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<li><ahref="#smart-zoning-for-a-sustainable-ocean-optimising-protected-areas-for-biodiversity-and-fisheries" id="toc-smart-zoning-for-a-sustainable-ocean-optimising-protected-areas-for-biodiversity-and-fisheries" class="nav-link" data-scroll-target="#smart-zoning-for-a-sustainable-ocean-optimising-protected-areas-for-biodiversity-and-fisheries">Smart zoning for a sustainable ocean: Optimising protected areas for biodiversity and fisheries</a></li>
<li><ahref="#blue-carbon-and-biodiversity-optimising-marine-protected-areas-for-climate-and-conservation" id="toc-blue-carbon-and-biodiversity-optimising-marine-protected-areas-for-climate-and-conservation" class="nav-link" data-scroll-target="#blue-carbon-and-biodiversity-optimising-marine-protected-areas-for-climate-and-conservation">Blue carbon and biodiversity: Optimising marine protected areas for climate and conservation</a></li>
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<li><ahref="#protecting-marine-biodiversity-are-we-covering-enough-honours-or-msc-project" id="toc-protecting-marine-biodiversity-are-we-covering-enough-honours-or-msc-project" class="nav-link" data-scroll-target="#protecting-marine-biodiversity-are-we-covering-enough-honours-or-msc-project">Protecting Marine Biodiversity: Are We Covering Enough? (Honours or MSc project)</a></li>
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<li><ahref="#biodiversity-vs-industry-mapping-the-battle-for-ocean-space-honours-or-msc" id="toc-biodiversity-vs-industry-mapping-the-battle-for-ocean-space-honours-or-msc" class="nav-link" data-scroll-target="#biodiversity-vs-industry-mapping-the-battle-for-ocean-space-honours-or-msc">Biodiversity vs industry: Mapping the battle for ocean space (Honours or MSc)</a></li>
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<li><ahref="#securing-kelp-forests-designing-a-global-conservation-network-for-ecosystem-services" id="toc-securing-kelp-forests-designing-a-global-conservation-network-for-ecosystem-services" class="nav-link" data-scroll-target="#securing-kelp-forests-designing-a-global-conservation-network-for-ecosystem-services">Securing Kelp Forests: Designing a Global Conservation Network for Ecosystem Services</a></li>
<h2class="anchored" data-anchor-id="blue-carbon-and-biodiversity-optimising-marine-protected-areas-for-climate-and-conservation">Blue carbon and biodiversity: Optimising marine protected areas for climate and conservation</h2>
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<p>Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are powerful tools for conserving ocean biodiversity — but can they also help protect the ocean’s critical role in carbon sequestration? Recent research (e.g., Berzaghi et al. 2023, Nature Climate Change) highlights worrying overlaps between intensive fishing activities and key areas of pelagic and benthic carbon storage, threatening the ocean’s ability to draw down and store carbon. This project will explore how to design MPA networks that simultaneously protect biodiversity and safeguard carbon sequestration processes, aiming for win–win outcomes for conservation and climate mitigation. Using spatial data on fishing effort, carbon sequestration hotspots, and biodiversity patterns, the student will analyse trade-offs and synergies to inform smarter ocean protection strategies. This project offers the opportunity to develop expertise in marine spatial planning, carbon cycle science, and geospatial analysis, and contribute to urgently needed solutions at the intersection of biodiversity and climate action. Ideal candidates will have skills or a strong interest in spatial ecology, conservation planning, carbon cycle science, working with geospatial data, and/or ocean sustainability.</p>
<h2class="anchored" data-anchor-id="protecting-marine-biodiversity-are-we-covering-enough-honours-or-msc-project">Protecting Marine Biodiversity: Are We Covering Enough? (Honours or MSc project)</h2>
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<p>Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are a cornerstone of ocean conservation, but how well do they represent the full diversity of marine life? Most species have less than 5% of their ranges protected globally, and even less for wide-ranging and tropical ones (Klein et al. 2015). This project will assess how effectively current MPAs safeguard marine species, focusing on the critical “Representation” principle of the CARE (Connected, Adequate, Representative, Efficient) framework for MPA design. You will analyse species distribution maps (AquaX) to measure the percentage of species’ ranges covered by existing MPAs, distinguishing between those with partial and full protection. You will also evaluate how at-risk species, based on IUCN Red List status, are represented in fully protected areas. Looking ahead, you will project how climate change may alter the future effectiveness of MPAs. Through this project, you will gain expertise in spatial analysis, conservation planning, biodiversity informatics, and climate change impacts — skills that are highly sought after in marine science, government agencies, and conservation NGOs. Ideal candidates will have skills or a strong interest in marine ecology, spatial ecology and conservation.</p>
<h2class="anchored" data-anchor-id="biodiversity-vs-industry-mapping-the-battle-for-ocean-space-honours-or-msc">Biodiversity vs industry: Mapping the battle for ocean space (Honours or MSc)</h2>
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<p>As fishing, shipping, oil, gas, and mining activities accelerate in the ocean, protecting marine biodiversity is becoming increasingly complex. High overlap between biodiversity hotspots and human uses means greater threats to species — and higher costs when trying to establish Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). This project will map where marine species distributions and human uses collide, and where they are distinct, providing critical insight into where conservation efforts can be most effective. Using AquaX global data for over 40,000 marine species, you will assess their overlap with spatial layers representing human use, including fishing, global shipping routes, oil/gas platforms and mining leases. You will also the degree of overlap between key biodiversity areas (such as Important Marine Mammal Areas, Bird Areas, and Shark and Ray Areas) and human uses. Analyses will explore different taxonomic groups, compare patterns inside Exclusive Economic Zones and in the high seas, and identify regions of both conflict and opportunity for marine protection. Through this project, you will build strong skills in spatial analysis, conservation planning, and data synthesis — valuable for careers in marine science, environmental consulting, NGOs, or government. We are looking for a motivated student with strong quantitative skills and a keen interest in conservation and marine spatial planning; experience with GIS or coding (e.g., R, Python) would be an advantage.</p>
<h2class="anchored" data-anchor-id="securing-kelp-forests-designing-a-global-conservation-network-for-ecosystem-services">Securing Kelp Forests: Designing a Global Conservation Network for Ecosystem Services</h2>
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<p>Kelp forests are among the most valuable and productive ecosystems on Earth, generating an estimated US$500 billion per year in ecosystem services — from supplying food, materials, and potential biofuels, to removing nitrogen, sequestering carbon, protecting coastlines, and supporting rich biodiversity. Yet, despite their ecological and economic importance, global conservation planning rarely accounts for the full range of services kelp forests provide. This project will design a global Marine Protected Area (MPA) network for kelp forests. Working with global kelp biodiversity and ecosystem service datasets and using systematic conservation planning tools, you will identify priority areas that safeguard both kelp biodiversity and critical ecosystem services. The project will generate insights urgently needed for global conservation targets. You will develop skills in spatial analysis, ecosystem service valuation and conservation planning — preparing you for future roles in academia, conservation NGOs, or environmental policy. We are looking for a student who is passionate about marine conservation, with strong quantitative skills; experience with GIS, spatial modelling, or programming (e.g., R or Python) would be an advantage.</p>
<p>Diego is an interdisciplinary marine ecologist interested in understanding the ecological mechanisms that drive ecosystem health. He foremost focuses on delivering scientific information to improve marine protected areas’ conservation outcomes. He is currently investigating elasmobranch migratory connectivity across reefs, and multispecies network models in conservation planning. He is also researching elasmobranch movement using network analysis as a tool to estimate population structures. Finally, his project aims to provide a baseline for shark migratory movement in Australia, strengthening understanding of connectivity within and beyond national jurisdictions.</p>
<p>Bryan is a marine ecologist interested in the ecology of zooplankton ecology, and their role in ecosystem functioning. Currently, he is evaluating the changes in the zooplankton community across the global chlorophyll-a gradient. He is using a harmonized dataset of Continuous Plankton Recorder data from around the world. Previously, he has worked on plankton communities in a key Philippine reservoir and used benthic macroinvertebrates as bioindicators to assess the water quality in Philippine geothermal reserves. He is in his final semester for the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems (TROPIMUNDO). :::</p>
<p>Kris is a budding marine ecologist with a strong interest in marine conservation, especially within the context of global climate change. He has recently finished an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s Degree in Tropical Biodiversity and Ecosystems (TROPIMUNDO), where he graduated as the top student of his cohort and received the Best Student Award. For his masters, he has studied in different institutions across different countries in Europe: Université Libre de Bruxelles/Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Semester 1); Université de La Réunion (Semester 2); and Università degli Studi di Firenze (Semester 3). For his final semester, which is completely allocated to thesis work, he worked on a marine spatial planning project using quantitative tools with The University of Queensland.</p>
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