Melanie Hamel

I am an interdisciplinary conservation scientist working at the interface of ecology, social science, and policy. My goal is to strengthen the evidence base that guides ecosystem management across diverse socio-ecological contexts. I integrate data and methods from multiple disciplines, using tools such as GIS, participatory mapping, reserve design algorithms, and programming. My early work centred on coastal and marine environments in the South Pacific, and I now focus on understanding Australia’s marine and terrestrial ecosystems and how people connect with them.

I strive to bridge science, policy, and community by working alongside Indigenous partners, government and non-government organisations, industry, and local communities. Co-designed approaches and strong science communication ensure my research has real impact on the ground. For example, I recently led the IUCN Red List assessment for the subpopulation of Dugongs in New Caledonia in collaboration with local researchers and NGOs, which has directly contributed to actions at the local scale.

Current projects

I co-lead/contribute to several projects within the Marine Megafauna Research Group at TropWATER, including:

- 2026 // Indigenous leadership for dugong futures: connecting Kanak and Aboriginal knowledges across the Coral Sea.
- 2024-2025 // The Dugong Connections engagement project. Dugong Connections is reshaping the way scientists and Indigenous Traditional Owners of the Great Barrier Reef collaborate to achieve shared goals for dugongs.
- 2023-2026 // Marine and Coastal Hub, NESP 3.10 'Partnerships and novel technologies for improved dugong research'. 

I also support and contribute to research for:

- 2025-2027 // Resilient Landscapes Hub, NESP 5.1 'Environmental Economic Accounting - Respectful inclusion of First Nations knowledges'.
- 2023-2026 // Project 1.4 Indigenous values mapping and water resource enterprise product identification, a project focused on the Gilbert Catchment, for the Water Security for Northern Australia program (WSNA).
- 2021-2026 // Resilient Landscapes Hub, NESP 1.7 cross-cutting initiative on Australia's threatened and migratory species and threatened ecological communities.

Publications

Google Scholar profile

I acknowledge the Bindal and Wulgurukaba peoples as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands and waters of the Townsville region, where I live and work. I also pay my respects to all Traditional Owners of the lands and waters I visit in the course of my travels.

Conservation planning, spatial planning

Integrating multi-disciplinary data and/or different knowledge systems to inform management

Marine megafauna ecology, conservation and monitoring