Description
CHICO BIRRELL Ph.D. Marine ecologist with over 15 years professional experience.
clbirrell@gmail.com | cell: +61(0) 433 724 496 | skype: chico.birrell | 63 Estelle Rd, Currumbin, Qld 4223 Australia | Can work: EU, UK, Australia (will relocate; USA eligible for E3) | Languages: English, Portuguese, Spanish, French
SUMMARY
RESEARCH: Ph.D., M.Sc.: University of Queensland, James Cook University, IUCN project Regenerate, Australian Institute of Marine Science, ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, & various research assistant roles
CONSERVATION: IUCN climate change & human impact evaluation in Maldives; write submission & translate science into policy as secretary of Australian Coral Reef Society; Honduras project supported MPA
CONSULTANCY: impact assessments to biodiversity surveys from port developments to marine protected areas.
BUSINESS & PROJECT MANAGEMENT: managed monitoring & research projects; translating business
FIELD WORK: terrestrial and marine field studies in remote areas (coral reef, mangrove, seagrass, coastal & forest habitats); boating, diving, lab work, cruises & expeditions; Locations: Caribbean, Indian & Pacific Oceans.
TEAM LEADER: manage monitoring, experiments, fieldwork, protocols, develop field manuals & courses.
TECHNICAL: commercial diver, dive instructor, research aquariums system, photography, boating, off road driver.
STATISTICS: large scale monitoring datasets, multivariate, experiments, biodiversity survey data. R user.
FUNDRAISING: for conservation projects in Honduras and Mozambique and for academic research projects
ORGANISATION: research & freelance consultancy projects; secretary to Australian Coral Reef Society; tour leader
COMMUNICATION: 14 publications: journals (7), government & consultancy reports; excellent written & oral presentation; science communication; maintained communications as Australian Coral Reef Society secretary
TEACHING & MENTORING: University & high school marine biology courses; seminar organiser; lab team mentor
CAPACITY BUILDING: support of local field teams and monitoring in Maldives, Honduras, Australia
LANGUAGES: Translator and Interpreter: Portuguese <> English <> Spanish; basic French; beginner Bahasa
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Research & conservation
2016Oct-Nov Australian Institute of Marine Science: investigate effects of ocean acidification on coral reef algae, coral recruits and herbivore dynamics at carbon dioxide vents in Papua New Guinea.
2016May-Nov IUCN project Regenerate: coral & algae surveys to assess coral bleaching, human impacts & reef recovery; capacity building, data analysis & publications. The Maldives. www.iucn.org/theme/marine-and-polar/our-work/coral-reefs/coral-reef-projects/project-regenerate
2008Jan-2009Dec Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS): experimental scientist, reef monitoring, coral reproduction, habitat mapping, management guidelines. Western Australia
2003Sep-2007Jul Undersea Explorer, marine biologist, stakeholder relations w/ GBRMPA, NGOs & researchers; shark, nautilus, coral, fish & whale studies. Great Barrier Reef & Coral Sea, Australia
2004-2005(part time ~200 hrs) research assistant to Dr. A. Baird &. Dr. A. Kerr at the ARC at Coral Reef Centre of Excellence, Townsville Australia www.coraltraits.org
1995-1997 I took a lead role in establishing reef conservation projects in Honduras & Mozambique. Work in Utila Honduras was adopted by Coral Cay Conservation & led to a MPA.
Environmental consultancy
2010Feb-2012Dec SKM, RPS, GHD: marine ecologist, coral specialist; impact assessments of port development, dredging, water quality, shipping & invasive species; Western Australia
2007Oct-2008Jan SKM: marine ecologist: environmental assessments of shipping channel, pipeline & port developments, fieldwork GIS analysis, proposals & reports; Perth, Australia
2005Oct-2006Oct DEWHA consultancy (Australian Government) biodiversity surveys of coral, trochus, giant clams & sea cucumbers at Ashmore & Cartier Reef reserves, Indian Ocean, Australia
2006Feb-Mar Bio-prospecting expedition to Pemba, Tanzania for Pharmamar (Madrid, Spain). Collection & catalogue of invertebrates as a source of compounds for cancer research.
Teaching & Ecotourism
1998Jun – 2000Oct Tourism guide in Spain, Portugal & Morocco, extensive travel through these countries gave me good understanding of cultures and regional differences, Cosmos Tourama
2016(10 days) Eye to Eye Marine encounters, Undergraduate tutor, reef ecology, Great Barrier Reef, Aus.
2015(180 days) Nature guide, mangroves & coral reefs, True North, Western Australia & Indonesia
2013 -2016(40 days) Course coordinator/tutor, high school biology courses, Lizard Island, Australia.
2011Sept-Oct Stanford – University of Queensland, tutor coral reef ecology, Heron Island, Australia
2003-2007 Undersea Explorer, marine biology tutor, numerous high school groups, Great Barrier Reef
Translating & interpreting
2004 onwards I am a freelance translator (Portuguese>English), and interpreter (Portuguese<>English<>Spanish). Accredited by the Australian National Accreditation Authority Translators & Interpreters (NAATI). Experience includes environmental documents, scientific papers, court cases and legal matters.
EDUCATION
2011Jan-2015Jan Ph.D.: Ecology of coral reef algae, University of Queensland, Australia
2002Jan-2003Sep M.Sc.: Coral-algae competition, coral reproduction, James Cook University, Australia
2001Jan-2001Dec Grad. Dip. research methods: marine biology, James Cook University, Australia
1994Sep-1998Jun B.Sc. Hons, Ecological Science, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
TECHNICAL OR PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATIONS & SKILLS
Diving ADAS I & II commercial diving, P.A.D.I. Instructor, Nitrox
Boating Coxswains (unrestricted, vessels <12m)
Safety Senior First Aid & O2 resuscitation; International safety at sea (STCW95)
Fitness for mariners (AMSA valid Mar 2017); fitness for diving (AS2299 valid Oct 2016)
Computer literacy includes: R, Microsoft Office, Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom & Illustrator; basic ArcGIS
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Australian Coral Reef Society (secretary 2011-2013 council 2004-2014) www.australiancoralreefsociety.org
International Society for Reef Studies www.coralreefs.org
The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology www.imarest.org
REVIEWER FOR SCIENTIFIC JOURNALS
Coral Reefs, MEPS, Revista Biólogia Tropical, Restoration Ecology, Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, PeerJ.
AWARDS
• Australian Research Council Ph.D. Scholarship, 2011-2015
• Inaugural Laurie Prandolini Research Fellowship Award from IMarEst, 2013.
• BP conservation, John Muir Trust, Royal Geographic Society UK: projects Honduras 1996, Mozambique 1997.
LANGUAGES
Fluent English, Spanish & Portuguese (NAATI translator & interpreter), basic French, beginner Bahasa.
PUBLICATIONS & PRESENTATIONS
Scientific Peer Reviewed Publications (Citations 519, h-index = 5, i10 h-index = 4, Google Scholar 17 February 2017)
Roff, G. Doropoulis, Rogers, A., C., Bozec, Y., Kruec, N., Aurellado, E., Priest, M., Birrell, C., Mumby, P. (2016), The ecological role of sharks on coral reefs, Trends in Ecology & Evolution , Volume 31 , Issue 5 , 395 – 407
Roff, G. Doropoulis, Rogers, A., C., Bozec, Y., Kruec, N., Aurellado, E., Priest, M., Birrell, C., Mumby, P. (2016), Reassessing Shark-Driven Trophic Cascades on Coral Reefs: A Reply to Ruppert et al., Trends in Ecology & Evolution, Volume 31 , Issue 8: 587 – 589
Ceccarelli M, Beger M, Kospartov M, Richards Z, Birrell C (2011) Population trends of remote inverte-brate resources in marine reserve: trochus & holothurians at Ashmore Reef, Pacific Conservation Biology: 17:132-40
Baird, A. H., Birrell, C. L., Hughes, T. P., McDonald, A., Nojima, S, Page, C. A., Pratchett, M. S., Yamasaki H., (2009) Latitudinal variation in reproductive synchrony in Acropora assemblages: Japan vs. Australia, Galaxea: Journal of Coral Reef Studies 11: 101-108.
Birrell, C., McCook L., Willis, B. & Diaz-Pulido G. (2008) Effects of benthic algae on the replenishment of corals and the implications for the resilience of coral reefs; Oceanography Marine Biology Annual Review, 2008, 46, 25-63.
Birrell, C., McCook L., Willis, B. & Harrington L. (2008) Chemical effects of macroalgae on larval settlement of the broadcast spawning coral, A. millepora; Marine Ecology Progressive Series: 362:129-37.
Birrell, C., McCook, L. & Willis, B. (2005) Effects of algal turfs and sediment on coral settlement, Marine Pollution Bulletin 51: 408-414.
Note: Manuscripts from my PhD research are in submission and preparation process.
Professional Reports
Depczynski, M.D., Heyward, A., Birrell, C.B. (2009) Report on protocols for monitoring Ningaloo Reef Marine park pilot study findings; AIMS/WAMSI Node 3.1.2.
Gilmour, J.P., Travers, M.J., Underwood, J.N., McKinney, D.W., Gates, E.N. Birrell, C.L., Fitzgerald, K.L., (2008) The Status of Shallow-Water Coral and Fish Communities at Scott Reef: 2008; AIMS SRRP Annual Report 2008 – Project 1; 73pp.
Gilmour, J.P., Travers, M.J., McKinney, D.W., Fitzgerald, K.L, Birrell, C.L., Gates, E.N. (2008) Materials and methodology report Project 1.1, 1.2 and 1.4; AIMS SRRP Annual Report 2008 – Project 1; 16pp.
Ceccarelli, D., Kospartov, M., Beger, M., Richards, Z. and Birrell, C. (2007),“Ashmore Reef 2006 survey of the distribution and abundance of trochus, holothurians and tridacnid clams to assess the impact of recent illegal fishing on target invertebrate stocks.” C&R Consulting Pty Ltd. For Department of Environment & Water Resources, MPA Management, Australia.
Milne J., Guest, J., Todd, P. Hunt, J. Birrell C. (1996) A study of marine ecosystems of Honduran island Utila; Independent report to donors, 71pp.
Note: Industry related work I undertook between 2007-2012 restricted publication for commercial confidentiality.
Academic thesis
Birrell, C. (2016) Algal dynamics on coral reefs: a study of macroalgal traits and growth strategies of Lobophora J. Agardh (Dictyotales, Phaeophyceae), Ph.D. Thesis, The University of Queensland, Australia, pp168.
Birrell, C. (2003) Influences of benthic algae on coral settlement and post-settlement survival: implications for the recovery of disturbed and degraded reefs, M.Sc. Thesis, James Cook University, Australia, pp132.
Conference presentations
Birrell, C., Mumby, P., McCook, L., (2016) A functional analysis of algal assemblages on the Great Barrier Reef to estimate effects on coral community dynamics. 13th Coral Reef Symposium, https://www.sgmeet.com/icrs2016/sessionschedule.asp?SessionID=46
Birrell, C., Mumby, P., Diaz-Pulido, G., & Lovelock, C. (2014), Effects of light, flow and temperature on growth rates of Lobophora sp.: insights for algal dynamics on coral reefs, 88th Australian Coral Reef Society Conference, Brisbane, Australia.
Birrell, C. & Mumby P. (2012), Not all macroalgal dominated coral reefs are the same, 12th International Coral Reef Symposium, Cairns, Australia.
Birrell, C. & Heyward, A (2009), An appraisal of methodologies to survey coral recruitment efficiently in remote areas. Australian Coral Reef Society, Darwin, Australia.
Birrell, C.L., McCook L.J., Willis, B.L. & Diaz-Pulido G. A. (2008) Effects of benthic algae on the replenishment of corals and the implications for the resilience of coral reefs; 11th International Coral Reef Symposium, Fort Lauderdale Florida, U.S.A.
Birrell, C., et al. (2006) Linking marine research, conservation and management to an ecotourism operator; Australian Coral Reef Society, Mission Beach, Australia.
Birrell et al. (2005) Undersea Explorer: Shark & Nautilus study update, Australian Coral Reef Society conference, Heron Island, Australia (poster).
Birrell, C., McCook, L. & Willis, B. (2003) Coral Recruit Algae Interactions on the GBR; Australian Coral Reef Society Conference, Townsville, Australia.