Biography

I am a marine ecologist currently researching the interactive effects of anthropogenic impacts on coastal fisheries value and condition.

This research consists of Firstly, the relative drivers of change in wild fisheries catch globally, aiming to establish the degree to which different management interventions have been effective in increasing fisheries biomass, throughout coastal ecosystems globally, by undertaking a comprehensive global meta-analysis of published data. Secondly, is the grass greener on the other side of the fence: the effects of marine reserves on fish biomass and size-frequency distributions. The focus of this research will be to assess the effectiveness of marine reserves in unconsolidated substrates, at increasing fisheries biomass and size-frequency distributions, in comparison to paired fished sites and will account and test for the influence of connectivity to complex habitats. Thirdly, historical size, catches and movements of dolphinfish Coryphaena hippurus on the east coast of Australia. This study investigates the variation in past and present climate-driven redistribution of dolphinfish and their size in eastern Australia and identify the attributes of ocean seascapes that drive these changes in association with climate change. Finally, movement patterns and habitat associations of dolphinfish Coryphaena hippurs in the ocean seascape. I am testing for the combined effects of attributes of the ocean seascape on the distribution, habitat associations and movements of dolphinfish around fish aggregating devices (FADs).