Research Fellow: As a Postdoctoral Fellow with a focus on policy impacts, my research revolves around consolidating lines of evidence to gain insights into the importance of large marine protected areas for the conservation of pelagic wildlife. In particular, I focus on the Australian Commonwealth Marine Parks and the State of the Environment Report. Globally, I study marine protected areas and networks of the Eastern Tropical Pacific region. Additionally, I am dedicated to strengthening the protection of threatened species such as the scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini, in Australia, by building upon my doctoral research integrating science, community engagement, and strategic policy advocacy.

Bio: I grew up in Spain, where I received an Honours in Biological Sciences from the University of Vigo, and a MSc degree in Biodiversity Conservation from the University of Barcelona. After that, I worked in conservation initiatives with WWF tracking migratory patterns of Atlantic bluefin tuna and documenting the overlap with reefer vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. Always captivated by pelagic wildlife and their conservation, in 2019 I joined the Marine Futures Lab at UWA to start my PhD in ecology of pelagic species and their conservation.

In 2023, I completed my PhD thesis ‘From above and below: identification of key areas for pelagic wildlife conservation’. I used non-invasive video-methods (BRUVS and drones) to characterise key areas for pelagic wildlife conservation in oceanic and coastal marine protected areas. My research provided benchmarks of pelagic wildlife against which future changes can be compared, informing policy, management, and conservation of pelagic species.