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Dr Geoff Baker

Honorary Fellow

https://people.csiro.au/B/G/Geoff-Baker

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Contact details:

GPO BOX 1700
CANBERRA ACT 2601 AUSTRALIA

Biography

Dr Geoff Baker was a Senior Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO before his retirement in November, 2014. His recent research activities include:
• Ecology and management of insect pests, most notably the key pests of cotton production systems, Helicoverpa spp. (Noctuidae), especially at landscape scale,
• Ecology and management of Mediterranean snails (Theba, Cernuella, Cochlicella), which are key pests of grain crops in southern Australia, with particular emphasis on biological control options,
• Ecology and management of soil invertebrates, especially earthworms, with focus on enhancing the ecosystem services they can provide (soil structure, fertility & plant production).
Background
After completing his Doctorate in 1976, Dr Baker tutored in terrestrial and marine ecology at the Field Studies Council of Great Britain in Wales for two years.
A National University of Ireland Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Science and Engineering then enabled him to undertake work at University College, Dublin, Ireland, on the ecology of earthworms and their role in the reclamation of peat bogs.
Dr Baker joined CSIRO Entomology in 1980. Initially based in Portugal, he investigated biological control of Portuguese millipedes which are nuisance pests in southern Australia. He returned to Adelaide, South Australia, to complete the work whilst located at the then South Australian Department of Agriculture, now South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI).
From the mid 1980s, Dr Baker was based at the CSIRO Waite Campus laboratories in Adelaide working on the ecology and biological control of pest Mediterranean snails in grain crops and pastures. These studies have continued until the present, albeit less intensively in recent years.
In 1989, he began research on earthworms with a view to improving soil structure, fertility and plant production, especially in soils used for pasture and grain crops. Most of the work focussed on exotic Lumbricidae which dominate agricultural landscapes in southern Australia.
Dr Baker moved to Canberra in 1998 and became project leader for Cotton Pest Management in 2000. In 2004, he was appointed Stream Leader for Ecosystem Management and also a Stream Leader for the Water for a Healthy Country Flagship (Terrestrial Biodiversity Cross-Cutting Theme). In 2006, he became a Theme Leader (Biological Drivers for Agricultural Sustainability).
From 2007 to 2011, Dr Baker was firstly a Research Program Leader in Invasion Biology & Functional Ecology) in CSIRO Entomology, and then with the creation of the new CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences division, a Research Program Leader in Functional Ecology and Systematics. Dr Baker was also a Stream Leader (Multi-Functional Biodiverse Landscapes) in the Sustainable Agriculture Flagship (2007 to 2013), and a Group Leader in CES in Functional Ecology (2011-2013). Over the years, his research has been primarily supported by the grains, wool, dairy and cotton industries, as well as various other more general environmental funding.
He was a member of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for Soil and Land Management (1991-98) and the Australian Cotton / Cotton Catchment Communities CRCs (2000-12).
Academic qualifications
In 1972, Dr Baker was awarded his Bachelor of Science with Honours by the University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia.
In 1976, Dr Baker received his doctorate, also from the University of Adelaide.
His thesis was titled The ecology and life history of the introduced millipede, Ommatoiulus moreletii in South Australia.
Other
Dr Baker was an Affiliate Senior Lecturer in the Department of Soil Science, at the University of Adelaide, from 1991-98.
He served for many years (until 2013) on the editorial boards of:
• Soil Biology and Biochemistry
• Applied Soil Ecology
• Biology and Fertility of Soils.

Current Roles

  • Post-Retirement Fellow
    Cotton Pest management, snail ecology & management, soil biology

Academic Qualifications

  • 1976

    PhD
    Univ. Adelaide

  • 1972

    B. Science (Hons)
    Uni. Adelaide