Higher Degree by Research Application Portal

Seadragons are iconic temperate Australian fish that face increasing threats based on urbanization and climate change. Ongoing knowledge gaps mean that specific management actions cannot be proposed or assessed accurately. The commencement of individual-level monitoring through the initiative SeadragonSearch has contributed to addressing some of these knowledge gaps to date. The combination of widescale citizen science involvement, with cutting edge Artificial Intelligence tools, means that useful ecological data is being amassed in a way previously not thought possible.

 The project supported here will be further developed with the recruited student’s interest and skills. We envision the project to be centered around the ecology of seadragons using data directly from the SeadragonSearch database, and may incorporate eDNA surveys as well. The project will directly contribute to seadragon conservation efforts and will endeavor to deliver data with specific applications in mind. It will also engage with communities and conservation groups and co-design work where possible.

UWA eligibility requirements for PhD candidates

Desired skills

• strong scientific writing skills
• effective communication style
• self-motivated
• familiarity with population ecology principles
• GIS and spatial data analysis
• experience with eDNA assays

Please email Nerida Wilson a copy of your CV, degree certificates, transcripts and cover letter detailing your relevant expertise and motivation for this PhD project. Application assessment will begin at the end of July and continue until the position is filled. 

Nerida Wilson nerida.wilson@uwa.edu.au

Open until position filled.