Invited Speakers

International Speakers

Stephanie Carlson 

University of California, Berkley, USA

Dr. Carlson, who received her Ph.D. from the University of Washington in 2006, is an evolutionary ecologist who studies the dynamics of freshwater fish populations, particularly the factors that shape these populations and influence their persistence. She joined the faculty in UC-Berkeley’s Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management in 2008 where she teaches classes on Fish Ecology and Freshwater Ecology. With a focus on anthropogenic selection and the evolutionary challenges facing species and populations of concern, her research aims to help guide management and conservation efforts. She has published several original contributions in Ecology, Ecology Letters, Evolutionary Applications, and Trends in Ecology & Evolution.

 

 

Steve Cooke

Carleton University, Canada

Steven J. Cooke is a professor and Canada Research Chair at Carleton University in Ottawa, Canada.  His research is focused on the ecology and conservation of wild marine and freshwater fish.  Cooke currently serves as the President of the International Fisheries Section of the American Fisheries Society, Secretary of the College of the Royal Society of Canada, and founding Editor-in-Chief of the journal Conservation Physiology.  He has received the Medal from the Fisheries Society of the British Isles, the Award of Excellence in Fisheries Management from the American Fisheries Society, and is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. 

National Speakers

 

Nick Bond

LaTrobe University and MDFRC

Nick Bond is Professor of Freshwater Ecology at La Trobe University and Director of the Centre for Freshwater Ecosystems. His primary interests are in the effects of flow variability on riverine ecosystems, especially the landscape scale effects of floods and droughts on fish populations. His research combines empirical field studies with innovative quantitative modelling approaches. He has extensive experience working on river management and environmental flow issues in Australia and internationally, and has co-authored more than 70 peer-reviewed papers and numerous peer reviewed technical reports. His research is supported by active engagement with regional, national, and international water and natural resource management agencies to support evidence-based planning and decision making.

 

Mike Kingsford 

Marine Biology and Aquaculture, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University

Mike is a Distinguished Professor in the Marine Biology and Aquaculture group of the College of Science and Engineering at James Cook University (JCU), Australia.  He has published extensively on the ecology of reef fishes, biological oceanography, climate change and jellyfishes.  His projects have encompassed a range of latitudes and he has edited three books on tropical and temperate ecology.  He is a Chief Investigator with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Innovative Coral Reef Studies. A major focus of his research has been on reef fish ecology and demography, connectivity of reef fish populations, the ecology and behavior of larval fishes, the utility of Marine Protected Areas, environmental records in corals and fishes and the ecology of deadly box jellyfishes.  In addition to research and multiple senior leadership roles, he teaches undergraduate students and supervises many postgraduate students. He had thirty five years research experience of studying fishes in temperate and tropical regions of Australia and other parts of the world.

Gretta Pecl 

Centre for Marine Socioecology & ARC Future Fellow, Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies 

Gretta Pecl is a Professor of marine ecology at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), and the Director of the Centre for Marine Socioecology (CMS), both based in Tasmania. She has broad interdisciplinary research interests and a passion for science engagement and communication with the public. Much of her current research centres around understanding climate change impacts in marine systems, and how our marine fisheries and aquaculture industries and coastal communities may best adapt to these changes. Gretta’s research has a particular focus on detecting and understanding the variation in rate and magnitude of climate-driven species redistribution. She developed and leads the very successful National citizen science project Redmap Australia, the Range Extension Database and mapping project (www.redmap.org.au), which invites fishers and divers around the coastline to help monitor changes in species distributions in Australian seas. Candidate or ‘model’ range-shifting species for her experimental work are identified through the out-of-range species observations reported to Redmap, and the citizen science program is then in turn used to disseminate results of this research and other marine climate change projects to the general community. She was the instigator and co-convenor of the inaugural ‘Species on the Move’ conference held in Hobart in 2016 (www.speciesonthemove.com), and is also currently working with international colleagues on a Global Network of Marine Hotspots to facilitate learning and communication among the world’s most rapidly warming ocean regions. Gretta is an Australian Research Council ‘Future Fellow’ and the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries.

Eva Plaganyi 

Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Oceans and Atmosphere, Australia. 

Dr Éva Plagányi is a Principal Research Scientist with CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, based in Brisbane. Her research is strongly interdisciplinary and focuses on modelling of marine resources and ecosystems. As part of her research portfolio, she works closely with indigenous fishers in Torres Strait to support management of Torres Strait tropical rock lobster and bêche de mer (sea cucumbers). She also leads the development of MICE (Models of Intermediate Complexity for Ecosystem assessments) including applications involving outbreaking crown-of-thorns starfish impacting Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, and integrating socio-economic aspects. She earned a PhD in Applied Mathematics at the University of Cape Town in 2004, and moved to CSIRO in 2009. Her research has contributed to the management of marine resources, from krill, prawns, abalone, lobsters and fish through to whales. She has published some 80 papers, >200 technical reports, 50 popular articles, and is on the editorial board of Ecological Applications and Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries.

 

Awardees:

Jennifer Donelson 

ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University, Townsville QLD | ASFB ECR Excellence Award 

Jenni Donelson is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University. From 2016-2016 she was a Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Technology Sydney. Jenni received her doctorate from James Cook University in 2012 for research on the potential for thermal acclimation in a common coral reef damselfish. Her research focuses on the plasticity of fish in the face of changing environmental conditions. Specifically, on the capacity for developmental and transgenerational plasticity of reef fish to potentially enhance performance in future environment

Joel Williams 

NSW Fisheries, Department of Primary Industries, NSW | ECR Travel Award

Joel Williams is a marine ecologist with the NSW Department of Primary Industries and is based in Port Stephens. His research interests include the spatial ecology of temperate mesophotic ecosystems (40-100m). More specifically understanding what fishes live where in relation to reef and habitat structure. This research is component of the National Environmental Science Programme Marine Biodiversity Hub's project to assess the marine biodiversity assets and recreational fishing effort around the newly establish network of Australian Marine Parks. Joel has extensive experience using modern technologies such as baited remote underwater video, remote operated vehicles and acoustic telemetry to collect data at depths below scuba diving limits. Joel completed his BSc (Hons) at Deakin University and a PhD at the University of Melbourne in linking environmental flows to the productivity of an estuarine sparid Acanthopagrus butcheri. Joel has been an active member of ASFB for 10 years and was award the Student International Travel Scholarship in 2011 to attend the 9th IPFC in Japan and the Early Career Travel Scholarship in 2017 to attend the 10th IPFC in Tahiti.