My research interests draws on the relationship between people, species, and the natural environment, and how these interactions can help us communicate environmental changes in a more meaningful and actionable way. I am currently exploring how species play a role in how we connect to places — particularly in the context of environmental change.
I'm currently exploring people's connection to fairy penguins (Eudyptula minor) and short-tailed shearwaters (Ardenna tenuirostris) at the Neck on Bruny Island, an island located off the southeastern coast of Tasmania, Australia.
The aim of this thesis is to understand how species shape our connections to place. In particular, I hope to: 1) examine how species are currently portrayed within place-based literature, 2) identify the pathways in which species influence place attachment, 3) explore how species-place relationships are formed, and 4) understand how environmental change affects the relationships people hold with species and the places they inhabit.
Mechanisms of species–people relationships in place attachment
People and Nature, Vol. 8, No. 3
View →Species as placemakers: The role of species in place attachment
Applied Geography, Vol. 182, No. 103697
View →Characterising people-species-place relationships
in review
Adipose tissue estimation of foraging and nesting green turtles Chelonia mydas using bioelectrical impedance analysis
Endangered Species Research, Vol. 51, No. 127-142
View →Haematological and biochemical reference intervals for wild green turtles (Chelonia mydas): a Bayesian approach for small sample sizes
Conservation Physiology, Vol. 10, No. 1
View →Spatial distribution of fibropapillomatosis in green turtles along the Queensland coast and an investigation into the influence of water quality on prevalence
Conservation Science and Practice
View →Understanding Marine Turtle Volunteers: Characteristics and motivation for engagement in conservation
Human Dimensions of Wildlife, Vol. 1, No. 19
View →Sustaining the commons? A sixteen year study of social and ecological outcomes of community-based adaptive management
Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences, Vol. 116, No. 52
View →past research.
Where it all began. I have been extremely fortunate to fulfil my dream of working with these gentle giants, building experience across both nesting and in-water monitoring programs. My work spans tagging, morphometric measurements, nest excavations, hatchling performance trials, and remote fieldwork using rodeo capture techniques to collect genetic, dietary, health, and sex-determination data, supporting assessments of current population condition and projections of future population dynamics.
With a strong interest in visualisation, it is perhaps unsurprising that I became drawn to understanding the flow of relationships within social-ecological systems. During my MSc, I spent a year working closely with visiting fellow, Michele Barnes at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies analysing and synthesizing social network data from fishing communities in Papua New Guinea to produce detailed outputs for publication
