UNSW & Sydney Institute of Marine Science
Prof Adriana Vergés
Adriana is a marine ecologist based at UNSW Australia and the Sydney Institute of Marine Science. She hails from the Mediterranean, where she grew up surrounded by lush meadows of Posidonia oceanica, the only Posidonia species found outside of Australia. She’s one of the lead investigators of sister-project Operation Crayweed, which is restoring another important species, crayweed, in Sydney reefs.
Prof Alistair Poore
Alistair is a marine ecologist from UNSW with research interests in seagrasses, seaweeds and the fauna that lives in vegetated marine habitats.
He specialises in plant-herbivore interactions and the responses of marine plants and animals to environmental change.
Erin McCosker
Erin is a marine ecologist at UNSW and having grown up a long way from the coast, she returned to the sea, just like seagrasses did long ago. Erin is passionate about conserving seagrass and other marine habitats and the biodiversity that they support. She is actively involved in restoring Posidonia australis and loves seeing all of the life that returns when degraded areas are transformed into healthy, restored seagrass habitat.
Erin is interested to learn more about how to optimise seagrass restoration so that it can be scaled up across southeastern Australia.
Dr Chanelle Webster
Chanelle has a passion for advocating for ‘marine underdogs’ which she considers to be the less charming but incredibly important ocean habitats including seagrass meadows and algal forests. As a marine scientist, she studies how the environment and people affects these habitats to provide evidence to improve their conservation. She enjoys challenging herself to become a better ‘storyteller’ to communicate her science and raise awareness towards making positive change in public perception and values of their importance.
Dr Claudia Santori
Claudia travelled from Italy to Australia in pursuit of her PhD at the University of Sydney in freshwater turtle ecology and conservation, which she completed in 2020. Since then, she has worked in marine natural resource management and environmental consulting. She is now a Project Coordinator at UNSW & SIMS, working on Operation Crayweed, organising field work and outreach events.
Jack Vitnell
Jack's background in marine project management makes him well-suited for his role as Project Coordinator. With experience at Manly and Sydney Sealife aquariums, overseeing operations at Seabin, and exploring the startup sector, Jack brings diverse skills set to the table. Outside of work, he can be found surfing, diving, climbing and sailing along Australia's east coast.
Past Collaborators
Clayton Mead- Clayton is a research assistant at UNSW and has a background in marine science and underwater restoration. He assisted with Operation Posidonia as a volunteer during his undergraduate studies, and is passionate about the conservation of marine habitats. He has also worked in marine education and outreach programs and is a keen diver and snorkeler, having grown up exploring the NSW coastline.
Derrick Cruz- Derrick grew up snorkeling and exploring the estuaries and seagrass meadows of NSW. He is now a passionate fish ecologist and holds particular interests in range-shifting species, habitat restoration and the enhancement of wild fisheries. He has worked with DPI and UNSW on various field-intensive projects and enjoys promoting sustainable practices to younger generations.
Professor Gary Kendrick- Gary is a marine plant ecologist who is passionate about understanding how we both can protect and use our rich marine environments. He has multiple interests including understanding biodiversity and ecology of temperate and tropical seagrass meadows and reefs, conservation and restoration of marine foundation species, and educating people about coastal and marine ecosystems. Gary's experimental work on the ecology of seagrass meadows
Graham Housefield- Graham is a widely experienced technician currently at the Port Stephens Fisheries Institute, primarily managing research aquaria systems for the study of various organisms from invertebrates to fish and various species of seagrass. Previously he has had well over 30 years’ experience in aquatic chemistry and ecology at CSIRO, Sydney University and now Fisheries. He worked with Tim on many projects over the last 20 years including the Botany Bay project, studies into Posidonia seedlings and other aspects of seagrass communities. He has been instrumental in the collection and care of donor Posidonia shoots for restoration trials and has a veritable wealth of knowledge about local Port Stephens waterways and estuaries.
Dr John Statton- John has a deep love for the marine environment and aquaculture. He has developed new methods for the cultivation of seagrasses and has developed seed-based restoration for Australian seagrasses. John has developed a highly successful seagrass tank culture program in the Seagrass Research Facility at the University of Western Australia where he has successfully grown 6 of the 12 seagrass genera so far.
Giulia Ferretto- Giulia has always loved the sea and looking after the marine environment has been her dream since she was a child. She became a SCUBA diver at a very young age and from that moment her passion for the sea increased, so she decided to study marine biology. Giulia is currently a PhD student at UNSW and her research project focuses on the ecological aspect of seagrass restoration. She is working on understanding the factors that can improve restoration success and enhance the biodiversity of Posidonia-associated community. She is also passionate about science communication to raise awareness about the ecological importance of amazing seagrasses.
Dr Kate Dunn- Kate is a senior lecturer at UNSW Sydney. Kate’s research investigates experimental 3D Printing, Digital Fabrication and Robotics with a focus on the development of new and sustainable materials for digital fabrication. Kate and her team are helping us design and fabricate brand new Seahorse Hotels, with a focus on environmentally friendly materials and methods.
Lana Kajlich- Lana’s work explores innovative science outreach via citizen science, education and the power of the arts (including storytelling). She is interested in exploring the links between the social and ecological with respect to the large-scale restoration of marine habitat across Port Stephens and Sydney. Her background is in both education and ecological restoration. She is also an avid fan of the marine diversity of the eastern Australian coastline.
Dr Elizabeth Sinclair- Liz is an evolutionary biologist. She uses molecular approaches to understand patterns of genetic diversity and connectivity at different spatial scales in temperate Australian seagrasses. Her current research focuses on genomic and physiological adaptation of seagrass in changing climates. Her research contributes to an understanding of the processes impacting on marine connectivity across the Australian continental shelf ecosystems and makes an important contribution to the development of benthic biodiversity conservation planning and restoration.
Project Collaborators
Prof David Booth
UTS
David Booth a Professor of Marine Ecology in the School of Life Sciences at UTS, David has published more than 180 papers about reef-fish ecology, climate change and other anthropogenic impacts on fishes and fisheries, in the Caribbean, Hawaii, and the Great Barrier Reef. He has spent nearly two decades monitoring the migration of tropical fish down the East Australian Current, past Sydney.
Dr David Harasti
NSW DPI
David Harasti is a Senior Research Scientist based at the Port Stephens Fisheries Institute. He is a marine biologist with over 20 years experience working on threatened marine species and marine biodiversity. David previously worked in threatened species management, focusing on recovery plans for species such as grey nurse, great white sharks and black cod, before commencing research on evaluation of Marine Protected Areas in 2008.
Dr Tim Glasby
NSW DPI Fisheries
Tim is a marine ecologist based at the Port Stephens Fisheries Institute with over 20 years’ experience working in temperate marine systems. He coordinates research on seagrass ecology and distribution, human impacts on marine biodiversity, and impacts of marine pests. Tim conducted the early Posidonia restoration work in Botany Bay that is the basis for our current 'Operation Posidonia' restoration efforts in Port Stephens.
Laura Simmons
SEA LIFE Sydney
Laura Simmons is the Displays Curator at SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium where she ensures the highest standards of care and welfare of all animals in the aquarium as well as support and spearhead conservation initiatives. Laura is a self-proclaimed “aquarium nerd” with 30 years experience in the global aquarium industry.
Mitchell Brennan
UTS & SIMS
Kate is a senior lecturer at UNSW Sydney. Kate’s research investigates experimental 3D Printing, Digital Fabrication and Robotics with a focus on the development of new and sustainable materials for digital fabrication.
Kate and her team are helping us design and fabricate brand new Seahorse Hotels, with a focus on environmentally friendly materials and methods.