Research in environmental sciences at Macquarie University received the highest possible rating in ERA 2010 - 'performance well above world standard'.

5-rated discipline	Environmental sciences
5-rated sub disciplines	Ecological applications

The overarching CORE areas at Macquarie that contribute to environmental sciences are Climate Risk, and Ecology and Evolution. These COREs are strongly supported by the University's research strengths found in Genes to Geoscience, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Core to Crust Fluid systems, Risk Frontiers, and our participation in the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility.

The Climate Risk CORE is also forming exciting research partnerships with the CORE in Social Inclusion, which deals with, in part, the interface between the social and bio-physical dimensions of climate variability and risk.

Informing national action on climate change

A major emphasis of research in the area of ecological applications is engagement with government, industry and community, resulting in important applications in policy input and development.

Macquarie has built on its long established base of research on climate change and its social and environmental impacts, to significantly expand climate-related research through a strategic alliance with biologists, social scientists, economists and others through the establishment of the Climate Futures Research Centre.

This multi-disciplinary research centre aims to bridge the divide between climate and adaptation research, policy and practice needs, by serving as a hub for interactions between leading researchers, governmental decision-makers, NGOs, businesses and vulnerable communities.

Macquarie environmental scientists also lead the Australian Animal Tagging and Monitoring System, which provides data to support research on many of the critical marine issues facing Australia.