Halley Durrant

Research

With the use of molecular techniques we are able to determine the direction of gene flow, the level of population connectivity and the amount of genetic variability within populations. Results will help to inform management how current marine parks are serving kelp populations and in turn the marine communities they support. It will also help to determine whether kelp forests have the dispersal capacity to re establish or supplement populations after stressors such as storms and increased temperatures arise.

My research focuses on four macroalgae species, three of which are found in various locations throughout Australia: Macrocystis pyrifera, Phyllospora comosa and Ecklonia radiata and one that is endemic to Tasmania: Lessonia corrugata.

Education

• PhD candidate at the University of Tasmania, Australia (2011-present)
• Honours at the University New South Wales, Sydney (2010)
• BSc Marine biology in the School of Zoology at the University of New South Wales, Sydney (2008) 

Publications

Durrant HMS, Barret NS, Edgar GJ, Coleman NA, Burridge CP (2015) Shallow phylogeographic histories of key species in a biodiversity hotspot. Phycologia, 54 , 556-565.

Durrant HMS, Burridge CP, Gardner MG (2015) Isolation via next-generation sequencing of microsatellites from the Tasmanian macroalgae Lessonia corrugata (Lessoniaceae). Applications in Plant Sciences, 3, 1500042.

Durrant HMS, Burridge CP, Kelaher BP, Barrett NS, Edgar GJ, Coleman MA (2014) Implications of macroalgal isolation by distance for networks of marine protected areas. Conservation Biology, 28, 438-445.

Durrant HMS, Clark GF, Dworjanyn SA, Byrne M, Johnston EL (2013) Seasonal variation in the effects of ocean warming and acidification on a native bryozoan, Celleporaria nodulosa. Marine Biology, 160, 1903–1911.