Supporting Young Australian Marine Scientists
Brisbane resident, Libby Liggins was recently announced as the winner of a $7,000 science grant from the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife.
Each year the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife and the Humane Society International each offer a Marine Science Grant of up to $7,000 to support research of Australian marine ecosystems. The Paddy Pallin Foundation offers a sister Science Grant of up to $7,000 to support field-based, high-quality ecological research each year.
The grants are open to Postgraduate students and Early Career Researchers (within 3 years of completing a PhD) and are administered by the Royal Zoological Society of New South Wales.
Ms Liggins, a PhD candidate of the University of Queensland, receives the $7,000 to complete her research into reef fish populations.
Ms Liggins explains, “Most reef animals live a double life. The first part of life is lived as an egg or larva out in the open ocean. The second part of life begins once they have ‘settled’ onto reef habitat and become relatively sedentary as juveniles and adults.”
“This begs the question – is the composition of an adult population shaped more by what gets to the reef, or what is able to survive there?” said Ms Liggins.
“My project aims to measure population connectivity for the neon damsel fish throughout much of its range using microsatellites, and to assess the influence of larval dispersal in shaping the adult population, versus what happens after larvae settle onto a reef,” Ms Liggins said.
“Libby’s research will have implications for the allocation of conservation resources in the future,”said Mr Steve Corbett, CEO of the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife. “It will help determine whether funds would be better spent on managing pressures on a reef, or instead on managing fish and larval populations.”
Ms Liggins said that, “The Foundation’s Science Grant will enable me to continue age structured sampling of a damsel fish population this summer at Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef.”
“Light traps will be set near the reef in the evening to catch larvae just before they settle onto the reef after having swum around in the open ocean for anytime up to a month. These traps are fixed on a mooring and emit light during the night that attracts the larvae into the trap.”
“I will also be taking genetic samples from juvenile and adult fish that have already made the reef their home. This will help me develop an understanding of how the genetic composition of the whole population may shift according to who arrives on the reef and who survives on the reef,” she said.
“I am very grateful to the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife for providing me with this research grant,” said Ms Liggins.
“We are proud to support Libby’s research, as it will lead to tangible outcomes for conservation and management within one of Australia’s most iconic marine environments,” said Mr Corbett.
“This collaboration with our conservation partners is essential in helping fund essential conservation related research work,” Mr Corbett said of the science grant program.
The next round of science grants for PhD and Early Career Researchers will open in May 2012. Visit www.rzsnsw.org.au for details.
For information on the grant program, contact Associate Professor Peter Banks via This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .
