Backyard Biodiversity

One home, one year, one thousand species

Pied Butcherbird in Tropical Cyclone Jasper, Atherton Tablelands, Far North Queensland. © Bronwen Scott

A taxonomist, an ecologist and a mathematician walked into a garden…and spent their lockdown documenting every species of animal, plant and fungus they could find around their home. Andrew Rogers, Matthew Holden and Russell Yong expected to encounter perhaps as many as 300 species on the 400-square metre block in Brisbane, southeast Queensland. A year later…