Ben Allen is an Associate Professor (Wildlife Management and Research) at the University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) in Australia, a Research Associate with Nelson Mandela University (NMU) in South Africa, and the co-chair of the IUCN Canid Specialist Group’s Dingo Working Group. Ben have been involved with wildlife management and research since he was a child, and have been employed in industry, government and university sectors as a wildlife ecologist, conservationist, and manager since 2005, specialising in predation management and human-wildlife conflict. He leads a multidisciplinary team of professionals working on a variety of species in Australia and overseas, who specialise in developing practical and sustainable solutions to complex wildlife management problems.
During his C·I·B fellowship, Ben will collaborate with C·I·B Core Team members Prof Michael Somers (University of Pretoria) and Dr John Measey (Stellenbosch University) on projects that explore the potential use of vertebrate biocontrols to manage invasive plants and animals in South Africa and abroad. He further hopes to use the Fellowship to work with C·I·B Core Team members to identify priority invasive plants and animals in South Africa, match these with candidate vertebrate biocontrols, develop a set of protocols to ensure their safe deployment, and prioritise species parings with the greatest likelihood of success.