Dr Megan Saunders
Marine Spatial Ecology Lab
School of Biological Sciences
University of Queensland
St. Lucia Brisbane, Qld 4072
Australia
phone: +61 7 334 67074
email: m.saunders1@uq.edu.au
skype: megan_saunders
Research Interests
Effects of climate change on marine ecosystems; Spatial ecology; Benthic marine ecology; Biological oceanography; Invasive species; Population dynamics; Connectivity; Larval ecology; Conservation; Bio-physical interactions; Design and function of marine reserves
Current Research
I am examining the effects of rising sea levels on the distribution and productivity of coastal ecosystems, such as seagrass meadows, coral reefs, and mangroves, of Southeast Queensland, the Great Barrier Reef, and Torres Strait Islands. This research is a component of the interdisciplinary Australia Sea Level Rise University Project at the UQ Global Change Institute.
Career
2011-Present ASLURP Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Global Change Institute, University of Queensland
2010 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Oceans Institute, University of Western Australia
2004-2009 PhD Candidate, Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Canada
2003 Logistics and Research Intern, Earthwatch Institute, Belize
2003 Naturalist & Divemaster, Nautilus Explorer dive charter boat, British Columbia, Canada
2002-2004 Marine Educator, Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre, Canada
2002-2004 Project Coordinator, Bamfield Eelgrass Stewardship Project, Canada
2002 Laboratory Technician, Simon Fraser University, Bamfield, Canada
2001 Naturalist, Vancouver Aquarium Marine Science Centre, Vancouver, Canada
1999 Laboratory Technician, St. Paul’s Hospital, Vancouver, Canada
Qualifications
2010 PhD, Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
2002 BSc, Department of Biology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Awards
- 2010 Nomination for the Canadian Association of Graduate Studies Distinguished Dissertation Award
- 2010 Endeavour Research Fellowship, Australian Government
- 2007-2009 National Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Canada Graduate Scholarship D-2
- 2007-2009 Izaak Walton Killam Predoctoral Scholarship
- 2007-2008 Dalhousie Faculty of Graduate Studies President’s Award
- 2007 Women Divers Hall of Fame Scholarship
- 2005-2006 NSERC Postgraduate Scholarship MSc
- 2005 Kathy Ellis Memorial Book Prize
- 2004-2005 NSERC Canada Graduate Scholarship MSc
- 2004-2009 Dalhousie Faculty of Graduate Studies Scholarship
- 2001 Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre Tuition Fund
- 1997 British Columbia Passport to Education
Publications
- Brown CJ, Saunders MI, Possingham HP, Richardson AJ. In press. Managing for interactions between local and global stressors of ecosystems. PLoS ONE
- Saunders MI, Leon J, Phinn SR, Callaghan D, O’Brien K, Roelfsema C, Lovelock C, Lyons M, Mumby P. (2013) Coastal retreat and improved water quality mitigate losses of seagrass from sea level rise. Global Change Biology (website)
- Leon Patino J, Phinn S, Hamylton S, Saunders MI. (2013) Filling the ‘white ribbon’ – A seamless multisource Digital Elevation/Depth Model for Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef. International Journal of Remote Sensing
- Saunders MI, Thompson PA, Jeffs AG, Sӓwstrӧm C, Sachlikidis N, Beckley LE, Waite AM (2012) Fussy feeders: Phyllosoma larvae of the Western Rocklobster (Panulirus cygnus) demonstrate prey preference. PLoS ONE 7(5): e36580. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0036580 (website)
- Saunders MI, Metaxas A (2010) Physical forcing of bryozoan larval distributions in a coastal embayment. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 418: 131-145
- Saunders MI, Metaxas A, Filgueira R (2010) Implications of warming temperatures for population outbreaks of a nonindigenous species (Membranipora membranacea, Bryozoa) in rocky subtidal ecosystems. Limnol. Oceanog. 55(4): 1627-1642
- Saunders MI, Metaxas A (2009) Population dynamics of a nonindigenous epiphytic bryozoan in the western North Atlantic: effects of kelp substrate. Aquat. Biol. 8: 83-94
- Saunders MI, Metaxas A (2009) Effects of temperature, size, and food on the growth of Membranipora membranacea in laboratory and field studies. Mar. Biol. 156: 2267-2276
- Metaxas A, Saunders MI (2009) Quantifying the “bio-” components in biophysical models of invertebrate larval transport: advances and pitfalls. Biol. Bull. 216: 257-272
- Saunders M, Metaxas A (2008) High recruitment of the introduced bryozoan Membranipora membranacea is associated with kelp bed defoliation in Nova Scotia, Canada. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 369: 139-151
- Saunders M, Metaxas A (2007) Temperature explains settlement patterns of the introduced bryozoan Membranipora membranacea in Nova Scotia, Canada. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 344: 95-10
Theses
- Saunders MI (2009) Causes and consequences of outbreaks of an introduced species in kelp beds. PhD Thesis, Dalhousie University. Completed October 2009
- Saunders MI (2001) Influence of hydrodynamics on Zostera marina L. meadows in Barkley Sound. Undergraduate Directed Research, Simon Fraser University. Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre Student Reports no. 233. Completed December 200
Conference Proceedings
- Leon J, Phinn SR, Woodroffe CD, Hamylton S, Roelfsema C, Saunders MI (2012) Data fusion for mapping coral reef geomorphic zones: possibilities and limitations. Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 7-9
- O’Brien KR, Grinham AR, Roelfsema CM, Saunders MI, Dennison WC (2011) Viability criteria for the presence of the seagrass Zostera muelleri in Moreton Bay, based on benthic light dose. Modelling and Simulation Society of Australia and New Zealand, Perth, Australia, December 12 – 16 2011.
Grants
- 2011 University of Queensland Early Career Research Grant
- 2011 University of Queensland New Staff Research Start-Up Grant
- 2006 Dalhousie Faculty of Graduate Studies Conference Travel Grant
- 2004 PADI Project Aware Foundation Grant
- 2002 TD Bank Friends of the Environment Fund
- 2002 HR MacMillan Biodiversity Fund