Paul is the Professor of Marine Ecology in the School of Science and Director of the Centre for Marine Ecosystems Research.
Current Teaching
- Coastal and Marine Management
- Fisheries and Aquaculture
- Environmental Investigations and Monitoring
Background
Paul Lavery has over 20 year’s experience working in applied marine science. He has worked in the Government sector in Australia and the USA and on some of the major marine restoration projects in Australia and overseas, including the Peel-Harvey Management Programme, the Boston Harbor Cleanup
Programme and the Perth Coastal Waters Study. He was a contracted expert assisting in the development of the State’s first State Environmental Policy and has assisted in marine park planning through his involvement in several scientific reference groups. He is currently a member of the working
group revising the ANZECC Water Quality Guidelines (biological monitoring). He is a past Head of School and Associate Dean of Research and Higher Degrees.
- 2008-2012: Associate Dean Research and Higher Degrees, Faculty of Computing, Health and Science, ECU
- 2006-present: Professor of Marine Ecology, School of Natural Sciences, ECU
- 2002-2006: Head of School of Natural Sciences
- 2001-2002: Associate Professor in Environmental Management, Edith Cowan University
- 1994-2001: Lecturer and Senior Lecturer in Environmental Management, Edith Cowan University
- 1993-1994: Marine Ecologist, Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, Boston, USA
- 1992-1993: Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, The University of Western Australia
- 1990-1992: Environmental Officer, The Water Authority of Western Australia.
- 1989-1990: Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, University of Western Australia
Professional Associations
- Australian Marine Sciences Association
- Ecological Society of Australia
- World Seagrass Association
- International Association for Sediment-Water Science
- IUCN Species Survival Commission – Seagrass Specialist Group
- Director – Westcycle (Western Australia's peak body for the development of cycling)
Awards and Recognition
University and National Teaching Awards
- 2015: Vice-Chancellor's Award for Engagement in Learning and Teaching
Research Areas and Interests
- Marine ecology and management (with a focus on seagrass and estuarine ecosystems)
- The role and lifecycle of wrack in marine ecosystems
- Impacts of dredging on benthic marine ecosystems
- The eco-physiology of seagrasses
- Carbon capture and storage in seagrass ecosystems
- The development of monitoring indicators and protocols for marine ecosystems
- Eco-hydraulics – the role of wave s and water movement in structuring benthic marine ecosystems