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Seagrass habitats
Building capacity of Gunggandji-Mandingalbay Yidinji Rangers
We're working with Gunggandji-Mandingalbay Yidinji Rangers in a long-term partnership to map and monitor benthic habitats and the megafauna, and provide the tools and training to support Rangers in managing their Sea Country.
Featured project
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Seagrasses are powerful carbon sinks, vital food sources for dugongs and green turtles and serve as essential nurseries for prawns and fish.
We house Australia's largest seagrass research group and have more than 40 years of experience in seagrass research. We monitor, map, restore and research inshore seagrass meadows, collaborating with Traditional Owners, industries, and governments.
We are partnering with Indigenous Rangers across northern Australia to co-design seagrass monitoring programs, conduct baseline surveys, and build capacity in key skills for ongoing Ranger-led monitoring.
Establishing Ranger-led seagrass monitoring programs
Community, Monitoring
We surveyed over 250 km of coastline with First Nations partners to assess the impact of flooding caused by Tropical Cyclone Jasper, one year after the flood event.
Assessing the impacts of flooding after Tropical Cyclone Jasper
Monitoring
We are working with Traditional Owners to deploy temperature loggers to measure thermal risk to inshore seagrass, and developing a model to predict areas of seagrass most at risk of thermal stress from high temperatures.
Thermal risk for inshore seagrass on the Great Barrier Reef
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Monitoring, Community
We're working with Gunggandji-Mandingalbay Yidinji Rangers in a long-term partnership to map and monitor benthic habitats and the megafauna, and provide the tools and training to support Rangers in managing their Sea Country.
Building capacity of Gunggandji-Mandingalbay Yidinji Rangers
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Community, Monitoring
Our rapid visual surveys mapped 3,500 km² of benthic fauna and seagrass in five reef lagoons of the Coral Sea Marine Park, leading to further research on potential fish nurseries in deepwater marine vegetation areas.
Reef lagoon benthic habitat mapping in the Coral Sea Marine Park
Monitoring, Research
The project embraces the combined benefits of Indigenous Knowledge, on-ground monitoring, and science and management expertise to provide training for Torres Strait rangers and to report data needed for ecosystem management.
Torres Strait seagrass mapping, monitoring and research
Monitoring, Community
We monitor and assess the condition of inshore seagrass meadows across the Great Barrier Reef, providing long-term data essential for managing these habitats.
Monitoring seagrass health in the Great Barrier Reef
Monitoring
Following back-to-back floods, scientists undertook surveys to understand seagrass loss and its impact on dugong and turtles.
Post-flood monitoring of seagrass in Hervey Bay and Great Sandy Strait
Monitoring
Over four years, we will plant thousands of seagrass fragments and over half a million seeds, while tracking the return of fish species and measuring the blue carbon benefits.
Restoring tropical seagrasses and their ecosystem services
Restoration
Projects
Abbi Scott
Senior Research Officer
Abbi Scott moved to Australia in 2016 to pursue a passion for seagrass ecology after working on seagrasses, rocky shore ecology and citizen science projects in the UK.
Abbi completed her PhD with the TropWATER seagrass ecology team in 2021, with her research examining how herbivores structure seagrass meadows on the Great Barrier Reef and how this could affect the delivery of ecosystem services by seagrasses. The focus was on the herbivore community as a whole, from large herbivores such as dugongs and turtles to small mesograzers, to quantify their impact on meadow structure. Understanding the role of plant-herbivore interactions in structuring seagrass meadows and modifying seagrass ecosystem service delivery is key to managing and conserving both seagrass meadows and herbivore populations in the future.
Abbi currently works on research in seagrass herbivory, monitoring and restoration and coordinates the Cairns Port Douglas Reef Hub. Abbi is also an enthusiastic science communicator who has made regular contributions to illuminate the wonders of marine life and science on ABC radio. She also shares her knowledge via seminars targeted at various audiences, and through her blog.
Alejandro Navarro
Research Officer
Alex is originally from Spain and moved to Australia in 2017 to do a PhD in Remote Sensing at Deakin University and finished this in 2021. His PhD focused on developing new remote sensing approaches (using emerging technologies such as drones and novel machine learning models) for assessing ecosystem services provided by coastal wetlands.
Seeking warmer climates Alex moved to FNQ in 2021 to do a postdoc at James Cook University. His main research project was to create the first nationally consistent map of saltmarsh and salt flat ecosystems around Australia.
Alex started working for TropWATER in 2024 doing seagrass habitat mapping, monitoring and analysis using a wide range of remote sensing techniques such as drones, aerial imagery and satellites. His interests are mainly programming, using novel technologies to map and monitor marine habitats and fauna (work), scuba diving and underwater photography.
Alex Carter
Principal Research Officer
Alexandra Carter’s research focuses on the ecology, conservation and assessment of coastal environments; in particular, large-scale ecosystem processes in northern Australia involving seagrass, coral, fish communities, turtle and dugong.
Prior to commencing at James Cook University, she was employed as a scientist at Queensland Fisheries. She completed her PhD on spatial variation in reproductive biology for common coral trout (Plectropomus leopardus), and the role of marine reserves as a potential fisheries management tool for this species on the Great Barrier Reef.
Alex leads a variety of projects and collaborations with diverse stakeholders and funding agencies, including all levels of government, other universities, industry, Traditional Owners, rangers, citizen scientists, and community groups. Some of her current work includes conducting large-scale marine habitat mapping across northern Australia, habitat and species modelling, and quantifying habitat use by species with significant cultural, ecological, conservation and economic importance.
Alex is also involved in developing and implementing environmental condition report cards; working with rangers and Traditional Owners to expand seagrass and fish research and monitoring; and coral restoration.
Caitlin Smith
Research Officer
Caitlin completed a Bachelor of Science at the University of Queensland Science and a Master of Science at James Cook University.
Her research experience includes research assistant at the Australian Institute of Marine Science, exploring coral and sponge physiology, and the Australian National University, looking at microplastic pollution and parrot ecology. Caitlin was previously a project manager for WWF-Australia, researching the effects of climate change on marine turtles and has international research collaborations with Nepal, Galapagos and PNG.
Caitlin completed a PhD at UniSC researching the impacts of contaminants and debris pollution and its effects on marine ecosystem health. She is part of NESP Seagrass Monitoring Program and has marine megafauna research expertise.
Carissa Reason
Research Officer
Carissa's role as a Research Officer with James Cook University TropWATER involves studying and researching various aspects of seagrass ecosystems. As a project manager of various statewide monitoring programs, her work revolves around understanding seagrass ecosystems, their ecological significance and their interactions with other organisms and the environment. Monitoring and assessment projects involve regularly monitoring seagrass meadows to assess condition, growth patterns, reproductive strategies and adaptations to different environmental conditions.
Another important role is conducting research to gain a comprehensive understanding of seagrass biology, ecology and physiology and investigating the impacts of human activities on seagrass ecosystems and evaluating the effects of restoration and mitigation efforts.
She graduated from James Cook University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Science majoring in Zoology and began her science career working with Queensland Government in the Fisheries assessment and monitoring program as a Fisheries Technician. She rapidly enhanced her skills during various roles and acquired the position of Fisheries Biologist before transferring to James Cook University in a similar role as a Research Officer in 2012.
Catherine Collier
Principal Research Officer
Catherine Collier is broadly interested in coastal marine ecology, with a particular emphasis on seagrass eco-physiology and ecology. Her current work is focused on flood impacts to seagrasses. This research focus was triggered following record floods in 2011, which saw widespread loss of seagrass throughout Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef.
Catherine aims to further knowledge about tropical seagrass ecology and to contribute to protecting seagrass meadows in regions where livelihoods are particularly dependant on vibrant coastal systems. A particular feature of Catherine’s work is using experimental techniques to address targeted questions about seagrass health and resilience. This approach focuses on both the risks and impacts to seagrass habitat from local scale stressors such as water quality, and on the prospective changes to seagrass ecosystems from rising temperature and ocean acidification.
Catherine collaborates with diverse teams of scientists and managers, and is involved in contributing to long-term seagrass habitat monitoring in the GBR through the Paddock to Reef Marine Monitoring Program, which is used to track progress towards meeting the targets and objectives of the Reef 2050 Plan.
Chris van de Wetering
Research Worker
Chris has had a passion for the ocean from a young age, involved with marine rescue and conservation groups throughout the mid north coast before undertaking a Bachelor in Marine Science and Management.
He has been heavily involved with research and management efforts for sea turtles and dugong through the Department of Environment and Science (QLD Government). Taking part in feeding ground capture and monitoring programs as well as mainland and isolated island nesting beach work throughout southeast Queensland since 2016. He is now a Research Worker for the TropWATER seagrass ecology group, based in Cairns, helping with the maintenance, collection, processing and reporting of our water quality monitoring sites and seagrass research and surveys.
Darcy Philpott
Research Worker
Darcy is originally from the UK where she completed a MSc in Marine Environmental Management from the University of St. Andrews. She has worked as a marine biologist in various locations worldwide, including teaching fish survey techniques to aspiring marine conservationists in the Bahamas and the Seychelles.
More recently, she worked as a Marine Scientist on Ascension Island, one of the world’s largest marine protected areas, where she contributed to a variety of marine projects. Darcy is currently undertaking a PhD on fish and prawn nurseries in recovering seagrass meadows in Cairns, utilising beam trawling and eDNA metabarcoding techniques.
Embla Settli
Research worker
Embla is originally from Norway and completed her BSc in Zoology and Ecology at James Cook University. She developed a passion for marine biology and was certified as a Divemaster during this time. After graduating Embla managed a research project in coral restoration on the Central GBR and assisted in the out planting of thousands of coral fragments. After that she worked as a supervisor in the Crown of Thorns Starfish Control program, managing reef health monitoring and reef protection strategies across the Central GBR.
Embla has extensive experience in scientific data collection, research project management and marine ecosystem mapping using Geospatial Information Systems. She is also an experienced mariner and diver. Embla gets to apply all of these skills at TropWATER, organising and assisting in complex fieldtrips to remote areas across the Australian coast. Overall, she loves spending all her time in or around the ocean and doing her part in protecting what makes the ocean so special.
Evie Furness
PhD student
Evie Furness is a marine biologist and PhD candidate at James Cook University specialising in restoration techniques for tropical seagrass species. With over a decade of experience working in temperate and tropical coastal systems, she has successfully led both research and industry focused marine ecology projects. Evie is interested in collaborating with communities to reverse habitat loss, combining hands-on expertise with a commitment to sustainable solutions for marine ecosystems.
Hayley Brien
Research Worker
Hayley joined TropWATER in 2020. Her main role as a research worker is to provide field and technical support for the Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program (MMP) and Seagrass Watch programs. This involves conducting intertidal and subtidal seagrass monitoring along the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, lab work, and data analysis. A highlight in Hayley's role is engaging and collaborating with First Nation groups along the inshore Great Barrier Reef to better understand the thermal risk to seagrass.
In 2013 Hayley completed a Bachelor of Marine Science and in 2016 she completed a Master of Science (majoring in Marine Biology and Ecology) both from James Cook University. Her masters involved publishing research that investigated how coral communities would compete under thermal and acidified stress.
Hayley is always eager to learn and collaborate with other TropWATER teams and beyond to further fuel her passion in investigating and communicating how ecosystems on the Great Barrier Reef could be impacted under accelerated climate change.
Jaelen Myers
Research Officer
Jaelen’s research interests include freshwater and marine ecology, community dynamics, animal behaviour, and remote sensing. Jaelen completed a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Biology, where she first developed a keen interest in fisheries science. Jaelen then continued on this research trajectory, studying reproductive physiology and articial reproduction techniques of hybrid catfish.
For her PhD, Jaelen moved from the United States to Townsville to study trophic ecology and habitat use of rays in intertidal zones. This work was carried out with the Science Integrated Coastal Ecosystem Mangement (SICEM) lab at JCU and the Biopixel Oceans Foundation and was pivotal broaden our understanding of nursery habitat value and how shark and ray communities participate in ecosystem function.
Jaelen is now assisting the Seagrass Ecology group with ongoing seagrass restoration initiatives across North Queensland. In addition to her research career, Jaelen also engages in science communication through her Instagram account and by participating in public outreach events. She is an avid drone enthusiast, working as a drone pilot for the Queensland Sharksmart drone trials program from 2024-2025. She is also passionate about educating the next generation of marine scientists and bridging gaps in understanding between academia and the public.
Jane Mellors
Casual Senior Research Officer
Jane is a born Queenslander. She completed her MSc (1990) and PhD (2003) both at James Cook University. Her PhD research investigated the sediment and nutrient dynamics in coastal intertidal seagrass habitat of North Eastern Tropical Australia.
Jane’s broad research interests encompass all aspects of seagrass habitat: taxonomy, plant nutrient requirements, population genetics, plant-animals interactions, and educating and training citizen scientists to monitor this marine resource.
Katie Chartrand
Senior Research Fellow
Dr Katie Chartrand has 20 years of expertise spanning tropical coral and seagrass ecosystems, photobiology, spatial analysis, and mapping. Katie's extensive research background has influenced the management and compliance of large-scale dredging programs. Katie’s research also extends to monitoring at-risk habitats, particularly inshore coral reefs and seagrass, while leading multiple applied research programs focused on replenishing high value marine ecosystems in a highly collaborative framework.
Katie's passion has centred on building authentic partnerships with First Nations communities and tourism operators on the Great Barrier Reef. Her initiatives include the Great Reef Census, a citizen science-based monitoring program, Mars Reef Stars for rubble stabilization and repair, and coral larval delivery at targeted reef locations. These initiatives drive localised and scalable outcomes, anchored in partnerships spanning various sectors, including ports, indigenous rangers, tourism, and citizen science, complementing traditional government bodies such as the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
Katie's overarching philosophy is to forge strong partnerships, using interdisciplinary networks to support scalable research strategies and conservation science. Through this approach, she is dedicated to advancing the science and management of reef and coastal assets. Katie’s research offers solutions that are making a tangible and positive impact on the preservation and resilience of our vital marine ecosystems.
Kirsty Whitman
Research Worker
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.
Laura Garcia Forte Valiente
Research Officer
Laura is a passionate marine biologist originally from Spain. She began her career working with cetaceans as a science communicator in the Azores Islands before pursuing her lifelong dream of studying marine biology on the Great Barrier Reef.
During her Master’s degree at James Cook University, Laura joined TropWATER and conducted her thesis on seagrass ecology, specialising in recovery dynamics following disturbances. Focusing on seagrass succession, she developed independent research both experimentally and spatially, providing valuable insights into the resilience of tropical seagrass ecosystems. Since then, she has built extensive expertise in seagrass restoration, monitoring, and ecological modelling, combining field experience with advanced skills in programming, spatial analysis, and statistical modelling.
In her role as Research Officer at TropWATER, Laura contributes to a wide range of projects across northeastern Australia, including long-term seagrass monitoring and restoration research. Her work spans from coordinating and conducting fieldwork in remote locations to analysing complex ecological datasets and producing technical reports for environmental management.
Guided by her lifelong passion for the ocean, Laura’s mission is to safeguard seagrass habitats and inspire others to recognise the essential role they play in the health of our planet.
Len McKenzie
Principal Research Officer
Len McKenzie has over 20 years’ experience as a research scientist on seagrass ecology, assessment and fisheries habitats. This includes experience within Australia and overseas in seagrass research, resource mapping/assessment and biodiversity.
Len is interested in the relationship between seagrass and associated fauna, the impacts of declining water quality, and climate change. He has provided information about seagrass communities that has been vital in management of seagrass resources of the Great Barrier Reef, and at the state, national and international levels. Len has also advised about fisheries and coastal resource-use issues for managers, fishing organisations, conservation and community groups.
He is the principal researcher and program leader of Seagrass-Watch, a non-profit seagrass research organisation that conducts research is 17 countries. Len is also the secretary of the World Seagrass Association. One of Len’s recent projects is investigating spatial and temporal trends in the health of GBR inshore seagrass meadows in relation to water quality, which includes identifying areas of seagrass that have been significantly impacted by flood plumes.
Lloyd Shepherd
Research Worker
Lloyd Shepherd completed a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science in 2006 at James Cook University in Cairns. He went on to work for Fisheries Queensland’s Long Term Monitoring Program for six years, before moving to TropWATER in 2012 and joining the seagrass ecology group.
Lloyd has extensive experience in research and monitoring coastal habitats throughout tropical Australia, with special expertise in field logistics, equipment, and complex field work in remote areas. Lloyd plays a pivotal role in various projects, including seagrass and coral restoration, benthic habitat mapping, collaboration with Indigenous ranger groups, water quality monitoring, marine fauna observation, and other diverse experimental setups.
Lucas Langlois
Research Officer
Originally from Paris, France, Lucas completed a Bachelor of Science in Biology in 2011 at University Pierre et Marie Curie, followed by a Master of Science in Marine Biology at James Cook University in 2013. Since finishing the Masters project on coral physiological acclimation, Lucas has been involved in several projects that have investigated seagrass productivity under various environmental gradients (light, temperature, CO2, nutrients).
Lucas is currently working on both the seagrass and water quality components of the Reef Rescue Marine Monitoring Program (MMP). The main tasks involve a combination of field work, including monitoring of seagrass intertidal habitat and lab work, along with data analyses and data management for reporting.
As an R (programming language) enthusiast, Lucas developed strong statistical skills especially in temporal and spatial modelling using Bayesian statistics (R INLA). He also uses machine and deep-learning models to assist with assessing seagrass photoquadrats and producing seagrass maps from imagery, including from unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and satellites.
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Luke Hoffmann
Research Worker
Luke joined the TropWATER Seagrass Ecology Group in 2017. Luke has experience in research and monitoring coastal habitats along the Queensland coast along with expertise in field logistics, equipment and data collection. He has worked on multiple projects to develop data processing and statistical analysis procedures implemented within the TropWATER Seagrass Ecology Group.
Luke also has experience working in the tropical rainforests around Cairns where he installed and maintained sensor networks to gather hydraulic flux data and other data for climate change experiments. Key services include the calibration, maintenance and operation of field equipment including water quality meters, data-loggers, implementing field surveys involving the collection of water, sediment and flora and fauna samples.
Megan Proctor
Research Worker
Meg has spent the last 15 years working in marine research, science education and eco-tourism in the US and Australia, beginning with a Bachelor of Science in Biology in the US. Since moving to Australia in 2016, she has held diverse roles such as leading coral ecology field courses on the Great Barrier Reef, creating interactive visitor programs for Tasmania Parks and Wildlife, assisting an eDNA research expedition on Ningaloo Reef, and leading projects to remove and prevent marine debris in north Queensland.
Meg completed a Master of Science in Marine Science at the University of Western Australia in 2023, where her research examined the growth rates of corals growing on high-latitude reefs. Meg joined TropWATER in 2023, bringing her skills in project management, scientific data collection and monitoring methods along with extensive experience working in coastal ecosystems. Her primary roles include assisting with large-scale marine habitat mapping and planning remote marine research trips. She enjoys the collaborative nature of her work, working with Traditional Owners and Rangers on Sea Country to expand seagrass research and monitoring across northern Australia.
Michael Rasheed
Principal Research Scientist
Mike Rasheed has been researching tropical marine habitats, with a focus on seagrass ecology, since the early1990s. He has a Bachelor of Science in zoology and ecology, an Honours degree from Flinders University and was awarded a PhD from James Cook University for research investigating recovery and succession in tropical seagrass communities.
Mike is passionate about finding science-based solutions to support marine habitat management efforts. As seagrass ecology lab leader, he has built a team to focus on researching the relationship between coastal development and risk, which has significantly impacted the way seagrass and fish habitats are managed and protected. The results of these endeavours have led to advances in the field of seagrass ecology and have also changed practices within coastal development, ports and shipping industries, and improved the ability of regulators and managers to protect marine habitats.
Nicki Wilson
Research Worker
Nicki is part of the Seagrass Futures team, responsible for monitoring intertidal and subtidal seagrass habitats across the Great Barrier Reef as part of the Reef Authority’s Marine Monitoring Program (MMP), which informs progress against the objectives of the Reef 2050 Plan. Her role involves field work, maintaining field gear, analysing seagrass samples, partnership building with First Nations ranger groups on Country, GIS and data management.
She completed her studies at La Trobe University in 2021, achieving a Bachelor of Science with First Class Honours (Zoology) and a Master of Science (Marine Ecology). Her research focused on the macro-invertebrate biodiversity associated with a recently discovered and globally significant bryozoan reef in Western Port Bay.
Some of Nicki’s multidisciplinary experience includes marine and terrestrial surveys and habitat assessments, naturalist guiding for a tourism operator, contributing to DELWP’s CoastKit, project managing Traditional Owner Land and Sea training (a QPWS incentive), local fisheries research in Costa Rica and ecological consulting.
Paul Leeson
Technical Officer
Paul is a seasoned professional with a wealth of experience in fieldwork and aquatic conservation. Since 2012, he has served as the lead field technician at TropWATER, contributing his expertise in scientific field equipment and boat operations. Additionally, Paul has been instrumental as a boating and diving officer at JCU, ensuring safe and efficient marine research activities.
With a career spanning back to 1987, Paul's journey began with Fisheries Queensland, where he honed his skills as part of the boat crew. His extensive background has made him an expert in various aspects of fieldwork, from data collection to equipment maintenance.
Paul's dedication to environmental conservation and his proficiency in field operations make him an invaluable asset to any team working to safeguard our aquatic ecosystems.
Paul York
Senior Research Officer
Paul York is a marine and estuarine ecologist who has worked extensively in benthic communities and particularly seagrass ecosystems. Paul completed his PhD in marine biology at The University of Technology, Sydney, in 2011.
His research interests include seagrass food webs, invasive species, seagrass genetics, resilience, reproductive and population biology. He has also worked on soft sediment faunal communities and rocky shore ecology in both Australia and South America.
Most recently, Paul has been working with Mandubarra Land and Sea Rangers on their sea country at Kurrimine Beach/King Reef to co-design and implement a habitat mapping program as part of a Healing Country Partnership. He has also been involved with research for the Queensland Department of Environment and Science mapping seagrass meadows across Hervey Bay to provide a condition update following the 2022 floods.
A current focus for Paul is identifying, refining and implementing restoration methods for tropical seagrass species. This includes a combination of research through an ARC linkage project partnering with port management bodies, and a large-scale planting project in the Great Barrier Reef and Cocos Keeling Islands.
Rob Coles
Principal Research Scientist
Rob has a Bachelor of Science in zoology, an Honours degree (first class) in entomology, and a PhD in fisheries from the University of Queensland. He has worked as an entomologist, a fisheries scientist, a fisheries manager in the Torres Strait, an environment and regional manager for the Queensland government, and as a seagrass scientist and research administrator.
Rob has a history of promoting seagrass and coastal management research in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world and was the founding secretary of the World Seagrass Association. Some of Rob’s recent work has seen him study the connectivity among seagrass meadows and how this may influence management approaches. He has also been part of a team that has recompiled and revalidated Australian seagrass data extending back to the early 1980s with the aim to provide a publically available and reliable data set.
His recent research and environment management focus has been to engage with northern Australian Traditional Owner groups in collaboration with seagrass and dugong expert colleagues from James Cook University and Charles Darwin University. This approach responds to concerns about threats and reduced resilience in the coastal environment. It addresses knowledge gaps about dugongs and seagrasses that are critical to Traditional Owners’ cultural identity and traditional values.
Samantha Tol
Senior Research Officer
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.
Skye McKenna
Senior Research Officer
Skye McKenna completed a Bachelor of Science and an Honours degree in the field of marine biology and zoology at James Cook University. Her Honours research investigated invertebrates, namely, the Asian green mussel. This led to work with the Queensland Government and its marine pest program, and then onto working with the Queensland Fisheries Marine Ecology Group, with a focus on seagrass research and monitoring across the state.
Skye has worked in the Cairns TropWATER team since 2012 across various research and monitoring projects. Her research is focused on tropical seagrass ecology and conservation, including implementing science and community-based solutions to assist with managing these important marine habitats.
In her current role as a senior member and project leader/manager of the team, Skye is responsible for several state-wide seagrass habitat research, assessment, and monitoring programs. This work includes research and monitoring as part of a partnership between JCU and North Queensland Bulk Ports Corporation to assess marine environmental health within ports. This project also supports related research and education opportunities for undergraduate and postgraduate students in seagrass and coral ecology, along with applied management in the ports industry.
Sofi Forsman
Master's student
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.
Tessa Concannon
Research Worker
Tess joined the TropWATER team in 2024. She works across a range of projects including seagrass and coral monitoring, spatial analysis, coral recruitment studies, running training workshops for community members and Indigenous Rangers both on and off Country, and collaborating with industry partners. Tess completed her Bachelor of Animal Science in 2014, her Graduate Diploma in Conservation Biology in 2016, and is currently completing her Masters in Conservation Biology.
Tess is a qualified coxswain and has extensive experience in scientific diving, management and work health and safety practices, and coral reef health monitoring. Previous work has seen Tess project manage a collaborative reef restoration and community engagement project with Traditional Owners, facilitate a broad range of research and education activities on JCU's Orpheus Island Research Station as a Station Officer, and manage and train teams in marine naturalist guiding in multiple locations on the Great Barrier Reef.
Tim Smith
Senior Research Officer
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.
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