Mark Allen

Email: leucopogon@fastmail.fm
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: The role of coral reef reserves in sustaining coastal livelihoods in developing countries
Supervisor: Neil Loneragan (DSE)
Research interests: Fish Biology, Artisinal Fisheries research, and Marine Protected Area Science in tropical coral reef areas

Claire Bartron

Email: c.bartron@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9360 2229
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: Taxonomic revision of the elasmobranch family Rhinobatidae (Chondrichthyes: Rhinobatiformes), with comparisons to the closely-related families Rhynchobatidae and Rhinidae
Supervisor: William White (DSE)

Douglas Bearham

Email: d.bearham@hotmail.com
Phone: 9360 2479
Position: DVBS PhD candidate
Thesis title: A study of a parasitic protozoa in the genus Haplosporidium occurring within the north-west pearling industry of Australia
Supervisor: Shane Raidal (DHS)
Research interests: Molecular biology and phylogenetics; aquatic animal pathology

Farhan Bokhari

Ben Chuwen

Natasha Coen

Email: tashcoen@hotmail.com
Phone: 9239 8808
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: The hyperbenthos of four morphologically divergent estuaries in south-western Australia
Supervisors: Fiona Valesini and Ian Potter (DSE)
Research interests: Hyperbenthic fauna, estuarine and marine ecology

Peter Coulson

Email: p.coulson@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9360 2256
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: Size and age compositions, growth and reproductive biology of the western blue groper, queen snapper and bar-tailed flathead on the south coast of Western Australia
Supervisors: Ian Potter and Norm Hall (DSE)

Bryn Farmer

Email: b.farmer@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9360 2256
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: Biology, stock structure and mortality of the mulloway Argyrosomus japonicus
Supervisors: Norm Hall and Jennie Chaplin (DSE)

Sarah Fretzer

Email:s.fretzer@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9239 8802
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: Analysing the effects of anthropogenic activities on different aquatic ecosystems in Western Australia and identifying ecosystem-based management policies that provide long-term sustainability
Supervisor: Norm Hall (DSE)
Research interests:

• Dynamics of four estuarine ecosystems in south-western Australia
• Impacts of shark-catches on marine ecosystems of Western Australia
• Effects of destructive fishing practices on economy and ecosystems and indications for politics for maintaining a sustainable fish supply

Chris Hallett

Matthew Harvey

Email: matt@harves.net
Phone: 9239 8807
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: Application of remotely sensed hyperspectral data to marine planning in Western Australia
Supervisors: Lynnath Beckley and Halina Kobryn (DSE)

Marina Hassan

Email: marinahafiz98@hotmail.com
Phone: 9360 7475
Position: DVBS/DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: Parasites of native and introduced freshwater fish in the south west of Western Australia
Supervisors: Alan Lymbery (DHS), David Morgan and Steve Beatty (DSE)
Research interests: Fish parasites and pathology

Dave Holliday

Email: d.holliday@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9239 8807
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: Cross shelf transport induced by meso-scale eddies of the Leeuwin Current: Implications for larvae of neritic biota
Supervisor: Lynnath Beckley (DSE)

Mathew Hourston

Email: m.hourston@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9239 8805
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: Meiofauna of Western Australian estuaries
Supervisors: Ian Potter and Fiona Valesini (DSE)

Michelle Ingram

Email: 19640087@murdoch.edu.au
Position: DVBS PhD candidate
Thesis title: The effect of salinity on the functioning and resilience of riparian ecosystems
Supervisors: Alan Lymbery and Dr Rob Doupé
Research interests: Restoration ecology

Gary Jackson

Email: gjackson@fish.wa.gov.au
Phone: 9246 8445, Mobile 0419 046 435
Position: Part-time PhD candidate based at WA Marine Research Laboratories
Qualifications: BSc Fish. Sci. (Plymouth, UK), MSc (Ecol. Man.) (Adel.)
Thesis title: Fisheries biology and management of pink snapper, Pagrus auratus, in the inner gulfs of Shark Bay, Western Australia
Supervisors: Norm Hall (DSE) and Rod Lenanton (DFWA)
Research interests: See attached

Ashlee Jones

Email: Ashlee.Jones@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9360 2256
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Qualifications: BA Soc., University of Calgary (Canada); BSc Zool University of Calgary (Canada)
Thesis title: Species composition of elasmobranchs in the fisheries of south-western Australia and the biology of four abundant bycatch species
Supervisor: Ian Potter (DSE)
Research interests:

Elaine Lek

Email: w.lek@student.murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9360 2229
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: Biology of three species of wrasses in Jurien Bay Marine Park
Supervisors: Ian Potter and David Fairclough (DSE)

Thea Linke

Email: t.linke@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9239 8808
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: Trophic interactions in the Swan River and Wilson Inlet and fish community structure in the Wilson Inlet
Supervisors: Ian Potter and Robert Trengove (DSE)

Karen Marshall

Email: k.paton@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9360 2629
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: Enzymatic mechanism(s) involved in the partitioning of fatty acids into either catabolic or anabolic processes
Supervisors: Max Cake and Ian Potter (DSE)
Research interests: Biochemistry/lampreys

Fiona McAleer

Email: f.mcaleer@student.murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9360 6322
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Supervisors: Howard Gill and David Morgan (DSE)
Research interests: Biology and migration patterns of freshwater fishes in south-western Australia

Shannon McCluskey

Email: S.mccluskey@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: Dolphin Discovery Centre 9791 3088; Fax: 97913420; Mobile: 0402459492
Position: DHS PhD candidate
Thesis title: Foraging ecology of a population of bottlenose dolphins off Bunbury, Western Australia
Supervisors: Neil Loneragan and Lars Bejder (DSE)
Research interests: I am interested in the dynamic relationships between top-predators and the ecosystems which sustain them. Specifically, I am fascinated by the adaptations that predators employ under conditions of fluctuating prey abundance and availability. My goal is to participate in interdisciplinary research projects that have direct conservation application at the community level and beyond. My PhD research investigates the foraging ecology of a little-studied population of bottlenose dolphins off of Bunbury, Western Australia. Aims of my research include: 

• To characterize critical foraging habitat
• Identify and quantify potential prey resources in foraging and non-foraging habitats across seasons through prey surveys
• To assess diet of different age and sex classes through opportunistic stomach content and scat analysis
• Investigate relationships between individual and cooperative foraging behaviours with available prey species across temporal and spatial scales
  Research website

Heather McLetchie

Email: hmcletchie@agric.wa.gov.au
Phone: 9368 3286
Position: DHS PhD candidate. Currently working in the Fish Health Section at the Department of Agriculture WA
Qualifications: BSc(Hons) Applied Marine Biology (Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh)
Thesis title: Aphanomyces infestations in freshwater crayfish
Supervisors: Stan Fenwick and Philip Nicholls (DVBS)
Research interests: See attached

Glenn Moore

Email: g.moore@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9360 6111
Position: DHS PhD candidate
Thesis title: Phylogeography of marine fish species of the genus Arripis with sympatric and allopatric breeding populations in Australian waters
Supervisors: Jennie Chaplin and Ian Potter (DSE)
Research interests: See attached

Gavin Partridge

Email: gavin.partridge@challengertafe.wa.edu.au
Phone: 9239 8032
Position: DSE PhD candidate and Research Biologist, Aquaculture Development Unit, Challenger TAFE
Thesis title: The effect of variable ionic compositions on the growth and health of marine fish cultured in saline groundwater
Supervisors: Alan Lymbery and Shane Raidal (DHS)
Research interests: My project is looking at the culture of marine and estuarine finfish in inland saline water. Specifically, the project is looking at the effects of the different ionic imbalances that occur in inland saline water on the fish and the physiological mechanisms that fish use to deal with such imbalances. The second aspect of the project is investigating new technology to improve the yields from such water sources in an effort to create a commercially viable and environmentally sustainable fish aquaculture industry in inland Australia.

Matthew Pember

Email: m.pember@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9360 2229
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: Characterisation of fish communities in coastal waters of north-western Australia, including studies of the biology of the threadfin salmons Eleutheronema tetradactylum and Polydactylus macrochir
Supervisor: Ian Potter (DSE)
Research interests:

Nicole Phillips

Email: nmphilli@hotmail.com
Phone: 9360 7691
Position: DHS PhD candidate
Thesis title: Conservation and genetics of sawfish
Supervisors: Jennie Chaplin and Dave Morgan (DSE)

Mahmoud Rashnavadi

Email: mrashnavadi2000@yahoo.com
Mobile: 0423 955 259
Position: DHS PhD candidate
Thesis title: Parasites of freshwater fish as bioindicators of water quality in the south west of Western Australia
Supervisors: Alan Lymbery (DHS) and David Morgan (DSE)

Andrew Rowland

Email: Andrew@recfishwest.org.au
Phone: 9360 6322
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: The biology and ecology of samson fish (Seriola hippos), with emphasis on the sportfishery targeting deep water spawning aggregations west of Rottnest Island
Supervisors: Howard Gill (DSE) and Mike Mackie (DFWA)
Research interests: The major objective of this project is to investigate the biology, ecology and fishery for samson fish (Seriola hippos) on the west and south coasts of Western Australia. A further part of the project is focused on the lucrative catch and release sportfishery that targets large, deep-water spawning aggregations of samson fish that form near Perth during summer. The emphasis of this research is on determining fishing mortality, catch care and fish handling protocols to maximise the survival of released fish. This research project forms a major component of a large collaborative project lead by the Department of Fisheries Western Australia (FRDC Project 2004/51 - Management and monitoring of fish spawning aggregations within the West Coast Bio-region of Western Australia.).
Collaborators: Mike Mackie and Paul Lewis at Department of Fisheries

Anna Sellas

Email:
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title:
Supervisors: Kate Bryant and Lars Bejder (DSE)
Research website

Claire Smallwood

Email: c.smallwood@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9949 4004 (Exmouth office)
Position: DHS PhD candidate
Thesis title: Spatial patterns of human usage in the Ningaloo Marine Park
Supervisor: Lynnath Beckley (DSE)

Holly Smith

Email: h.smith@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 0439 828 498
Position: DHS PhD candidate
Thesis title: Habitat utilisation by coastal cetaceans of Bunbury and adjacent waters and population abundance and structure of bottlenose dolphins Tursiops sp. in the Southwest Australian region
Supervisors: Stuart Bradley and Lars Bejder (DSE)
Research interests: See attached
Research website

Zoe Spiers

Email: z.spiers@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9360 2479
Position: DHS PhD candidate
Thesis title: Identification of an intracellular ciliate parasite of pearl oysters in Western Australia
Supervisors: Shane Raidal, Amanda O'Hara (DHS) and Brian Jones (FDWA)
Research interests: Aquatic animal health and pathology

Natalie Toon

Email: n.toon@murdoch.edu.au
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: Catchability of Western Rock lobster (Panulirus cygnus); the influence of temperature, light intensity, habitat and commercial fishing apparatus
Supervisor: Neil Loneragan (DSE)

James Tweedley

Email: j.tweedley@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9239 8802
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Qualifications: BSc (Hons) Mar. Biol. (Portsmouth, UK), MRes. Mar. Biol. (Plymouth, UK)
Thesis title: The relationship between habitat types and faunal community structure and trophic linkages in the Broke Inlet, Western Australia
Supervisors: Fiona Valesini, Steeg Hoeksema and Ian Potter (DSE)
Research interests:
The main aims of this proposed PhD project are to (i) quantitatively classify the habitat types that are present within the Broke Inlet, (ii) sample, on a seasonal basis for two years, the fish and invertebrate fauna at representatives of each habitat type, (iii) ascertain the extent of the "match" between the fauna and habitat types and develop a model for predicting those species that are likely to typify any site of interest in the system, and (iv) investigate trophic linkages in order to produce a food web for the different habitat types.

Corey Wakefield

Email: cwakefield@fish.wa.gov.au
Phone: 9206 5582
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: A biological assessment of snapper (Pagrus auratus, Sparidae) in the Perth region, including comparisons of northern and southern stocks in Western Australia
Supervisors: Norm Hall, Ian Potter (DSE) and Rod Lenanton (DFWA)

Fiona Webster

Email: f.webster@murdoch.edu.au
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: The effect of nutrients versus herbivores on macroalgae and implications for juvenile corals
Supervisors: Neil Loneragan and Mike Van Keulen (DSE)
Research interests: Coral reef ecology

Jeff Whitty

Email: jeffmwhitty@hotmail.com
Position: DSE Masters candidate
Thesis title: Movement patterns and habitat associations of euryhaline and freshwater elasmobranchs in the Fitzroy River and King Sound, Western Australia
Supervisor: David Morgan (DSE)

Michelle Wildsmith

Email: m.wildsmith@murdoch.edu.au
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Thesis title: Benthic macroinvertebrates of Western Australian estuaries, with particular reference to the effects of eutrophication
Supervisors: Fiona Valesini, Ian Potter (DSE) and Russ Babcock (CSIRO)

Andrew Winzer

Email: a.winzer@murdoch.edu.au
Phone: 9360 6322
Position: DSE PhD candidate
Qualifications: BSc(Hons) Aquaculture, Curtin
Thesis title: The Biology and prevalence of sea lice (Isopoda : Cirolanidae) and their effect on the Western Rock Lobster fishery
Supervisors: Howard Gill (DSE) and Roy Melville Smith (DFWA)
Project Description: The initial objective of the project involved identifying dominant species of sea lice found in the metropolitan zone C of the Western rock lobster fishery. Trapping sea lice with the assistance of commercial fishers over the past three seasons has provided considerable insight into factors affecting their distribution and abundance. The project also aims to test the efficacy of new methods of bait deployment in comparison to traditional deployment methods.
Research Interests: Marine isopods; decapod aquaculture