widespread across terrestrial vertebrate ranges. Global Ecology and Conservation, 21 e00882, e00882. doi: 10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00882
Allan, James R., Watson, James E M, Marco, Moreno Di, O'Bryan, Christopher J., Possingham, Hugh P., Atkinson, Scott C. and Venter, Oscar (2019). Erratum: Correction: Hotspots of human impact on threatened terrestrial vertebrates (PLoS biology (2019) 17 3 (e3000158)). PLoS Biology, 17 (12) e3000598. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000598
Braczkowski, Alexander, Ruzo, Andrés, Sanchez, Fatima, Castagnino, Romi, Brown, Chip, Guynup, Sharon, Winter, Steve, Gandy, Devlin and O'Bryan, Christopher (2019). The ayahuasca tourism boom: an undervalued demand driver for jaguar body parts?. Conservation Science and Practice, 1 (12) e126. doi: 10.1111/csp2.126
O'Bryan, Christopher J., Holden, Matthew H. and Watson, James E.M. (2019). The mesoscavenger release hypothesis and implications for ecosystem and human well‐being. Ecology Letters, 22 (9) ele.13288, 1340-1348. doi: 10.1111/ele.13288
Allan, James R., Watson, James E. M., Di Marco, Moreno, O’Bryan, Christopher J., Possingham, Hugh P., Atkinson, Scott C. and Venter, Oscar (2019). Hotspots of human impact on threatened terrestrial vertebrates. PLOS Biology, 17 (3) e3000158, e3000158. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000158
Braczkowski, Alexander, Holden, Matthew H., O'Bryan, Christopher, Choi, Chi-Yeung, Gan, Xiaojing, Beesley, Nicholas, Gao, Yufang, Allan, James, Tyrrell, Peter, Stiles, Daniel, Brehony, Peadar, Meney, Revocatus, Brink, Henry, Takashina, Nao, Lin, Ming-Ching, Lin, Hsien-Yung, Rust, Niki, Salmo, Severino G., Watson, James Em, Kahumbu, Paula, Maron, Martine, Possingham, Hugh P. and Biggs, Duan (2018). Reach and messages of the world's largest ivory burn. Conservation Biology, 32 (4), 765-773. doi: 10.1111/cobi.13097
O'Bryan, Christopher J., Braczkowski, Alexander R., Beyer, Hawthorne L., Carter, Neil H., Watson, James E. M. and McDonald-Madden, Eve (2018). Author correction: The contribution of predators and scavengers to human well-being. Nature Ecology & Evolution, 2 (5), 911-911. doi: 10.1038/s41559-018-0527-1
Braczkowski, Alexander R., O'Bryan, Christopher J., Stringer, Martin J., Watson, James E. M., Possingham, Hugh P. and Beyer, Hawthorne L. (2018). Leopards provide public health benefits in Mumbai, India. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 16 (3), 176-182. doi: 10.1002/fee.1776
O’Bryan, Christopher J., Braczkowski, Alexander R., Beyer, Hawthorne L., Carter, Neil H., Watson, James E. M. and McDonald-Madden, Eve (2018). The contribution of predators and scavengers to human well-being. Nature Ecology and Evolution, 2 (2), 229-236. doi: 10.1038/s41559-017-0421-2
O'Bryan, C. J., Homyack, J. A., Baldwin, R. F., Kanno, Y. and Harrison, A. -L. (2016). Novel habitat use supports population maintenance in a reconfigured landscape. Ecosphere, 7 (3) e01228, e01228. doi: 10.1002/ecs2.1228
Homyack, Jessica A., O'Bryan, Christopher J., Thornton, Jamie E. and Baldwin, Robert F. (2016). Community occupancy of herpetofauna in roadside ditches in a managed pine landscape. Forest Ecology and Management, 361, 346-357. doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2015.11.037
O'Bryan, Chris J., Hamed, M. Kevin, Coffey, J. Wallace, Rowell, Brent and Laughlin, Thomas F. (2015). Apalone spinifera (Spiny Softshell). Herpetological Review, 46 (3), 214-214.
Homyack, Jessica A., O'Bryan, Christopher J., Thornton, Jamie E. and Baldwin, Robert F. (2014). Anuran assemblages associated with roadside ditches in a managed pine landscape. Forest Ecology and Management, 334, 217-231. doi: 10.1016/j.foreco.2014.08.035
O'Bryan, Christopher J., Gray, Matthew J. and Brooks, Chad S. (2012). Further presence of ranavirus infection in amphibian populations of Tennessee, USA. Herpetological Review, 43 (2), 293-295.
O'Bryan, Christopher J., Jones, Andrew W. and Coffey, J. Wallace (2008). Southwest Virginia's first winter nest record of barn owl (Tyto alba). The Raven, 79 1, 3-4.
Data Collection
Abeysinghe Mudiyanselage, Nisansala, McDonald-Madden, Eve and O'Bryan, Christopher (2023). Survey data for Unravelling how collaboration impacts success of invasive species management. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/07591a8
Thesis
O'Bryan, Christopher Joel (2020). The exposure and contribution of predators and scavengers to humans. PhD Thesis, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/uql.2020.204
Video Document
Newspaper Articles
Braczkowski, Alexander Richard, O'Bryan, Christopher, Biggs, Duan, Fattebert, Julien and Maron, Martine (2021, 01 12). Why paying people to tolerate wildlife is not the magic bullet for conservation The Conversation
Braczkowski, Alexander Richard , O'Bryan, Christopher J., Biggs, Duan and Jansen, Raymond (2020, 06 07). Un esfuerzo pionero para salvar al pangolín de la extinción The Conversation
O'Bryan, Christopher J. and Watson, James (2020, 02 27). ‘Intense’ human pressure is widespread among terrestrial vertebrates, study finds Mongabay
Allan, James , O'Bryan, Christopher J. and Watson, James (2019, 03 13). Guns, snares and bulldozers: new map reveals hotspots for harm to wildlife The Conversation
O'Bryan, Christopher, McDonald-Madden, Eve, Watson, James and Carter, Neil (2018, 04 23). Helping farmers and reducing car crashes: the surprising benefits of predators The Conversation
O'Bryan, Christopher J. and Watson, James (2018, 03 09). We should embrace scavengers and predators Scientific American
O'Bryan, Christopher and Braczkowski, Alexander Richard (2018, 03 08). Leopards in a city park in India may help lower human injuries and deaths from stray dog bites The Conversation