Prospective Students
I’m looking for new, highly-motivated research students to join my DeakinSeaweed research team in any of my key research areas. PhDs at Deakin University are 3 years, during which time students will be supported with up to $11,200 base-level research funding. Students will also be encouraged and supported to apply for additional research funding as required. In most cases students will be expected to be full-time (exceptions for students with caring responsibilities and other non-financial reasons) and thus need to be able to support themselves financially. I will consider taking on international and domestic PhD students if they are competitive for a scholarship. Deakin’s PhD Scholarships are currently valued at approximately A$26,682 per annum and the program is free of tuition fees for scholarship holders if completed within the 3 year time frame. Before contacting me, please consider whether you will be competitive and check the Deakin scholarships page and other opportunities to fund your studies. After you have assessed your ability to support yourself during a PhD, please contact me with a brief CV (including a list of any peer-reviewed papers) and a statement on your research interests and what you can bring to our team.
Prospective Honours students can check my current list of projects here or contact me to discuss other options.
DeakinSeaweed Staff
Dr Alecia Bellgrove – Team Leader
Dr Cecilia Biancacci – Industry Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Dr Jacqui Pocklington – Honorary Research Fellow
Current Students
Zoё Brittain PhD 2020 – Indigenous knowledge and Blue Growth with a focus on the emerging Australasian seaweed industry
Cátia de Frietas PhD 2020 – Using children’s literature to teach marine science concepts
Thiru Somasundarum PhD 2019- Future-proofing the Australian dairy industry through seaweed supplementation (in collaboration with the NuSea.Lab)
(Ellyn) Erlania PhD 2018 – Quantifying contributions of seaweeds to blue carbon deposits (in collaboration with the Blue Carbon Lab)
Erin Cumming PhD 2015- Developing seaweed production techniques for Phyllospora comosa
Vanessa Skrypczyk PhD (part-time) 2015- Sustainable solutions using Australian seaweeds: nutritional profiles and potential for heavy metal contamination (in collaboration with the NuSea.Lab)
Past Students
Rachael Cook Honours 2018 – 2019 Predicting the response of a marine foundation species to a changing climate (co-supervised with Adam Miller)
Zoё Brittain Honours (H1) 2018 Learning from Elders – can historical Indigenous uses of seaweeds inform a sustainable Australian seaweed industry?
Sarah Murfitt Honours (H1) 2016 Applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in intertidal reef monitoring (co-supervised with Daniel Ierodiaconou)
Margie Morrice PhD completed 2013 Fine-scale foraging habitat and behavioural responses of pygmy blue whales
Vanessa Skrzypczyk Honours (H1) 2013 Nutritional characterisation and sensorial properties of Australian marine macroalgae
Sheridan Duncan Honours (H1) 2013 Effects of elevated orthophosphate on growth of a turfing coralline alga
Maria Garcia Rojas PhD completed 2012 Influence of sea-ice structure on minke whale and other krill-predator distribution
Jacqui Pocklington PhD completed 2012 The ecological role of canopy-forming fucoid algae on temperate intertidal rocky shores
Hayley Cameron Honours (H1) 2012 Restoration of the habitat-forming fucoid macroalga, Hormosira banksii, at effluent-affected shores following waste-water remediation
Aimee Hauser Honours (H1) 2012 Hormosira banksii (Turner) Decaisne: Is it truly a single species?
Jessica McKenzie PhD completed 2011 Coastal responses to estuarine discharge from intermittently open systems
Jacquomo Monk PhD completed 2011 Understanding fish-habitat associations using video observations and sonar imaging
Daniel Grixti PhD completed 2011 Estimating and improving the survival of recreationally caught-and-released fish and incorporating this current survivorship into fisheries models
Prue McKenzie PhD completed 2008 Potential for long-distance dispersal of Hormosira banksii
Melissa Evans Honours (H1) 2007 Trampling effects on algal turf communities in the Merri Marine Sanctuary
Jacquomo Monk Honours (H1) 2006 A Starting Point: Mapping of the Subtidal Zones of the Merri Marine Sanctuary using an Integrated Community-based Monitoring GIS Approach
Jenna Hill Honours (H1) 2005
Jessica McKenzie Honours (H1) 2005 Temporal and spatial variability in the supply of propagules of Hormosira banksii
Joel Williams Honours (H2A) 2004 Baseline study of rocky reef assemblages within the Merri Marine Sanctuary, Victoria
Peter Fraser Honours (H2A) 2004 Effects of proximity to seagrass, zonation and physical disturbance on mangrove-associated fish assemblages in a temperate Australian embayment
Prue McKenzie Honours (H1) 2003 Variation between fertilisation success and subsequent development of Hormosira banksii (Phaeophyceae: Fucales) at different spatial scales
Rebecca Callea Honours (H2A) 2003 An investigation of roe conditioning in the sea urchin, Heliocidaris erythrogamma (Valenciennes, 1846)
Dr Alecia Bellgrove 