Narelle Hill
In 2017 I graduated from The University of Queensland with a dual degree in Science and Arts, majoring in Ancient History, English and Zoology, and completing the Advanced Study Program in Science (ASPinS). After graduation I received a scholarship from the University of Lausanne to research the impacts that conservation management practices were having on offspring fitness and sexual selection of the endemic whitefish, Coregonus suidteri, with the Wedekind group in Switzerland. For my Honours project I am focusing on intertidal mudflats throughout the East Asian-Australasian Flyway; these habitats are critical sites for Australia's migratory shorebirds, which have been experiencing rapid population declines in recent years. Due to the phenomenal distances that these birds migrate, it is internationally important to assess whether the protective mechanisms we have in place (Protected Areas, their designations and management) are effective in minimising habitat and, thus, population loss. In addition to my academic interests in conservation, I have taken on the role of an executive board member for the Society for Conservation Biology's UQ – Brisbane chapter and am Brisbane's Presentations Coordinator for the Australian Marine Conservation Society.