The Team
Chris Roberts
Chris is a PhD candidate at the Centre for Marine Science and Innovation at UNSW Sydney.
He is also a keen diver and underwater photographer. Chris is incorporating these interests into his PhD research which is exploring what recreational divers like to photograph, whether it is representative of all the marine life present, and if these records can be used to track changes in marine life at dive sites through time.
A/Prof Adriana Vergés
Adriana is a marine ecologist based at the Centre of Marine Science and Innovation at UNSW Sydney.
Her research focuses on the ecology and conservation of algal forests, seagrass meadows and coral reefs. Besides being passionate about science and the underwater world, she is also very interested in science communication and storytelling in all its forms.
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.
Tiffany Tisher
Tiffany is an Honours student at UNSW who studies Ecology and Marine Science.
She is passionate about understanding marine ecological dynamics across various ecosystems and timeframes. She wants to explore how human interactions, both scientific and recreational can enhance, impact or change our understanding of the underwater world. Her honours project is in collaboration with the Australian National Maritime Museum.
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.
Dr Cayne Layton
Cayne is a marine ecologist at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies in Hobart, Tasmania.
His research focuses on the ecology and restoration of kelp forests & rocky reef ecosystems. He is also a keen diver and science communicator, and interested in Indigenous and Traditional Ecological Knowledge.
Thomas Mesaglio
Thomas studied ecology and marine science at University of NSW (UNSW).
His honours thesis focused on the goose barnacle genus Lepas and investigated the use of Lepas and other biofoulers in marine forensic science. Thomas is a curator on the biodiversity citizen science platform iNaturalist and is one of the top 3 identifiers of Australian taxa.
Prof Gretta Pecl
Gretta 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).
She is a marine 'generalist' with broad interdisciplinary research interests across marine ecology and climate change impacts. Gretta is also passionate about science communication and engagement, and developed and leads the citizen science project, Redmap Australia.