The Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science (TESS) is based at James Cook University (JCU), Australia's leading tropical research university.
Our mission is to promote cutting-edge ecological and environmental research in the tropics, and the wise management, conservation and sustainable use of tropical terrestrial and coastal ecosystems, in Australia and internationally.
Latest news
TESS teams shows Asia’s environmental ‘Eden’ being overrun by bulldozers
The last place on Earth where orangutans, tigers, elephants, and rhinos still survive together.
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TESS's Mason Campbell shows the value of leeches in detecting vertebrates in tropical forests
Debugging diversity ‐ a pan‐continental exploration of the potential of terrestrial blood‐feeding leeches as a vertebrate monitoring tool.
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TESS’s Bill Laurance says a giant snake can teach us how to design our cities
We need to make our urban areas more welcoming to wildlife.
Read the articleEcological and environmental research for the Tropics
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Researchers
TESS researchers currently number over 60, drawn from four JCU Colleges and affiliated members from other institutions.
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Publications
Our collaborations are global. Our publications reach high-impact journals, such as Science and Nature.
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Facilities
JCU has well equipped field stations and analytical facilities close to two World Heritage reef and rainforest areas and a range of drier tropical savannas.
Outstanding Research
TESS research addresses the pressing, complex, trans-disciplinary and interconnected issues of S3D – Sustainability Science and Sustainable Development – across the tropical world
JCU is the only Australian university to receive the highest ranking of 5 (well above World Standard) in Environmental Science and Management in the Australian Government’s Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) assessment for every round.
JCU's unique location enables researchers and students from Australia and overseas to work in a diverse physical environment unparalleled by any university in the world. Nowhere else is it possible to visit reef, rainforest and savanna in a single day, returning to world-class laboratory facilities in a vibrant and attractive tropical city.
