Dr. Chad T. Beranek

Dr. Chad Beranek is a highly experienced wildlife ecologist with over a decade of fieldwork across diverse habitats in Australia, working with amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles. While Chad is the Director of Conservation Leaders, he retains research roles at the University of Newcastle and Southern Cross University, which allows him to stay ahead and apply innovative conservation methods, particularly in drone technology for monitoring wildlife.

A highlight of his career so far is being a part of the team that invented the standardised drone monitoring methods for the koala, which has been adopted widely throughout New South Wales and Australia. Chad was the lead author on the first publication detailing this method (see here), and this publication is referenced in the drone monitoring section of the Biodiversity Assessment Methods for koalas. Since this early publication, Chad was one of the first koala drone pilots trained up and became the team leader of the NSW Wildlife Drone Hub where he trained up a cohort of 8 koala drone pilots. Chad continues to supervise research projects that involve innovating this space, and also continually engages in projects as a conservation drone pilot, making him among the most experienced ecological drone pilots in Australia.

His academic background includes a PhD in Environmental Science, with his research focusing on the restoration ecology of the green and golden bell frog (Litoria aurea), and after this engaged in intensive field research to understand the impacts of the 2019-2020 bushfires where he led a publication on the impacts of this event on amphibians across NSW (see here). Chad has also contributed to numerous conservation projects, authored 44 peer-reviewed publications, and has been recognized with several research grants and awards. His work is marked by a strong commitment to applying cutting-edge technology and methods to achieve positive environmental outcomes.