Catherine Sheppard

My research aims to understand how the behaviour of reef fish influences the resilience of coral reefs to environmental change. Specifically, I look at how heightened aggression between fish species, as a result of overfishing, affects coral reef resilience and recovery. To achieve this, I use long-term datasets to model metrics of coral reef health against fish abundance and fishing pressure. I combine the outputs of these analyses with primary data from field experiments to develop ecosystem-based models which inform management strategies to maintain optimum relative fish abundances for recovery.