Company Profile
TactEcol Consulting Pty Ltd is an ecological consultancy specialising in the assessment and documentation of the flora and fauna values of eastern Australia. TactEcol personnel have extensive experience across a range of environments, from the coast to the arid regions, and montane/alpine areas and rainforests in between. Our staff have undertaken a wide range of zoological and botanical projects in these environs over the last decade, utilising the most up to date survey techniques and technologies to efficiently document ecological values.
TactEcol Consulting holds the relevant permits and approvals to undertake these services, including animal ethics approvals. We stock a well-maintained range of fauna survey equipment, including a large inventory of Reconyx infrared cameras (HC500 and HC550 models), as well as acoustic monitoring equipment, including both Song Meter SM4 (Wildlife Acoustics) and AudioMoth (Open Acoustic Devices) units.
TactEcol is directed by Jake Urlus, and has a number of experienced botanical and zoological personnel, as well as being part of an affiliate network of specialist consultancies spanning a range of disciplines; more on these below.
Jake Urlus
Director / Principal Ecologist
Jake has 18 years of ecological experience and has worked as a consultant ecologist for over fourteen years. Over this time Jake has gained extensive experience in the survey of, planning for, and management of ecological values across eastern Australia, and he routinely provides expert advice on matters concerning threatened species, biodiversity values and impact assessment and mitigation. Jake has successfully delivered a range of strategic planning and prioritisation projects for ecological values, including contributing to the development of state government agency policies and guidelines, peer review of major projects, and panel presentation as an expert witness. He is adept across all vertebrate fauna groups, including invasive species, with a specialty in herpetology and mammalogy; he is also proficient in experimental design, data analysis and GIS mapping. Jake has a working knowledge of flora and is an accredited native vegetation assessor; he has undertaken multiple broad-scale vegetation assessment and mapping projects in regional areas. The use of and contribution to the scientific literature is important to Jake, and he has published a number of peer-reviewed articles on the fauna and flora of eastern Australia, including survey methodologies thereof.
See Jake’s profile on LinkedIn
Project Botanists / Zoologists
TactEcol has a range of experienced botanical and zoological personnel, including recognised experts in their field, that we utilise for projects. All botanists and zoologists are suitably qualified and experienced, and are selected for a project team based on their specific skills and experience, as they relate to the needs of a project.
A strength of our approach is that a highly experienced project manager, typically a Principal Ecologist, is involved in every facet of a project, including fieldwork. All project work undertaken by TactEcol staff and our subcontractors must adhere to our quality control standards, and all deliverables are written or peer-reviewed by a Principal Ecologist.
Affiliate Network
We are part of an affiliate network of specialist consultancies in eastern Australia that regularly collaborate to provide expertise to clients across a comprehensive range of environmental and ecological services. Together we have many decades of expertise in botany, zoology and aquatic ecology, impact assessment, vegetation offsetting and land management, planning, arboriculture, bushfire and heritage assessment, and advanced spatial and statistical analysis, modelling and interpretation.
TactEcol utilise this network to build and manage larger, interdisciplinary teams that can meet the specific needs of major, or more complex, projects.
