Dr Cara Penton
Dr Cara Penton is a research fellow at Charles Darwin University and Ecological Monitoring Manager with Warddeken Land Management Ltd., working as a cross-cultural ecologist and researcher. She completed her PhD in 2021, investigating whether tree hollows limit arboreal mammals in northern Australian savannas, with fieldwork on the Tiwi Islands focused on species such as the brush-tailed rabbit-rat, black-footed tree-rat, and northern brushtail possum. Her research centres on Indigenous-led ecological monitoring, integrating community governance, bilingual data systems, and tools such as camera traps, bioacoustics, and AI to support culturally grounded conservation. In her role with Warddeken, she facilitates long-term monitoring across more than 13,000 km² of the Warddeken Indigenous Protected Area, working with a strong cross-cultural ecology team to inform management of threatened species, fire regimes, and feral animals. Cara was awarded the 2024 NT NextGen Landcare Award and a 2025 Churchill Fellowship to explore globally reimagining AI in community-led conservation.
Research Interests:
- Indigenous-led ecological monitoring and cross-cultural conservation
- Threatened species and small mammal ecology
- Fire and feral animal management in tropical savannas
- Camera traps, bioacoustics, and AI in conservation
- Indigenous data sovereignty and ethical research frameworks