2007 VMSC Postgraduate Award
The winner of the 2007 VMSC Postgraduate Award is Peter Macreadie.
Peter is undertaking his PhD at the University of Melbourne, co-supervised by Professor Mick Keough, Dr Jeremy Hindell and Dr Greg Jenkins.
Peter's project investigates effects of seagrass fragmentation on fish species. Seagrass are a conspicuous element of Australian marine environments, and are crucial in the conservation and maintenance of biodiversity. Degradation of seagrass ecosystems from climatic extremes, increased sediment and nutrients in the water, and other pollutants results in loss and fragmentation of meadows. These changes to seagrass have been linked to the collapse of fisheries. A large-scale project using artificial seagrass to simulate seagrass habitat fragmentation has just been completed by Peter (stay tuned for the published results). It's anticipated this work will improve our understanding of how fish respond to seagrass fragmentation and lead to better management of Australia’s threatened coastal habitats.
Congratulations Peter
Peter with Minister John Thwaites