Fields of Research

Marine and estuarine ecology (incl. marine ichthyology)
Conservation and biodiversity
Environmental assessment and monitoring
Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology)
Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation
Environmental management
Fisheries sciences
Aquaculture and fisheries stock assessment
Biogeography and phylogeography
Pollution and contamination
Biological oceanography
Photogrammetry and remote sensing
Ecosystem function
Ecology
Biostatistics
Stratigraphy (incl. biostratigraphy, sequence stratigraphy and basin analysis)
Fisheries management
Biosecurity science and invasive species ecology
Natural resource management
Physical geography and environmental geoscience
Soil physics
Climate change processes
Physical oceanography
Surveying (incl. hydrographic surveying)
Chemical oceanography
Glaciology
Marine geoscience
Volcanology

Research Objectives

Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems
Marine biodiversity
Biodiversity in Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments
Assessment and management of coastal and estuarine ecosystems
Coastal or estuarine biodiversity
Management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean environments
Assessment and management of Antarctic and Southern Ocean ecosystems
Effects of climate change on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic environments (excl. social impacts)
Rehabilitation or conservation of marine environments
Terrestrial biodiversity
Climate variability (excl. social impacts)
Expanding knowledge in the earth sciences
Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
Paper products and pulp
Global effects of climate change (excl. Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and the South Pacific) (excl. social impacts)
Coastal and estuarine systems and management
Assessment and management of benthic marine ecosystems
Fisheries - wild caught
Other environmental management
Social impacts of climate change and variability
Climate change adaptation measures (excl. ecosystem)
Wild caught fin fish (excl. tuna)
Measurement and assessment of marine water quality and condition
Wild caught prawns
Expanding knowledge in the environmental sciences

Career Best Publications

A comprehensive evaluation of predictive performance of 33 species distribution models at species and community levels; Ecological Monographs
Abundance and richness of key Antarctic seafloor fauna correlates with modelled food availability; Nature Ecology and Evolution
Bioregions in marine environments: combining biological and environmental data for management and scientific understanding; Bioscience
Congruence in demersal fish, macroinvertebrate, and macroalgal community turnover on shallow temperate reefs; Ecological Applications
Defining and observing stages of climate-mediated range shifts in marine systems; Global Environmental Change
Integrated assessment of the spatial distribution and structural dynamics of deep benthic marine communities; Ecological Applications
Integrating abundance and functional traits reveals new global hotspots of fish diversity; Nature
Mapping Antarctic suspension feeder abundances and seafloor food-availability, and modeling their change after a major glacier calving; Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Model-based mapping of assemblages for ecology and conservation management: a case study of demersal fish on the Kerguelen Plateau; Diversity and Distributions
Quantifying fish assemblages in large, offshore marine protected areas: an Australian case study; PLoS One
Reliable species distributions are obtainable with sparse, patchy and biased data by leveraging over species and data types; Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Species traits and climate velocity explain geographic range shifts in an ocean-warming hotspot; Ecology Letters
Statistical solutions for error and bias in global citizen science datasets; Biological Conservation
Temporal and spatial variability in the cover of deep reef species: implications for monitoring; Ecological Indicators

Research Publications

4. Marine sampling field manual for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs)
A comprehensive evaluation of predictive performance of 33 species distribution models at species and community levels; Ecological Monographs
A standardised vocabulary for identifying benthic biota and substrata from underwater imagery: the CATAMI classification scheme; PLoS ONE
Abundance and richness of key Antarctic seafloor fauna correlates with modelled food availability; Nature Ecology and Evolution
Advances in multibeam processing and spatial analysis for the characteristation and prediction of temperate seabeds to support the management of Australia's marine biodiversity; GEOHAB: Marine Geological and Biological Mapping
Algal canopy as a proxy for the disturbance history of understorey communities in East Antarctica; Polar Biology
Altered niche of an ecologically significant urchin species, Centrostephanus rodgersii, in its extended range revealed using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle; Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
An evaluation of the error and uncertainty in epibenthos cover estimates from AUV images collected with an efficient, spatially-balanced design; PloS ONE
An experimental assessment of impacts of pollution sources on sessile biota in a temperate urbanised estuary; Marine Pollution Bulletin
Antarctic seas host a surprising mix of lifeforms – and now we can map them
Assuming independence in spatial latent variable models: consequences and implications of misspecification; Biometrics
Australian sea-floor survey data, with images and expert annotations; Scientific Data
Autonomous vehicles as a tool for surveying temperate reefs in Tasmania
Autonomous vehicles as a tool for surveying temperate reefs in Tasmania
Benefits and risks of incremental protected area planning in the Southern Ocean; Nature Sustainability
Beyond the bed: Effects of metal contamination on recruitment to bedded sediments and overlying substrata; Environmental Pollution
Bioregions in marine environments: combining biological and environmental data for management and scientific understanding; Bioscience
Characterization of Shallow Inshore Coastal Reefs on the Tasman Peninsula, Southeastern Tasmania, Australia; Seafloor Geomorphology as Benthic Habitat: GeoHAB Atlas of Seafloor Geomorphic Features and Benthic Habitats
Choosing between strategies for designing surveys: autonomous underwater vehicles; Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Comparison of independently derived benthic invertebrate and demersal fish ecoregionalisations for the Kerguelen Plateau; The Kerguelen Plateau: marine ecosystem and fisheries
Congruence in demersal fish, macroinvertebrate, and macroalgal community turnover on shallow temperate reefs; Ecological Applications
Contaminated suspended sediments toxic to an Antarctic filter feeder: Aqueous- and particulate-phase effects; Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry
Defining and observing stages of climate-mediated range shifts in marine systems; Global Environmental Change
Determining marine bioregions: a comparison of quantitative approaches; Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Developing a quantitative, relative wave exposure index for shallow reefs in temperate Australia and potential applications in biodiversity research; Australian Marine Science Association 46th Annual Conference
Developing indicators and a baseline for monitoring demersal fish in data-poor, offshore Marine Parks using probabilistic sampling; Ecological Indicators
Developing long-term monitoring programs in offshore waters with little prior knowledge: Applying a novel sampling design to inventory biological assets; AMSA Golden Jubilee Conference 2013 Shaping the Future
Developing long-term monitoring programs in offshore waters with little prior knowledge: Comparison of GRTS based sampling with swath mapping; AMSA Golden Jubilee Conference 2013 Shaping the Future
Do marine substrates 'look' and 'sound' the same? Supervised classification of multibeam acoustic data using autonomous underwater vehicle images; Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
Ecological grouping of survey sites when sampling artefacts are present; Royal Statistical Society. Journal. Series C: Applied Statistics
Effects of pollution from anthropogenic point sources on the recruitment of sessile estuarine reef biota; Frontiers in Marine Science
Effects of urbanisation on macroalgae and sessile invertebrates in southeast Australian estuaries; Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
Efficacy of baited remote underwater video systems and bait type in the cool-temperature zone for monitoring ‘no-take’ marine reserves; Marine and Freshwater Research
Filling the gaps: predicting the distribution of temperate reef biota using high resolution biological and acoustic data; Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
Grazing effects of the sea urchin, Centrostephanus rodgersii,in two contrasting rocky reef habitats: effects of urchins density and implications for the fishery; Marine & Freshwater Research
Identifying vulnerable marine ecosystems: an image-based vulnerability index for the Southern Ocean seafloor; I C E S Journal of Marine Science: (International Council for The Exploration of The Sea)
Image subsampling and point scoring approaches for large-scale marine benthic monitoring programs; Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
Impacts of metal-contaminated sediments on marine communities: A temperate polar investigation
Integrated assessment of the spatial distribution and structural dynamics of deep benthic marine communities; Ecological Applications
Integrating abundance and functional traits reveals new global hotspots of fish diversity; Nature
Integrating distribution models and habitat classification maps into marine protected area planning; Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science
Integrating seafloor habitat mapping and fish assemblage patterns improves spatial management planning in a marine park; Journal of Coastal Research
Interactive responses of primary producers and grazers to pollution on temperate rocky reefs; Environmental Pollution
Linking habitat and biotic patterns improves spatial management in a marine park; Geohab 2014
Loss of native rocky reef biodiversity in Australian metropolitan embayments; Marine Pollution Bulletin
Macro-algal communities in three major Australian estuaries: Broad-scale patterns in response to anthropogenic impacts; New Waves in Marine Science
Mapping Antarctic suspension feeder abundances and seafloor food-availability, and modeling their change after a major glacier calving; Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Mapping habitats and developing baselines in offshore marine reserves with little prior knowledge: a critical evaluation of a new approach; PLoS ONE
Marine Biodiversity Hub
Methods for the processing of AUV digital imagery from South Eastern Tasmania
Model-based mapping of assemblages for ecology and conservation management: a case study of demersal fish on the Kerguelen Plateau; Diversity and Distributions
Monitoring Australia's Commonwealth Marine Reserves
Object based segmentation of multibeam backscatter data: methods for spatial analysis of shallow coastal seabeds, South Eastern Tasmania, Australia; Marine Geological and Biological Habitat Mapping
Outcropping reef ledges drive patterns of epibenthic assemblage diversity on cross-shelf habitats; Biodiversity and Conservation
Phylogenetic and geographic variation in host breadth and composition by herbivorous amphipods in the family ampithoidae; Evolution
Physico-chemical changes in metal-spiked sediments deployed in the field: Implications for the interpretation of in situ studies; Chemosphere: Chemistry, Biology and Toxicology As Related to Environmental Problems
Predicting beta diversity in the marine environment: algal diversity patterns and their relationship with environmental variables on shallow subtidal reefs across southern Australia; 9th International Temperate Reefs Symposium 2011
Predicting patterns of beta diversity on shallow, temperate reefs; World Conference on Marine Biodiversity
Predicting temperate reef benthos with high resolution multibeam data; World Conference on Marine Biodiversity
Predicting temperate reef biodiversity: A South Australian example; New Waves in Marine Science
Prediction program In: Marine Biodiversity Hub, Commonwealth Environment Research Facilities, Final report 2007-2010
Predictions of beta diversity for reef macroalgae across southeastern Australia; Ecosphere
Quantifying fish assemblages in large, offshore marine protected areas: an Australian case study; PLoS One
Quantifying wave exposure in shallow temperate reef systems: applicability of fetch models for predicting algal biodiversity; Marine Ecology - Progress Series
Reliable species distributions are obtainable with sparse, patchy and biased data by leveraging over species and data types; Methods in Ecology and Evolution
Seawater temperature effect on metal accumulation and toxicity in the subantarctic Macquarie Island isopod, Exosphaeroma gigas; Aquatic Toxicology
Sources of variation in herbivore preference: among-individual and past diet effects on amphipod host choice; Marine Biology: International Journal on Life in Oceans and Coastal Waters
Spatial analysis of multibeam acoustic data for the predictiion of marine substrates and benthic communities in temperate coastal waters; ISRSE 2011: International symposium of R 34th International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment
Spatial associations among palatable and unpalatable macroalgae:; Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
Spatial properties of sessile benthic organisms and the design of repeat visual survey transects; Aquatic Conservation
Species traits and climate velocity explain geographic range shifts in an ocean-warming hotspot; Ecology Letters
Statistical solutions for error and bias in global citizen science datasets; Biological Conservation
Stop ignoring map uncertainty in biodiversity science and conservation policy; Nature Ecology and Evolution
Submarine sedimentary bedforms and benthos surrounding the Heard and McDonald Islands World Heritage Site; Seafloor Geomorphology as Benthic Habitat
Subsurface chlorophyll-a maxima in the Southern Ocean; Frontiers in Marine Science
Survey design for underwater robots: accomodating autocorrelation and constrained sampling; 4th International Statistical Ecology Conference
Tasmania's coastal reefs: deep reef habitats and significance for finfish production and biodiversity
Taxonomic resolution, functional traits, and the influence of species groupings on mapping Antarctic seafloor biodiversity; Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
Temporal and spatial variability in the cover of deep reef species: implications for monitoring; Ecological Indicators
The potential of trait-based approaches to contribute to marine conservation; Marine Policy
Underwater Hyperspectral Imaging (UHI): a review of systems and applications for proximal seafloor ecosystem studies; Remote Sensing
Using an autonomous underwater vehicle to inform management of biodiversity in shelf waters. ; Oceans 2010
Vulnerable, but still poorly known, marine ecosystems: how to make distribution models more relevant and impactful for conservation and management of VMEs?; Frontiers in Marine Science
When the bottom comes up: Experimental and real world resuspension of contaminated sediments; New Waves in Marine Science

Research Projects

9th International Temperate Reefs Symposium - UK, 2011; University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Attendance at World Conference on Marine Biodiversity ; Ian Potter Foundation (IPF)
Detecting, attributing, predicting and monitoring ecological change in the Southern Ocean; Department of Environment and Energy (Cwth) (DoEE)
Developing capacity in, and demonstrating appliciability of, an innovative toxico-kinetic technique, biodynamic modelling with metal stable isotopes, to environmental pollution research; University of Tasmania (UTAS)
FRANCE-AUSTRALIA SCIENCE INNOVATION COLLABORATION (FASIC) PROGRAM EARLY CAREER FELLOWSHIPS: Predicting Antarctic Marine Biodiversity for Conservation and Management; Australian Academy of Science (AASc)
Impact of environmental variability on the Patagonian Toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) fishery; Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC)
Life after death: understanding the recovery dynamics of seabed disturbances; CSIRO-Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
Predicting biodiversity distribution on the Antarctic continental shelf; Australian Research Council (ARC)
Ross Sea Region Ecosystem Dynamics (RSRED) - Coastal Marine Biogeography and Ecosystem Processes; Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment NZ (MBIE)
Tasmania's coastal reefs: deep reef habitats and significance for finfish production and biodiversity; Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC)
The Australian Centre for Excellence in Antarctic Science; Australian Research Council (ARC)
The improvement of Biogeochemical Argo chlorophyll-a concentration data for largescale studies of Southern Ocean phytoplankton; Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR)
Review of NZ Seafloor Classification
Seafloor geological characterisation of the Great Australia Bight submarine canyons, potential hydrocarbon seeps and volcanic sea mounts - Stage 2

Research Candidate Supervision

Ecological Difference Between Subtropical Reef Communities and Biodiversity and Response to Warming of the East Australian Current
The Effect of Collection and Scoring Methods on Inferences for Analyses of AUV Data