Charlotte is a PhD candidate at Queensland University of Technology in the Applied Mathematical Ecology Group. Her research focusses on ways to leverage robust modelling, underpinned by ecological understanding and effective communication, to solve conservation issues. Her PhD aims to enhance understanding of the terrestrial ecosystems of Antarctica and threats they face in a warming future. She uses spatial models to understand how Antarctic communities might respond to climate change and tests methods to deal with the challenges of a very data-poor environment.

My research stems from a fundamental insight: biodiversity is multidimensional, as are its governing forces. The more faithfully we can capture this dimensionality, the better we can understand and predict impacts of global change. Toward this aim, I work to disentangle the multidimensional forces shaping populations and communities, emphasizing climate and land use. I generate new data in the field, lab, and glasshouse, as well as novel combinations of existing datasets. In analyzing data, I sometimes develop new quantitative methods intended to more closely mimic the real data-generating process. Current projects include: -Adapting quantitative genetic theory for the study of ecological selection, with emphasis on community responses to climate change. -Disentangling the roles of intercorrelated functional traits in community assembly using statistical tools from the social sciences. -Quantifying genomic tradeoffs and synergies in local adaptation to multidimensional environmental gradients, with an eye toward applications in assisted gene flow. -Disentangling the drivers of long-term change in plant diversity of forest fragments on Te Pātaka o Rākaihautū | Banks Peninsula, Aotearoa | New Zealand.

Dr Nick Whiterod is the Science Program Manager at the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth (CLLMM) Research Centre in Goolwa, South Australia. He has undertaken research and conservation widely across southern Australia – frequently for oft-neglected, threatened fish and crayfish, including Australia’s unique spiny crayfish. Nick is passionate about promoting the plight of freshwater species and strives to ensure to those that are highly threatened receive attention commensurate with their threatened status. At the CLLMM Research Centre, Nick is managing climate focused research reflecting community and First Nations priorities. Nick is a Churchill Fellow and was awarded the 2023 Unsung Hero of South Australian Science.

Postdoctoral research fellow at Monash University.

Honours student at Flinders University studying the Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) that occurred in South Australia during 2025 from a microbial aspect. Using 16S sequencing and flow cytometry analysis to gain an understanding of how the microbial and viral community shifted throughout March-July 2025. Sites include metropolitan coastline hotspots such as Semaphore Beach and Glenelg Beach, as well as rural areas like Rapid Bay and Port Elliot Bay, among others. Characterising potential community shifts in response to the HAB from month to month can provide insight into how other marine and coastal-related organisms are impacted in the short and long term by the ecological disaster.