Nidhi Sajit Menon 

Nidhi is a PhD student in the Marine Spatial Ecology Lab under the supervision of Professor Peter Mumby. Her research focuses on shifts in fish population dynamics with coral loss across the Great Barrier Reef, with the aim of informing future conservation and management decisions under various climate scenarios. Her research interests include fish community ecology, improving the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas, and integrating climate resilience into marine management strategies.
 
An aspiring marine biologist since the age of 11, Nidhi grew up by the ocean in Chennai, India. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Ecology and Biodiversity from the University of Hong Kong, where her undergraduate research project at the Swire Institute of Marine Science examined the impacts of ocean warming on the physiology and behaviour of three species of sea urchins. Her interest and field skills in intertidal ecology have been sharpened through oyster reef restoration, thermal tolerance studies in littorinid snails and more.
 
She then completed a Master of Marine Biology with Distinction from the University of Western Australia in Perth. In collaboration with the WA Government’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA), her research investigated increases in the abundance of large-bodied fishery species within Sanctuary Zones through the use of Baited Remote Underwater stereo-Video systems (stereo-BRUVs), as well as potential assemblage warming in the Ngari Capes Marine Park. During this time, she was also a research assistant with the Marine Ecology Group at the UWA Oceans Institute, analysing the benthic habitat of various state marine parks. She later worked as a Technical Officer at DBCA, where her role included fish biodiversity monitoring from stereo-BRUVs footage across tropical Western Australian marine parks. This experience equipped her with the skills to identify over 300 species of Indo-Pacific reef fish, which makes her dive trips so much more interesting! 
 
Nidhi is extremely excited about her journey ahead with UQ and MSEL, and hopes to make a significant contribution in the field of marine science.