Conservation Biologist

Jo graduated with a Bachelor of Marine Science from Macquarie University in 2004 and a PhD in 2010. Her PhD investigated the genetic structure, social organisation and mating system of bottlenose dolphins. During this time, Jo worked and volunteered on several other research projects, including a project on the population structure of two dolphin species in the Azores archipelago. Following her PhD, Jo conducted a post-doc project at Flinders University, Adelaide, on the population structure of sperm whales in Australian waters. This project was conducted using contemporary samples and historical samples dating back 60 years. 

Jo joined Taronga in November 2010 as a Research and Conservation Coordinator and is now a Conservation Biologist. Her research focuses on developing and applying modern genetic and animal tracking techniques to understand the population ecology of aquatic species, including little penguins, marine turtles and Port Jackson sharks. Jo has also established a conservation genetics laboratory at Taronga to conduct genetic analysis on threatened species in recovery programs to inform conservation management decisions.