My broad research interests focus on two related areas of marine ecology, recruitment and disturbance. The recruitment work considers the puzzles of how marine larvae disperse, what causes them to make the transition from larvae to juveniles, and what determines their success as juveniles. My two main current projects are an Australian Research Council funded investigation of variation in larval quality in marine invertebrates, and whether it contributes to recruitment variability. This project is a collaboration with Dustin Marshall, at the University of Queensland. The focus of this project is a common marine fouling species, the bryozoan Watersipora subtorquata. I have another ARC project that commenced in 2007, which aims to take a systematic look at early post-settlement mortality of sessile marine invertebrates. Post-settlement mortality is thought to be an important demographic bottleneck, but we don't really understand whether it's a consistent bottleneck, or something that varies dramatically through time. If it does vary, then periods of high recruitment could result from relaxation of the bottleneck.
The other research program considers the effects of disturbances on near-shore marine systems, particularly the range of perturbations associated with human use of the environments. There, I have a commitment to understanding how disturbances act, developing rigorous assessment tools, and providing independent advice about environmental assessment programs. My research projects at the moment are an ARC Linkage grant to try and develop new performance measures for Marine Protected Areas, which is a collaboration with Steve Swearer and Anthony Boxshall (Parks Victoria) - see Malcolm Lindsay's project for more details. I also am part of a large ARC project that aims to develop an understanding of patterns of nutrient cycling in the Derwent Estuary (Tasmania). The collaborators in this project are Jeff Ross and Christine Crawford (Univ. Tasmania), Brad Eyre (Southern Cross University), Des Richardson (Norske Skog), and Christing Coughanower (Derwent Estuary Program).
I have produced two books, one on environmental monitoring, and the other on data analysis and experimental design.
I am currently a member of the Victorian Coastal Council, which provides advice to the Minister for Water, Environment and Climate Change, and I am part of the Independent Experts Group, providing advice about technical aspects of the Port Phillip Bay Channel Deepening Project.
I also serve as Director of the Victorian Marine Science Consortium, which operates laboratories at Queenscliff.
I am part of the editorial boards of Oecologia, Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, and Marine Ecology.
