Caitlin Smith

Dr Caitlin Smith completed her PhD in ecotoxicology, examining the impacts of contaminants on sea turtle health. With over a decade of experience researching sea turtles, her interests span the human-induced pressures shaping marine ecosystems, including climate change, plastic pollution, fisheries interactions, and habitat degradation. Caitlin is part of the TropWATER seagrass team, mapping seagrass distribution across northern Australia and investigating its response to environmental and habitat change. She also leads the Healthy Hatchlings nest relocation project, investigating the impacts of management protocols on sea turtle hatchling fitness. Caitlin works closely with Land and Sea Ranger groups to develop their own sea turtle monitoring programs and explore nature-based economies, and is committed to collaborative science, co-designing research projects and management plans with Traditional Owners and local communities.  

• Marine megafauna ecology
• Sea turtles
• Climate change
• Ecotoxicology
• Human Impacts
• Seagrass Ecology