Nature Matters: Sea Urchin Predators and Population

Join PhD candidate, Jeremy Day, for a glimpse into the world of long-spined urchins and their biggest predator - the Eastern Rock Lobster.

Jeremy will talk about his research, the ecology of our ocean, and what the future might hold for these fascinating creatures.

About Jeremy:

Jeremy is a PhD candidate at the University of Newcastle where he studies the feeding ecology of urchins and their predators, with a focus on Centrostephanus rodgersii (long-spined urchin) and Sagmariasus verreauxi (Eastern Rock Lobster). He was a diver, skipper and research assistant on the Great Barrier Reef all through his undergraduate degree which he completed in 2017 at James Cook University.

After this, he spent time as an occupational diver controlling Crown Of Thorns Starfish in QLD and then as a commercial diver collecting pearl shell in WA. In 2019 he returned to his hometown of Wollongong to study, where he undertook an Honors year at the University of Wollongong, completing a novel assessment of S. verreauxi as an urchin predator with some surprising results. This has led to Jeremy’s current work at University Of Newcastle, which is expected to be completed in 2025.