Dr Leigh Thwaites

Biography


Doctor Thwaites is a fisheries ecologist with over 20 years experience delivering scientific research to underpin natural resource management. He has a strong understanding of the biology, ecology and management of native and invasive freshwater fishes of southern Australia and extensive knowledge of current ecological, environmental, water and catchment related issues.

He is highly proficient in all aspects of ecological research, monitoring and analysis and has extensive experience managing and co-ordinating the operation of multi-disciplinary research teams. He has a proven track record at tailoring and communicating complex scientific concepts to a wide variety of stakeholders including scientists, natural resource managers, the community and volunteer groups.

He has significant experience producing scientific reports and journal articles and presenting research outcomes at national and international conferences, management workshops and community forums.

Research interests

  • Assessing the health of aquatic system using fish-based metrics and models
  • Developing cost effective management strategies and techniques for invasive species
  • Evaluating the success of reservoir stocking for recreational fishing
  • Understanding the influence of estuaries on freshwater and marine fish assemblages

Qualifications

  • PhD, 2006, Deakin University
  • BSc (Hon), 2002, Deakin University
  • BSc, 2000, Deakin University

Research affiliations

Affiliate Senior Lecturer, The University of Adelaide

Publications and reports

During the period from the 21st September 2009 to 18th January 2010, Lake Bonney received 26 GL of environmental water from the Murray River to maintain water conductivity …
Lake Albert is part of the Coorong, Lower Lakes and Murray Mouth Ramsar wetland. It was disconnected from Lake Alexandrina via an earthen levee in March/April 2008 to minimise evaporative water losses during drought conditions that have persisted since at least 2002. However, dec…
This monitoring study provided information on the status and trends in the condition of important aquatic ecological assets (i.e. fish) in the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges (AMLR) Natural Resource Management (NRM) area. The data informs reporting on state and regional NRM targe…
The objectives of this project were to conduct a field investigation to evaluate the effectiveness of new and existing carp exclusion screens (CES) and inform the ongoing management of CES at various Department for Environment and Water (DEW) managed Riverine Recovery Project (RR…
Common carp (Cyprinus carpio L.) are a successful invader and a declared pest fish in several countries including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. Carp are “ecosystem engineers” and when in high abundance, cause detrimental changes to benthic habitats, water …
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