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Professor Peter Gell

Emeritus Professor

Campus

Mt Helen Campus

Biography

Emeritus Professor Peter Gell is a paleoecologist and ecologist with specialised skills in diatom and bird identification.  

He has published studies on the long-term history of the floodplain wetlands of the southern Murray Darling Basin and estuaries of south-east Australia, and produced identification guides of common diatom species. He has reported on triannual waterbird surveys of Lake Cowal (NSW) since 1992.  

Peter is Director of Diatoma and has recently completed projects on the history of Seaford Swamp, Porronggitj Karrong in Geelong, the Millewa Wetlands and the teal carbon and biodiversity potential of the small reservoirs of the Central Highlands of Victoria. As Adjunct Professor at Diponegoro University (Indonesia) he has contributed to projects on both lowland and upland lakes and mangrove coastlines.  

Peter received the Hillary Jolly medal for research excellence from the Australian Freshwater Science Society and is a Fellow of the global research project PAGES (Past Global Changes).  

More about Peter

Qualifications

  • PhD, Monash University
  • Masters of Environmental Science, Monash University
  • Bachelor of Science (Honours), Monash University
  • Diploma of Education, Monash University 

Areas of interest

  • Long-term change in wetlands 
  • Ramsar convention on wetlands of international significance 
  • Climate change and variability 
  • Landscape and wetland restoration 

Areas of expertise

Peter is an expert in the use of diatoms to biomonitor wetlands and streams and to reconstruct wetland condition over time. He has directed research to understanding changing ecological character of wetlands to quantify the impact of people and to inform management. 

Grants

  • Gell, P. 2017–18. ‘Palaeoecology of Gunbower wetlands’. North-Central CMA ($42,000)
  • Gell, P. & Lloyd, L. 2021. ‘History of the Ecology of the Wimmera River system’. Wimmera CMA. ($25,000) 
  • 20+ category 1 research grants (1996–2018)
  • Ongoing funded consulting projects (2020–present; clients include: Evolution Mining; Urbis, Wadawarrung TOAC; Frankston City Council; Ararat Rural Shire; Central Highlands Water; Barwon Water; NPWS (NSW))

Awards

  • 2025: Professional Wetland Scientist, Society of Wetland Scientists Professional Certification Program  
  • 2023 and 2024: Top Scholar, Top Scholar GPS 
  • 2022: Emeritus Professor, Federation University Australia
  • 2019: Hillary Jolly Medal, Australian Freshwater Sciences Society

Current

  • PhD student, Federation University, ‘Ecological history of the Coorong south lagoon’, principal supervisor. 
  • PhD student, Federation University, ‘Hydroclimatic change in western Victoria’, principal supervisor. 
  • PhD student, Federation University, ‘History of navigation and river levels in the Murray River’, associate supervisor.

Specialist roles

  • Adjunct Professor of Environmental Science, Diponegoro University, Indonesia 
  • Adjunct Research Fellow, Charles Sturt University, Albury.  

Professional association memberships

  • Australian Freshwater Sciences Society 
  • Society of Wetland Scientists 
  • Society for Ecological Restoration 

Future Regions Research Centre (FRRC)

Peter is part of the Future Regions Research Centre (FRRC), which aims to develop new knowledge and innovative solutions to the grand challenges facing our natural environments.
  • Publications

Ecological Character Under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands: A Sea Anchor or a Raft of Options?