Following time spent as a Hydrographic system operator with the Royal Australian Navy, I completed a Bachelor of Science majoring in Zoology and Ecology at James Cook University in Cairns, Australia. My honours research focused on the effects of plant diversity on marine invertebrates in a tropical seagrass meadow, a project co-supervised by researchers from the Centre for Tropical Water and Ecosystem Research (TropWATER).
Because of a strong interest in data and statistical analysis, I worked as a data analyst for the Northern Australian Quarantine Strategy (NAQS), a biosecurity group within the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources (DAWR) that focuses on plant and animal health across northern Australia, including the Torres Strait and neighbouring countries.
I recently completed my PhD at Monash University where I was supervised by Prof Melodie McGeoch of the McGeoch Research Group and Dr Rohan Clarke of the Research Ecology Group. My project focused on the assessment and prioritisation of alien and invasive insects at both a species and landscape scale. Although the project focused on invasive species, I have broad interests across and within biodiversity and conservation research.
David Clarke 