About me

I am a marine ecologist and a secondary science teacher. My research is conducted through the Applied Marine and Estuarine Ecology Lab in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). I am also a member of the Centre for Marine Science and Innovation at UNSW.

My research has mainly focused on sessile invertebrates and fish assemblages on artificial reefs and structures.

Research

Doctor of Philosophy

Ecoengineering as a mitigation strategy for invertebrate and fish assemblages of highly developed foreshores.

Estuaries are areas of intense urban development, often leading to hard armouring such as seawalls as well as introducing structures such as pilings into the water. These artificial structures are known to reduce the diversity of invertebrates and are known to have a different assemblage of fish associated with the new habitat. With more foreshores becoming developed in this way, there is increased interest in the use of ecological engineering to mitigate some of these effects. My research focuses on how the design of these seawalls and the foreshore can be improved to provide added complexity in order to mitigate some of the reduction in diversity.

Master of Science (Research)

Epibenthic ecology on artificial reefs: community structure in response to material, orientation and predation.

Artificial reefs are being used more frequently around the world. While their productive/attractive qualities are debated, the role of epibenthic communities in artificial reef ecology is largely unknown. This is an important knowledge gap that has to be addressed due to the increasing popularity of artificial reefs around the world. My research addresses some of the basic aspects of epibenthic communities on artificial reefs. Invertebrates such as barnacles, serpulid worms and bryozoans were found to be affected by substrate material, surface orientation and fish predation. This could have potential cascading effects through the ecosystem found on the artificial reef and reach target species. The incorporation of epibenthic communities are a crucial component of artificial reef ecology and should be included in future assessments of all artificial reefs.

The associated publication can be found here.

Bachelor of Environmental Science (Honours)

How well do we know our estuaries? Water quality, acidification and zooplankton – implications for our future.

Estuarine health in New South Wales are heavily impacted by anthropogenic developments and is expected to be a hotspot for impacts derived from climate change. The strength of the East Australian Current is expected to increase, changing the hydrodynamic characteristics of the coastline. My research addressed the use of zooplankton communities in estuaries to monitor estuarine health and the threat to the communities from ocean acidification. The zooplankton communities were correlated more strongly to the inner and outer parts of the estuaries rather than to anthropogenic impacts. They are more sensitive to physicochemical characteristics of the water and may not be effective in monitoring for anthropogenic impacts. They were also found to correlate less with acidification parameters such as aragonite and calcite concentrations. However, in the inner parts of the estuaries, a simple model showed potential risks for calcifying zooplankton with the expected acidification under various IPCC AR4 scenarios.

Education

2016-Present Doctor of Philosophy (Biological Science) – University of New South Wales

2015 Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) – Australian Catholic University

2015 Master of Science (Research – Biological Science) – University of New South Wales

2011 Bachelor of Environmental Science (Honours Class I – Marine Biology) – University of New South Wales

Awards

2020-2021 Higher Degree Research Completion Scholarship – UNSW

2016-2019 Australian Postgraduate Award – UNSW

2018 The School of BEES 3 Minute Thesis Competition Runner-Up – UNSW

2017 Evolution & Ecology Research Centre Start Up Grant Recipient – UNSW

2015 ASFB Conference 2015 Fee Waiver – NSW Department of Primary Industries (Fisheries)

2012 Evolution & Ecology Research Centre Start Up Grant Winner – UNSW

2009 Faculty of Science Vacation Scholarship – UNSW

To view my latest publications, click here.

To view my full experience and qualifications, click here.

To keep up with the latest news, click here.

To contact me, click here.