Education
1972 Ph.D. (Adelaide)
1967 B.Sc.(Hons) (Adelaide)
Employment history
1996 appointed Officer in Charge and Program Leader, CSIRO Marine Laboratories, Marmion, WA. Subsequently various roles in CSIRO in Hobart and Cleveland: currently leader, Tropical Coastal and Shelf Ecosystems group, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Cleveland.
April-August 1990 and again 1994 : Professeur Associé, Centre d’Etudes des Ressources Animales Marines, Université d’Aix-Marseille III, Marseille, France.
1972 appointed Lecturer in Zoology, University of Adelaide, South Australia; later Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, and Chairman of department several times 1981 – 1996. variously.
1972 (for 6 months) Lecturer in Biology, Wattle Park Teachers’ College, South Australia.
Professional distinctions
• Fellow of the Australian Institute of Biology.
• Editor, Australian Journal of Ecology, 1985 7
• Editorial Board, Australian Journal of Ecology (now Austral Ecology), 1988 95
• Editorial Advisory Committee, Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, (now Marine and Freshwater Research) 1987-9; 1994-2000
• Regional Editor, Biofouling, 1992-1996
• Member, South Australian Flora and Fauna Handbooks Committee, 1976 96.
• Member, Environmental Protection Council (EPC), a statutory body advising the South Australian Minister for Environment, 1985 6, and 1990-1995. Chair 1991-1995.
• Research Affiliate, Institute of Marine Ecology, University of Sydney, 1990-.
• Adjunct Research Fellow, Curtin University, 2002 -
• Member, Ministerial advisory group on the Oceans Policy, 1997-8.
• Member, Threatened Species Scientific Committee (advisory to Commonwealth Minister for the Environment under new Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999), 2000-2003 and its predecessor committee 1998-9.
• Member, Antarctic Science Advisory Committee (advisory to Minister for Science) 2001-2004.
• Member, Environment Committee, Parks Victoria, 2002 -
Research interests
Marine ecology, especially ecology of sessile animals; dynamics of populations, composition and dynamics of communities.
This has included a variety of applied projects, interests in aspects of marine pollution, the testing of new anti-fouling techniques, deep-sea surveys and habitat mapping.
My particular interest is in the management implications of theory concerning biodiversity. This interacts strongly with the concept of adaptive, integrated multiple-use management and with the development of techniques for prediction, assessment and management of environmental impacts.
I have supervised students working on a variety of related topics, mostly in marine ecology, but also co-supervising a number in other areas of ecology.
Key publications
Butler, A.J. 1986. Recruitment of sessile invertebrates at five sites in Gulf St Vincent, South Australia. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 97, 13 36.
Butler, A.J. 1987. Ecology of Pinna bicolor Gmelin (Mollusca: Bivalvia) in Gulf St Vincent, South Australia: density, reproductive cycle, recruitment, growth and mortality at three sites. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 38, 743 69.
Davis, A.R. & Butler, A.J. 1989. Direct observations of larval dispersal in the colonial ascidian Podoclavella moluccensis Sluiter: evidence for closed populations. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 127, 189-203
Butler, A.J. & Chesson, P.L. 1990. Ecology of sessile animals on hard substrata: the need to measure variation. Aust. J. Ecol. 15, 521-531.
Butler, A.J. 1991. Effect of patch size on communities of sessile invertebrates in Gulf St Vincent, South Australia. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 153, 255-280.
Butler, A.J. & Connolly, R.M. 1995. Development and long term dynamics of a fouling assemblage of sessile marine invertebrates. Biofouling 9, 187-209.
Butler, A.J. & Connolly, R.M. 1999. Assemblages of sessile invertebrates on pier pilings: still changing after all these years? Marine Ecology Progress Series 182, 109-118.
Butler, A.J. (accepted) Fauna of jetty piles, artificial reefs & biogenic surfaces. Chapter 19, pp ****, IN, Shepherd, SA and Bryars, S. (eds) Natural History of Gulf St Vincent. Royal Society of South Australia, Adelaide.
Butler, A.J. (accepted) Razor fish and scallops. Chapter 16, pp ****, IN, Shepherd, SA and Bryars, S. (eds) Natural History of Gulf St Vincent. Royal Society of South Australia, Adelaide.
