IMBeR and CLIOTOP would like to congratulate Sophie Bestley on receiving an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award.
Sophie specialises in developing mathematical models for estimating movement processes in animals of high conservation value and currently leads the CLIOTOP Task Team Animal movement and prediction: modelling animal behaviour in a changing climate. She was awarded a PhD from the University of Tasmania and is currently an Antarctic Gateway Partnership Research Associate with the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies and CSIRO in Australia. Her award will progress the work currently being undertaken by the Task Team in developing models for predicting the likelihood of changes in Antarctic sea ice and ocean dynamics and impacts on the forage migration pathways of penguins, seals and whales. The new predictive capacity developed will inform expectations regarding species’ future habitat usage and potential range shifts. This will aid future-proofing of current policy efforts (krill fishery feedback management strategies, oceanic protected areas) under multiple international treaties.
More information on Sophie’s award can be found at: http://www.arc.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/opportunities-early-career-researchers