Ashton Gainsford

My background is in the ecology and evolution of marine systems. I have contributed to and published research in the fields of marine ecology, fish behaviour, population genetics, phylogenetics and genomics. During these projects I have applied microscopy, molecular and advanced statistical analytical techniques, where projects have primarily investigated the evolutionary drivers of diversification, species level taxonomy, connectivity, and the importance of ecology and behaviour on gene flow between taxa. I have conducted fieldwork as a Principal Investigator and Research Assistant in Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, collaborating with diverse stakeholder groups, including remote local communities, academic institutions, government departments, and NGOs. Most recently I have worked as a Senior Project Consultant in New Zealand specialising in benthic taxonomy. I am also passionate about teaching and have had many opportunities to be involved in demonstrating, presenting lectures and assisting field courses for JCU, HKU and USyd on a variety of scientific subjects. Consolidating my technical skills during the course of my doctorate, I adapted and applied my expertise to professional roles as a Freshwater Research Associate in northern Australia, in Research Station Management on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, as a Senior Project Consultant providing expertise in benthic taxonomy in New Zealand, and most recently as a Coral Reef Ecologist at the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

As a member of the Reef Process Dynamics team, I provide ecological knowledge, data analysis and project management skills to AIMS’ integrated and innovative coral reef science. I contribute to local and international coral reef field research and monitoring efforts, specifically to support the broader integration and synthesis of data from different geographies and contributors into outputs that improve regional and global insights in changing reef health; including the AI platform ReefCloud (reefcloud.ai), the ReefCloud Pacific and Marine Resources Initiative projects expanding coral reef monitoring throughout the Pacific and South East Asia, respectively, and the Northern Australian Marine Monitoring Alliance (NAMMA) partnership between AIMS and Traditional Owners across tropical Australia.