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Ecology and Evolution

D-Index
90
Citations
132575
World Ranking
460
National Ranking
46

Overview

Brian Walker is affiliated with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Australia. Their research spans a blend of environmental science and social sciences, with a focus on ecosystem dynamics and resilience, innovation in sustainability and human-machine systems, and rangeland management and livestock ecology.

Their work also addresses sustainability and climate change governance, complex systems and decision making, as well as climate change policy and economics. These topics highlight an interdisciplinary approach that integrates ecological and social dimensions.

Their frequent publication venues include AMBIO, Ecology and Society, and The Rangeland Journal, where they have contributed multiple papers. Other venues include One Earth and Nature Sustainability, reflecting engagement with a variety of environmental and sustainability-oriented audiences.

Brian Walker has collaborated extensively with several researchers, including:

  • Carl Folke
  • Stephen R. Carpenter
  • Marten Scheffer
  • Simon A. Levin
  • Stephen Polasky

Notable recent papers authored or co-authored by Brian Walker include:

  • "Resilience: what it is and is not" (2020), published in Ecology and Society
  • "Our future in the Anthropocene biosphere" (2021), published in AMBIO
  • "Urbanization, Migration, and Adaptation to Climate Change" (2020), published in One Earth
  • "Earth stewardship: Shaping a sustainable future through interacting policy and norm shifts" (2022), published in AMBIO
  • "Resilience: Now more than ever" (2021), published in AMBIO

Their primary fields of study are environmental science and social sciences, with subfields including global and planetary change, sociology and political science, economics and econometrics, management, monitoring, policy and law, and general health professions.

This body of work collectively reflects an emphasis on understanding the resilience of ecosystems and human systems under changing global conditions, integrating insights from both natural and social sciences.

Best Publications

  • A safe operating space for humanity

    Johan Rockström;Johan Rockström;Will Steffen;Will Steffen;Kevin Noone;Åsa Persson;Åsa Persson

  • Global biodiversity scenarios for the year 2100.

    O E Sala;F S Chapin;J J Armesto;E Berlow

  • Resilience, Adaptability and Transformability in Social–ecological Systems

    Brian Walker;C. S. Holling;Stephen R. Carpenter;Ann P. Kinzig

  • Catastrophic shifts in ecosystems.

    Marten Scheffer;Steve Carpenter;Jonathan A. Foley;Carl Folke

  • Planetary boundaries: Exploring the safe operating space for humanity

    Johan Rockström;Johan Rockström;Will Steffen;Will Steffen;Kevin Noone;Åsa Persson;Åsa Persson

  • Resilience thinking: integrating resilience, adaptability and transformability

    Carl Folke;Stephen R. Carpenter;Brian Walker;Marten Scheffer

  • Resilience Thinking: Sustaining Ecosystems and People in a Changing World

    Brian Walker;David Salt

  • From Metaphor to Measurement: Resilience of What to What?

    Stephen R Carpenter;Barbara Louise Endemano Walker;J. Marty Anderies;Nick Abel

  • Regime Shifts, Resilience, and Biodiversity in Ecosystem Management

    Carl Folke;Steve Carpenter;Brian Walker;Marten Scheffer

  • Global Desertification: Building a Science for Dryland Development

    James F. Reynolds;D. Mark Stafford Smith;Eric F. Lambin;B. L. Turner

  • Opportunistic management for rangelands not at equilibrium.

    Mark Westoby;Brian Walker;Imanuel Noy-Meir

  • Response diversity, ecosystem change, and resilience

    Thomas Elmqvist;Carl Folke;Carl Folke;Magnus Nyström;Garry Peterson

  • Biodiversity and Ecological Redundancy

    Brian H. Walker

  • Resilience Management in Social-ecological Systems: a Working Hypothesis for a Participatory Approach

    Brian Walker;Stephen R. Carpenter;John M. Anderies;Nick Abel

  • A handful of heuristics and some propositions for understanding resilience in social-ecological systems

    Brian Walker;Lance Gunderson;Ann Kinzig;Carl Folke

  • The Value of Nature and the Nature of Value

    Gretchen C. Daily;Tore Söderqvist;Sara Aniyar;Kenneth Arrow

  • Biotic Control over the Functioning of Ecosystems

    F. Stuart Chapin;Brian H. Walker;Richard J. Hobbs;David U. Hooper

  • An African Savanna: Synthesis of the Nylsvley Study

    R. J. Scholes;B. H. Walker

  • Plant Attribute Diversity, Resilience, and Ecosystem Function: The Nature and Significance of Dominant and Minor Species

    Brian Walker;Ann Kinzig;Jenny Langridge

  • Ecosystem stewardship: sustainability strategies for a rapidly changing planet

    F. Stuart Chapin;Stephen R. Carpenter;Gary P. Kofinas;Carl Folke;Carl Folke

Frequent Co-Authors

Carl Folke
Carl Folke Stockholm University
Simon A. Levin
Simon A. Levin Princeton University
Marten Scheffer
Marten Scheffer Wageningen University & Research
Gretchen C. Daily
Gretchen C. Daily Stanford University
Paul R. Ehrlich
Paul R. Ehrlich Stanford University
Stephen R. Carpenter
Stephen R. Carpenter University of Wisconsin–Madison
Will Steffen
Will Steffen Australian National University
Karl-Göran Mäler
Karl-Göran Mäler Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Nils Kautsky
Nils Kautsky Stockholm University
John M. Anderies
John M. Anderies Arizona State University

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Related Online Degrees & Career Pathways

Exploring Ecology and Evolution in the USA opens doors to many online degree and career pathways in related fields. Students interested in human behavior can pursue a clinical psychology degree online, equipping them with knowledge of both biological and environmental factors that shape mental health.

For those passionate about community support and advocacy, a human services bachelors degree online offers strong foundations in helping others and understanding social systems—essential skills in ecology-related outreach and education.

If you're a current teacher interested in branching out, consider transitioning from teacher to speech and language therapist. This path allows for a new focus on communication sciences, which often overlap with studies on animal behavior and evolutionary biology.

Finally, integrating design with environmental knowledge could lead you toward an architecture online degree. Modern architecture increasingly relies on understanding ecosystems and sustainability—skills central to ecology and evolution studies.

Whether you’re looking to enter a new career or complement your studies, these online degrees offer flexibility and diverse opportunities in allied fields.

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