Mariana Fuentes is originally from Brazil but moved to Australia almost a decade ago to become a marine biologist. Initially, she was interested in manta rays but life took her in a different direction and she was instantly captivated by sea turtles while conducting an internship at TAMAR project (Sea turtle conservation project in Brazil). Since then, Maria has always felt motivated to work at places that seek conservation and management of sea turtles through community involvement and education. As a result she has worked at various projects in Australia, Brazil, Madagascar, Vanuatu and Barbados.

She was awarded a PhD Cum Laude (university medal) in May 2010 from James Cook University, Australia. During her PhD she assessed the vulnerability of the northern Great Barrier Reef (nGBR) green turtle population to climate change. One of the outcomes from her PhD was the development of a systematic and comprehensive framework to assess how multiple climatic processes will affect sea turtle nesting grounds at a population scale. This framework aided the identification of the climatic processes that will cause the most impact on the terrestrial reproductive phase of the nGBR green turtle population and identified how the vulnerability of this population to climate change will change as the impacts of different climatic process are mitigated.

Now that her PhD is finalized, Maria is working at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, where she has undertaken an ARC Super Science Fellowship. The aim of her research for the next three years will be to develop systematic priorities for the management of marine mega-fauna to increase their resilience to climate change. This project will revolutionize priority setting for conservation management in Australia, reduce the effects of climate change on mega-fauna, and enhance the effectiveness of large conservation investments. The project will also provide a foundation for more effective conservation investments in many other regions.

Through her work, she hopes to inspire and motivate people to re-connect with nature and to take better care of it, in the hope that we can each do our part in protecting and conserving the world.

When not working Maria enjoys mountain biking, playing capoeira and most recently meditating.

Ecology, Australia, National geographic, Research & Exploration, Marine Biologists, Biologists, Biology, Marine Biology