About

The Business

BioAccess Australia was founded in 2000 by the Principal Scientist, Dr John W. Short, and operates as a business partnership. The business initially provided taxonomic consultancy on decapod Crustacea. In June 2025, we launched a new ePublishing platform and image database. The business now communicates biodiversity in three ways:

• ePublishing – online publication of our biodiversity research.
• Database  – a visual and informational record of the natural history of the Australia-New Guinea region (images available for licensed use and instant download; see Terms and Conditions).
• Consultancy  – written, visual and verbal communication of our specialist taxonomic knowledge on the decapod Crustacea of the Australia–New Guinea region.

The Principal Scientist

Dr Short previously worked at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane where he developed a broad understanding of modern systematics, scientific publishing, photography, illustration, mapping, collection management, database development, habitat ecology and field collecting techniques. His early roles at the museum included a year in the Information Centre where he first developed skills in communicating natural history to the general public. He has enhanced these skills through authorship or chapter contributions to a number of popular and semi-scientific books during his career.

Dr Short specialises on the taxonomy of freshwater shrimps (families Atyidae and Palaemonidae) and crayfishes (family Parastacidae). His PhD was on the systematics and biogeography of Australian river prawns, Macrobrachium. He is the author of numerous scientific and popular publications (see publication list).

The Business

BioAccess Australia operates as a business partnership and was founded in 2000 by Dr John W. Short, the Principal Scientist. The business is dedicated to researching and documenting biological diversity – the variety and complexity of life. We communicate biodiversity along three main pathways:

• ePublishing – online publication of our research.
• Database  – a visual and informational record of the natural history of the Australia-New Guinea region (images available for licensed use and instant download; see Terms and Conditions).
• Consultancy  – written, visual and verbal communication of our specialist taxonomic knowledge on the decapod Crustacea of the Australia–New Guinea region.

The Principal Scientist

Dr Short previously worked at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane where he developed a broad understanding of modern systematics, scientific publishing, photography, illustration, mapping, collection management, database development, habitat ecology and field collecting techniques. His early roles at the museum included a year in the Information Centre where he first developed skills in communicating natural history to the general public. He has enhanced these skills through authorship or chapter contributions to a number of popular and semi-scientific books during his career.

Dr Short specialises on the taxonomy of freshwater shrimps (families Atyidae and Palaemonidae) and crayfishes (family Parastacidae). His PhD was on the systematics and biogeography of Australian river prawns, Macrobrachium. He is the author of numerous scientific and popular publications (see publication list).