Dwarf minke whales are a cryptic species that aggregate on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef every year for just a few short weeks.

Until now nobody knew where they came from. Using satellite transmitters we were able to follow the whales and uncover the secrets of their migration. In a world first I did this while free diving with them. You can check out our work on Sir David Attenborough “Great Barrier Reef Series” currently on Netflix.

My doctoral research examined the role of marine protected areas play in the conservation of shark species. I lived on commercial fishing boats to understand how sharks interacted in the fishery, after all there is no substitute for first hand experience. Once I understood what was being caught and where, the next step was to track the animals to find their critical habitat. From here we can determine how much protection the marine protected areas actually afford each species.

Along the way I have also been on expeditions to tracked Tigers in the Sumatran Jungle, Anthrax on the Etosha plain, live with Australian Sea Lions in the southern ocean and uncover Horned Vipers in the middle-east.

RESEARCH