Fields of Research

Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology)
Behavioural ecology
Physical oceanography
Biological oceanography
Microbial ecology
Ecosystem function
Aquaculture and fisheries stock assessment
Animal behaviour
Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation
Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology)
Chemical oceanography
Glaciology
Global change biology
Wildlife and habitat management
Infectious agents

Research Objectives

Biodiversity in Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments
Assessment and management of coastal and estuarine ecosystems
Antarctic and Southern Ocean oceanic processes
Assessment and management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystems
Effects of climate change on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic environments (excl. social impacts)
Marine biodiversity
Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
Wild caught tuna
Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems
Ecosystem adaptation to climate change
Understanding climate change
Aquaculture tuna
Oceanic processes (excl. in the Antarctic and Southern Ocean)
Climate variability (excl. social impacts)

Career Best Publications

Circumpolar projections of Antarctic krill growth potential; Nature Climate Change
Feeding ecology of wild migratory tunas revealed by archival tag records of visceral warming; Journal of Animal Ecology
Integrative modelling of animal movement: incorporating in situ habitat and behavioural information for a migratory marine predator; Proc. R. Soc. B.
New insights into prime Southern Ocean forage grounds for thriving Western Australian humpback whales; Scientific Reports
Predicting krill swarm characteristics important for marine predators foraging off East Antarctica; Ecography
State-space models for bio-loggers: A methodological road map; Deep-Sea Research. Part 2: Topical Studies in Oceanography

Research Publications

Salpa thompsoni in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean: environmental drivers and life history parameters; Deep-Sea Research Part II
A globally distributed Syndiniales parasite dominates the Southern Ocean micro-eukaryote community near the sea-ice edge; ISME Journal
A quantitative, hierarchical approach for detecting drift dives and tracking buoyancy changes in southern elephant seals; Scientific Reports
Animal Borne Ocean Sensors - AniBOS - an essential component of the Global Ocean Observing System; Frontiers in Marine Science
Animal movement and prediction: modelling animal behaviour in a changing climate; The 6th International Bio-logging Science Symposium
Antarctic pack ice algal distribution: floe-scale spatial variability and predictability from physical parameters; Geophysical Research Letters
Bacterial epibiont communities of panmictic Antarctic krill are spatially structured; Molecular Ecology
Bio-physical characterisation of polynyas as a key foraging habitat for juvenile male southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) in Prydz Bay, East Antarctica; PLoS One
Can isoscapes of mesopelagic fish determine foraging hotspots of marine mammals and birds in the southern Indian Ocean?; MEASO 18
Can isoscapes of mesopelagic fish predict top predator hotspots?; Where the Poles come together: A SCAR and IASC Conference
Circumpolar projections of Antarctic krill growth potential; Nature Climate Change
Coastal polynyas: winter oases for subadult southern elephant seals in East Antarctica; Scientific Reports
Decadal changes in habitat characteristics influence population trajectories of southern elephant seals; Global Change Biology
Determination and precision of otolith growth zone estimates of Electrona antarctica in the Southern Kerguelen Plateau region in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean; Deep-Sea Research. Part 2
Distribution of larval and juvenile pelagic squids in the Kerguelen Axis region: oceanographic influence on size structure and evidence of spawning locations; Deep-Sea Research Part II
Elephant seal foraging success is enhanced in Antarctic coastal polynyas; Proceedings of the Royal Society of London: Biological Sciences
Environmental drivers of foraging behaviour during long-distance foraging trips of male Antarctic fur seals; Animal Behaviour
Environmental influences on annual migrations of juvenile southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii)
Estimation and simulation of foraging trips in land-based marine predators; Ecology
Feeding ecology of wild migratory tunas revealed by archival tag records of visceral warming; Journal of Animal Ecology
Finding mesopelagic prey in a changing Southern Ocean; Scientific Reports
From trips to bouts to dives: temporal patterns in the diving behaviour of chick-rearing Adelie penguins, East Antarctica; Marine Ecology - Progress Series
Horizontal-vertical movement relationships: Adélie penguins forage continuously throughout provisioning trips; Movement Ecology
Humpback whale migrations to Antarctic summer foraging grounds through the southwest Pacific Ocean; Scientific Reports
Integrative modelling of animal movement: incorporating in situ habitat and behavioural information for a migratory marine predator; Proc. R. Soc. B.
Iron limitation drives the globally extreme fluorescence/chlorophyll ratios of the Southern Ocean; Geophysical Research Letters
Marine ecosystem assessment for the Southern Ocean: birds and marine mammals in a changing climate; Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Mesopelagic community structure on the southern Kerguelen Axis; The Kerguelen Plateau: marine ecosystem and fisheries
Modeling Antarctic krill circumpolar spawning habitat quality to identify regions with potential to support high larval production; Geophysical Research Letters
Modelled mid-trophic pelagic prey fields improve understanding of marine predator foraging behaviour; Ecography
Movement responses to environment: fast inference of variation among southern elephant seals with a mixed effects model; Ecology
New insights into prime Southern Ocean forage grounds for thriving Western Australian humpback whales; Scientific Reports
Ocean circulation and frontal structure near the southern Kerguelen Plateau during the Kerguelen Axis marine ecosystem survey; The Kerguelen Plateau: marine ecosystem and fisheries
Ocean circulation and frontal structure near the southern Kerguelen Plateau: the physical context for the Kerguelen Axis ecosystem study; Deep-Sea Research Part II
Otolith chemistry of Electrona antarctica suggests a potential population marker distinguishing the southern Kerguelen Plateau from the eastward-flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current; Limnology and Oceanography
Otolith nucleus chemistry distinguishes Electrona antarctica in the westward-flowing Antarctic Slope Current and eastward-flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current off East Antarctica; Marine Environmental Research
Overwinter sea-ice characteristics important for Antarctic krill recruitment in the southwest Atlantic; Ecological Indicators
Plasticity in vertical behaviour of migrating juvenile southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii) in relation to oceanography of the south Indian Ocean; Fisheries Oceanography
Predicting feeding success in a migratory predator: integrating telemetry, environment, and modeling techniques; Ecology
Predicting krill swarm characteristics important for marine predators foraging off East Antarctica; Ecography
Prediction of krill swarm characteristics that drive a marine predator ‘hotspot' region off East Antarctica; CLIOTOP 3rd Symposium 2015
Putting the behavior into animal movement modeling: improved activity budgets from use of ancillary tag information; Ecology and Evolution
Seasonal transformation and spatial variability of water masses within MacKenzie Polynya, Prydz Bay; Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
State-space models for bio-loggers: A methodological road map; Deep-Sea Research. Part 2: Topical Studies in Oceanography
Stomach content analysis of mesopelagic fish from the southern Kerguelen Axis; Deep-Sea Research Part II
Sustained upwelling of subsurface iron supplies seasonally persistent phytoplankton blooms around the Southern Kerguelen Plateau, Southern Ocean; Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
Taking animal tracking to new depths: synthesizing horizontal–vertical movement relationships for four marine predators; Ecology
View from below: inferring behavior and physiology of Southern Ocean marine predators from dive telemetry; Frontiers in Marine Science
Zooplankton community structure and dominant copepod population structure on the southern Kerguelen Plateau during summer 2016; Deep-Sea Research: Part II

Research Projects

Assessing status and trends of marine ecosystems in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean; Department of Environment and Energy (Cwth) (DoEE)
Assessment of habitats, productivity and food webs on the Kerguelen Axis in the Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean; Department of Environment and Energy (Cwth) (DoEE)
Australian Antarctic Program Partnership; Department of Industry, Innovation and Science (DoIIS)
Mathematical Models for Antarctic Animal Migrations in a Changing Climate; Australian Research Council (ARC)
Mesopelagic Southern Ocean Prey and Predators (MESOPP); European Commission (EC)
Multi-species animal tracking: analytical methods and application ; Department of Environment and Energy (Cwth) (DoEE)
The Role of Eastern Antarctic Polynyas in Global Ocean Circulation; Australian Research Council (ARC)
Using animal-borne sensors to unravel East Antarctic coastal productivity; Australian Research Council (ARC)

Research Candidate Supervision