Adam is CEO of Reef Ecologic (a B Corp) and has 30 years experience as a marine scientist, marine park manager, environmental consultant, Director. He has extensive regulatory, EIA, policy, partnership, incident and communication experience in coral reef research and management. He has led diverse, multidisciplinary projects associated with conservation and sustainable management of Tourism, Defence, Shipping, Fisheries, Port and Restoration in the Pacific, Caribbean, Indian Ocean and Red Sea. He was co-investigator (with Dr Ian McLeod) of the National Environment Science Program (NESP) Tropical Water Quality Hub project Best practice coral restoration for the Great Barrier Reef. He is a co-founder of the International Coral Reef Management and Leadership program. He is founder of the Museum of Underwater Art. He is on numerous reef and international advisory committees.

Ahmed Gad is a marine ecologist and PhD candidate; his research focuses on ecological engineering of marine artificial structures to enhance biodiversity and mitigate environmental impacts in urbanised coastal environments. His work explores innovative habitat designs and their ecological performance in tropical seascapes. In parallel, Ahmed works as a Marine Scientist at GHD, a global environmental consultancy. He has over eight years of experience in marine and environmental applied research across the Middle East, USA, and Australia. His consulting work spans environmental impact assessments (EIAs), marine baseline surveys, coral reef monitoring, water quality studies, and environmental management plans for major coastal infrastructure projects. His research and industry roles are closely aligned, both aiming to promote nature-positive outcomes in coastal development.

April Hall is a senior research officer at TropWATER with broad interests in coral reef fish ecology and a particular focus on marine parks management and conservation of coral reef fish communities. April’s current research is centred on monitoring fish communities and associated benthic habitats on inshore fringing coral reef habitats of the Great Barrier Reef. April is a specialist in identifying and quantifying reef fishes, and is part of a team delivering a broad-scale integrated monitoring program for fishes on inshore reefs. In collaboration with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, in 2022 April completed an Advance Queensland Postdoctoral Research Fellowship examining the contribution of partially protected conservation park (yellow) zones to biodiversity conservation in the Marine Park. This project built on her PhD research (2015) about the importance of predatory fishes on reefs and the trophic impacts of predator removals on coral reef fish communities. The fellowship provided novel data on the contribution of yellow zones to conservation and management of reef fishes on the Great Barrier Reef. April has worked collaboratively on a range of projects in Australia and the Indo-Pacific, including examining spatial and temporal trends in coral trout abundance, evaluating outcomes from locally managed marine reserves in Fiji and Solomon Islands, and investigating the demographics and reproductive biology of reef fishes.

Ebb is an ecologist with expertise in aquatic conservation. His primary interest is at the interface between society and aquatic fauna in freshwater and near shore marine ecosystems. He champions the application of direct observation and remote video for studying freshwater fishes and this has led to new insights into behaviour of rare and threatened species. This exploration has led to detection of species not previously known to occupy Australian waters and the conservation listing of species. Ebb provides key input to regional, state and national conservation planning in tropical Australia.

Dr Chris Gillies has worked across the science and conservation sectors in both aquatic and terrestrial environments but his true passion is the ocean. He was formerly the Director of Science at Earthwatch Australia, where he managed the scientific program across their expedition and citizen science portfolio. He has served as an invertebrate ecologist for both state and federal government environmental agencies and several consultancies. Chris is currently managing The Nature Conservancy’s Australian marine branch, leading the Great Southern Seascapes program helping to protect and restore healthy marine ecosystems from Western Australia to New South Wales. His research at JCU and TropWATER focuses on understanding shellfish reef ecology and restoration, ecosystem service benefits of aquaculture and nature-based approaches to coastal resilience.

Eva McClure is a senior research officer at TropWATER, working with Dr Maya Srinivasan on the Great Barrier Reef Integrated Reef Fish Monitoring program. Eva’s role sees her surveying fish on inshore island reefs of the GBR and relating fish species abundance and distributions to reef condition and management zoning. She is particularly interested in fish species that have commercial and ecological importance, and how these species respond to their environment, including the effect of reef habitat change and fishing. Eva developed her experience as a fish ecologist at the University of Queensland, where she worked on a variety of projects as a research and field assistant. Topics included fish visual systems and the ecological influence of cleaner wrasse on coral reefs. Eva completed her PhD in 2019 with Prof. Garry Russ and Dr Andrew Hoey at James Cook University’s College of Science and Engineering and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. Her research, based in the Philippines, investigated the relative influence of environmental and anthropogenic drivers on reef fish assemblages, such as disturbance to habitat, fishing and the spatial context of reefs. She was a Research Fellow at Griffith University from 2019-2020 with the Global Wetlands project, working broadly in wetland ecology and on projects using artificial intelligence to identify fish species from video. From 2021 Eva returned to JCU to work on a number of projects in the Coral Sea Marine Park with Prof. Andrew Hoey in CSE, where she currently holds a part-time position. More information: •Full profile [https://research.jcu.edu.au/portfolio/eva.mcclure/] •Publications [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=Fco2RA8AAAAJ&hl] •Other links [https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Eva-Mcclure]

Gemma Gailbraith completed her PhD at James Cook University in 2021.  Her research explored the ecology of reef fishes on submerged seamount and pinnacle coral reefs. Before this, Gemma completed a Master of Science in marine environmental management and spent time working in the South Pacific, Caribbean and south-east Asia. Broadly, Gemma is interested in combining community ecology and emerging technologies to study remote and distinct coral reef habitats and to understand how understudied marine ecosystems are connected to the wider seascape. As a senior research officer at TropWATER, Gemma’s key focus is conducting reef fish surveys across the inshore island groups of the Great Barrier Reef as part of the IMR Reef Fish Monitoring Project. Gemma’s past research efforts have included using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and remote video technologies to investigate deep and distinct coral reefs in Papua New Guinea and the Coral Sea, and investigating connectivity between marine reserves on the Great Barrier Reef. This work was conducted at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies as a postdoctoral research associate.

Geoffrey is the Program Manager with OzFish Unlimited and Adjunct Research Fellow with TropWATER and based in Townsville, North QLD. Geoffrey has active projects across all of tropical QLD. He is working on applied research and project delivery with community groups, government, industry and traditional owners. Geoffrey is also working on a range of environmental restoration and monitoring projects including waterway monitoring and restoration, seagrass restoration, fishway monitoring and mapping tropical shellfish reefs.

Ian is a multidisciplinary research leader with a passion for science communication, innovation, and applied research. He has 20 years broad experience working in environmental research, management, and communication on every continent. Currently, Ian is the Executive Director, Strategy, Science and Partnerships for General Organization for Conservation of Coral Reefs and Sea Turtles in the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia. He is also an Adjunct Professor at TropWATER, James Cook University. From 2022-23 Ian was the Program Director for the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program. Ian was based at James Cook University from 2010 until 2023, most recently as a Professorial Research Fellow. He was seconded to the Australian Institute of Marine Science to help lead the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program from 2019-2023. From 2014-2019 Ian was also the Managing Director for Cinematic Science, a media company focused on science communication.

Katie grew up in the North of England, spending most of her free-time living abroad and diving the world’s oceans. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 2012 with a BSc in Geography and took to the skies once more, dreaming of diving and studying on the Great Barrier Reef. In 2014 Katie obtained her MSc in Marine Biology & Ecology at James Cook University, investigating the capacity for thermal developmental acclimation in three tropical wrasse species. After spending two years working in various research positions: as a research assistant for Prof. Philip Munday; as a Research Projects Officer with CSIRO in Brisbane; and researching the effects of Cyclone Winston on coral reefs in Fiji, Katie returned to her academic nest at JCU to begin her next adventure. Under the supervision of Dr. Andrew Hoey and Dr. Kate Hutson, Katie’s PhD looks at the effects of coral reef condition and disturbance on the parasite communities infecting herbivorous fish on the Great Barrier Reef.

As a marine science graduate and postgraduate in the 90’s, Kevin studied and worked at James Cook University (JCU) in the areas of reef research, aquaculture and fisheries science. Since then Kevin has been a Hatchery Manager, Construction Manager, Fisheries Inspector, Maritime Safety Officer, a Principal with the Department of Environment and Heritage, before his present role with North Queensland Bulk Ports in 2010. Kevin previously chaired the Queensland Ports Association Environment and Planning Committee, and is active on a range of Great Barrier Reef advisory panels and regional committees. He co-chaired an international working group authoring a practical guideline on environmental risk management of navigational infrastructure projects. Kevin was integral in establishing what is now one of Queensland’s most extensive coastal marine monitoring programs and a long-standing partnership with James Cook University. Also a long standing member of the management committee of the Mackay Whitsunday Healthily Rivers to Reef Partnership, Kevin holds a number of directorships on the boards of Natural Resource Management Regions Queensland, The World Association for Waterborne Transport Infrastructure – Australia/New Zealand and Reef Catchments Limited.

Kirsty started diving in 2011 and loved it so much that she decided to become a dive instructor. She started working at AQWA (Aquarium of Western Australia) as an ocean guide and dive master. Kirsty then went overseas to Mexico working as a dive instructor. She started volunteering for Reef Life Survey doing temperate and tropical biodiversity surveys in 2015 and loved this side of the diving and science world. Kirsty started her Bachelor of Marine Science in 2016 at James Cook University and would work in Cairns in the summer breaks as a dive instructor. After finishing her degree, she worked as a marine biologist, dive instructor on Passions of Paradise, doing Eye on the Reef surveys and coral nurturing. Kirsty loves introducing people and educating them to the beautiful Great Barrier Reef.

Maya Srinivasan is an experienced researcher in the field of coral reef ecology with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. She is skilled in Marine Research Design, Lecturing, Conservation Issues, and Scientific Writing. Maya is a strong research professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) focused in Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Reef Fish Recruitment from James Cook University and is currently running a monitoring program on inshore islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

Paul is responsible for leading the visionary program to conserve 95% of NEOM (25,000 km2) as a protected area spanning spectacular red deserts, snow-capped mountains, vibrant coral reefs and deep ocean habitats. NEOM is a gigaproject that aims to accelerate human progress and spearhead delivery of Vision 2030 for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In collaboration with Saudi Arabian and international partners, the NEOM Nature Reserve will kickstart a new era in the conservation of Arabian wildlife through a unique approach integrating landscape-scale habitat restoration, rewilding, nature-based tourism and development planning. Before joining NEOM, Paul served as a Managing Director of Reef Ecologic, a company specialized in creating innovative solutions for environmental challenges. This followed a 15-year career in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, where he was the founding director of the Climate Change Program and led key programs in research, monitoring, conservation planning and resilience-based management. Throughout his career spanning private sector, government and NGO engagements, Paul has regularly advised and worked with international organisations, national governments, NGOs and leaders from the private sector. These have included International Union for the Conservation of Nature, UNESCO, The Nature Conservancy, NOAA, The Great Barrier Reef Foundation, and governments of Australia, USA, St Lucia, Grenada, Belize, Vietnam, Palau and Saudi Arabia. He is a founding member of the IUCN Working Group on Climate Change and Coral Reefs, member of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management, member of the Advisory Board of the Ocean Acidification International Coordination Centre, founding co-chair of the International Working Group on Management for the Coral Restoration Consortium and serves on the Executive Committee for Sustainability of the Red Sea.

Samantha is an ecologist dedicated to unravelling the intricacies of marine ecosystems. Presently, her research encompasses seagrass and algal ecology. She has led investigations mapping benthic habitats within the Coral Sea Marine Park's deepwater lagoons, providing critical insights for habitat preservation and marine management. Simultaneously, her postdoctoral pursuits concentrate on pioneering environmental DNA (eDNA) techniques to detect Yellow Crazy Ants and their eDNA degradation, offering promising pathways for biosecurity enhancement. Samantha’s journey began with the Seagrass Ecology Team at TropWATER since 2012, contributing to coastal seagrass monitoring for industrial sectors. In 2021, she successfully completed her PhD, studying the complex dispersal mechanisms of tropical seagrass, notably emphasizing the influential roles of dugongs and green sea turtles. This research has provided insight for conservation strategies, through emphasizing the crucial interplay between species interactions and ecosystem health. Overall, Samantha's research is marked by a dedicated commitment to bridging academic exploration and practical applicability. Her work provides a synergy between theoretical insight and real-world impact, contributing to the preservation of marine environments and advancing the boundaries of ecological understanding.

Originally from California, Sofi spent much of her childhood at the beach exploring tide pools and collecting shells. After spending her teen years volunteering at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Marine Science Institute in Redwood City, she attended the University of Oregon, graduating with B.S. degrees in marine biology and environmental studies in 2022. It was during this time that she became dive certified and developed a passion for marine ecology and conservation. After finishing college, she spent time in Mexico, El Salvador, and Oregon before moving to Cairns to pursue her M.Phil with TropWATER in 2024. Sofi’s project focuses on mapping fish-benthic habitat associations and their implications for conservation planning in Marra Sea Country in the Gulf of Carpentaria. In addition to her studies, she works as a casual researcher assisting with image analysis, fish identification, GIS, and field work. In her free time, she enjoys being in the water, hiking, and knitting. Overall, Sofi is excited to be a part of the TropWATER team and hopes that her work can assist with long-term sustainable management of vital coastal ecosystems.

Tim Smith is a marine ecologist with a background in seagrass and fisheries ecology.  His research largely focuses on seagrass resilience and restoration, fisheries contribution and connectivity. Tim completed his PhD at the University of Melbourne in 2010 on the effects of seagrass landscape on fish assemblages and maintained a broad interest in seagrass habitats. Tim has received funding from industry and government for projects that aim to understand fisheries and aquaculture practices to improve efficiency and reduce bycatch, investigate the impacts of herbivory on seagrass ecosystems, and is involved in mapping and monitoring seagrass habitats throughout North Queensland Ports. Tim has conducted research at institutes across the world, including Chile, Spain and France, and has worked in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. More recently, Tim has been monitoring fish community in nearshore habitats using underwater video to better understand fish connectivity in the Great Barrier Reef. This is in collaboration with researchers at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) and the University of Sunshine Coast, and with Traditional Owners and rangers. Tim is also part of an ARC and industry-funded team working to develop a toolkit for tropical seagrass restoration, then up-scaling this for far north Queensland.