Rinaldi Gotama

Rinaldi is an Indonesian marine ecologist with an extensive background in experimental field work and long-term monitoring of threatened ecosystems. He holds a bachelor's degree from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and has worked as a research assistant in several laboratories in Hong Kong, mainly studying the effects of anthropogenic disturbance on habitat quality, community composition, ecosystem function, and interspecies interactions. Most recently, he obtained a Divemaster qualification in Nusa Penida, Bali, and worked directly in monitoring fish stocks, assessing coral reef health, and restoring damaged habitats in several Indonesian coral reefs.

Rinaldi is currently an MPhil candidate at the Marine Spatial Ecology Lab under the supervision of Prof. Peter Mumby. He is studying how marine protected areas can be used to restore fish stocks and mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances, as well as how active restoration efforts can complement these positive effects by reinstating lost habitats. To do so, he plans to bring his experience from the field into ecological models to understand how different scenarios can affect the future state of marine ecosystems.

Personal website: www.rinaldigotama.com

Publications:

6.   Sebastian P, Stean SJ, Erawan AIR, Gotama R, Swarya IN, Sparks LD, Prasetijo R, Prasetyo AP. 2025. Quantifying the influence of environmental factors on elasmobranch distribution and abundance in a high-use marine protected area. Marine Environmental Research 210, 107317. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marenvres.2025.107317

5.    Gotama R, Baker DM, Guibert I, McIlroy SE, Russell BD. 2024. How a coastal megacity affects marine biodiversity and ecosystem function: impacts of reduced water quality and other anthropogenic stressors. Ecological Indicators 160, 111683. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2024.111683

4.    McIlroy SE, Guibert I, Archana A, Chung WYH, Duffy JE, Gotama R, Hui J, Knowlton N, Leray M, Meyer C, Panagiotou G, Paulay G, Russell BD, Thompson PD, Baker DM. 2024. Life goes on: spatial heterogeneity promotes biodiversity in an urbanized coastal marine ecosystem. Global Change Biology 30, e17248. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.17248

3.    Sebastian P, Gotama R, Aulia QA, Stean SJ, Sparks LD, Yusuf S. 2024. An initial fish and megafauna biomass assessment from Tanjung Bira, a remote unprotected marine area. Regional Studies in Marine Science 71, 103447. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2024.103447

2.    Gotama R, Stean SJ, Sparks LD, Prasetijo R, Sebastian P. 2023. Citizen science approach for monitoring fish and megafauna assemblages in a remote Marine Protected Area. Regional Studies in Marine Science 64, 103058. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2023.103058

1.       Cheung-Wong RWY, Dytnerski JK, Gotama R, Hemraj DA, Russell BD. 2022. Seasonal patterns of macroalgal and sessile invertebrate communities in a monsoonal marine ecosystem. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 275, 107962. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2022.107962