Wildlife Conservation Officer    

Michael is the Supervisor of the Herpetofauna division where he oversees the Zoo's collection of reptiles and amphibians, including managing conservation programs for a number of critically endangered species. He began working at Taronga Zoo in 2003, soon after completing his honours degree on endogenous seasonal cycles in the endangered Regent Honeyeater.  

Michael currently works mostly closely with the Zoo's amphibian conservation projects. This work focuses mostly on reintroduction biology and developing techniques to improve conservation breeding and rearing success in threatened Australian frogs. These include conservation breeding and release programs for the highly endangered Southern and Northern Corroboree Frogs, Booroolong Frog and Yellow-spotted Bell Frog, which have declined to the brink of extinction due primarily to chytrid fungus.  

Michael is co-convenor of the Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) Amphibian TAG and sits on a number of recovery teams and working groups. He has published over 30 scientific articles and book chapters. Michael has shared his knowledge of amphibian husbandry by assisting Amphibian Ark in instructing conservation and husbandry workshops in five Australasian countries to build capacity for amphibian conservation programs in the region. Michael also works closely on ex-situ breeding and reintroduction programs at Taronga Zoo for critically endangered reptile species, such as the Blue-tailed Skink and Lister’s Gecko from Christmas Island and the Bellinger River Turtle.