Iain Field | |||||||||
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ProfileI have always been fascinated by water, how it moves, the animals and plants that in and around it, and playing in it and on it. I was an undergraduate at Southampton University in the UK studying oceanography and was lucky enough to be awarded a place at the University of Tasmania for my PhD in zoology. This really combined to passions, the oceans and the animals that live within. For my PhD thesis I got to go to Macquarie Island for 18 months to study juvenile southern elephant seals. While I was there I was able to take part in research on many marine mammal, seabirds and penguin species and further developed my interests of how the animals live in dramatic environments. Living here, as well as growing up on the coasts of the South west of England and the north of Scotland has left me with a me with a deep impression of the importance of focussing on environmental variability if we are to understand natural systems and the strategies animals have evolved to cope with them. After my PhD study, I have worked in the Antarctic, doing research and lecturing on tourist ships, and at other sub-Antarctic Islands with other international research programmes. Recently I have finished a post-doc in northern Australia working on the sustainability of shark fisheries in the region. Over the last ten years I have worked with some great people on a whole range of marine wildlife. In my spare time I am a keen kitesurfer, bodysurfer, and diver. You will often find me at a beach either on or in the water. Research InterestIf I had to assign myself to a discipline it would have to be in to two - Ecology and Conservation Biology, although I am also interested in all marine science. In recent years my research has focused on life history, population dynamics, movement and foraging behaviour of marine vertebrates and is particularly interested in linking these to natural and anthropogenic environmental variation (e.g. climate change and fishing pressure). I am also interested in the ecology and management of terrestrial vertebrates. As an example of this I have been studying the ecology and management of feral species in northern Australia. My work has made valuable contributions to filling knowledge gaps and the conservation of large marine vertebrates including sharks, seals, and whales. Recently I co-authored a review on the Global Susceptibility of Sharks, Rays and Chimaeras to Extinction, which considers all the current threat risks to these species, including human impacts and climate change. I have also contributed to the development of conservation plans for a number of shark and sawfish species and written reports on the interactions of marine predators and fisheries for the Federal Government and provided expert advice on Ecological Risk Assessment Technical panels. TeachingI currently co-supervise 4 PhD student. Selected Publications
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Macquarie University Faculty of Science
Department of Environment and Geography