Dr Patrick Pikacha is a senior lecturer in Ecology in the School of Science and Technology, Pacific Adventist University (PAU), Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Previous to joining PAU, he was Associate Lecturer in the International Programs at the School of Biological Sciences, and researcher in the Aquatic Research Group in the School of Engineering, both at the University of Queensland, Australia. Patrick also worked for Conservation International in Solomon Islands as a Project Coordinator.
His interest in the environment stemmed from an early age, when he would go hunting for birds or fishing with his father. After completing his Master’s degree on mammals and frogs of the Western Solomon Islands in 2005 at the University of the South Pacific, he continued his research on Solomon Islands natural history. He has authored or co-authored a number of richly illustrated books, including Shore to Shore – Wildlife and Landscapes of Solomon Islands, Wild West: Rainforests of Western Solomon Islands, and co-authored Frogs of the Solomon Islands; and Solomon Islands Forest Life.
He is also the founder of the Melanesian Geo, a magazine, which for 15 years, has been dedicated to Melanesian regional biological and cultural diversity. In 2012, Dr. Pikacha along with his fellow USP Graduate, David Boseto, co-established a local environmental organisation in Solomon Islands called Ecological Solutions. Patrick holds a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Queensland, Australia.
