Research interests

• Forest health
• Wood products entomology
• Termite (Isoptera) taxonomy

Background

Bob Eldridge heads NSW Department of Primary Industries Forest Science Centre and provides leadership to the Forest Resources Research Unit.

Bob joined the Forestry Commission of NSW in 1969. He has followed a career in forest and timber health research and service delivery and has worked on major forest health issues such as Dothistroma needle blight and sirex wood wasp in radiata pine. He established the Forest Health Survey Unit which, along with a Queensland unit, was the first of its kind in Australia. He is recognised as the national authority for the identification of termites in Australia and provides critical support for the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service in that field.

Bob has been a manager of research for the past 14 years. Prior to the formation of NSW DPI*, he was Deputy General Manager and Program Co-ordinator for State Forests of NSW, Research and Development Division.  He was then appointed Research Leader, Forest Resources Research and Director of the Forest Science Centre at West Pennant Hills.

*NSW Department of Primary Industries was formed on July 1, 2004 through an amalgamation of NSW Agriculture, NSW Fisheries, State Forests of NSW and the NSW Department of Mineral Resources.

Qualifications

• Bachelor of Arts (Biological Sciences) - Macquarie University
  Major: Ecology and Zoology
• Master of Science in Agriculture - University of Sydney
  Thesis: Studies on the Australian Glyptotermes (Isoptera: Kalotermitidae)
• Management Development for the Research and Development Profession -
  University of New South Wales, Institute of Administration (short course, 1997)
• Executive Development Program - NSW Premier’s Department, 2005

Current projects

• Establishing the Service Level Agreement with Forests NSW
• Managing the move of staff and systems from State Forests of NSW to DPI, Science and Research
• The potential of radiata pine for ecological restoration of the Yangtze River catchment in Aba, Sichuan, China (ACIAR)
• Maintaining Isoptera taxonomic capabilities.

Recent Publications

Bi H, Simpson J, Eldridge R, Sullivan S, Li R, Xiao Y, Zhou J, Wu Z, Yan H, Huang Q and Liu Q (2008)  Survey of damaging pests and preliminary assessment of forest health risks to long term success of Pinus radiata introduction in Sichuan, southwest China.  J. For. Res. 19: 85-100.

Carnegie AJ, Cant RG and Eldridge RH (2008)  Forest health surveillance in New South Wales, Australia. Aust. For. 71(3): 164-176.

Eldridge R (2008) Research and Development Annual Report 2007-08 (Ed.).NSW Department of Primary Industries, Science and Research and Forests NSW.  65pp.

Eldridge R (2007) Research and Development Annual Report 2006-07 (Ed.). NSW Department of Primary Industries, Science and Research and Forests NSW. 76pp

Yan H, Bi H, Li R, Eldridge R, Wu Z, Li Y, and Simpson J (2006) Assessing climatic suitability of Pinus radiata (D. Don) for summer rainfall environment of southwest China. Forest Ecology and Management 234: 199-208.

Lo N, Eldridge RH and Lenz M (2006) Phylogeny of Australian Coptotermes (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) species inferred from mitochondrial COII sequences. Bulletin of Entomological Research 96: 1-5.

Professional associations and activities

• Member: Australian Entomological Society.
• Entomological Society of New South Wales

Fields of Research

• 060301 Animal Systematics and Taxonomy
• 060309 Phylogeny and Comparative Analysis
• 070505 Forestry Pests, Health and Diseases

Australian and New Zealand Standard Research Classification (ANZSRC)

Keyword/phrase list of research interests

• Termite (Isoptera) taxonomy

Contact details