Declan Stick

Declan Stick is a PhD candidate and Casual Teaching academic at the School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, with research focused on coral genetics and reef resilience mechanisms. His work directly contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals for environmental conservation.

His academic background includes:

• Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Sciences (2022-2026)
• First Class Honours in Zoology and Genetics (2020-2021)
• Bachelor of Science with double major in Genetics and Zoology (2017-2020)

Stick's research investigates coral health responses to climate stressors, specializing in genetic mechanisms of thermal tolerance and bleaching prevention. His fingerprint shows deep expertise in Coral Bleaching (100%), Climate Change impacts (100%), Reef systems (100%), and Thermal Stress physiology (100%), with significant contributions to Heat Tolerance (50%) and Light Stress (33%) research.

His 2024 publication analyzes light-heat interactions in coral stress responses, revealing critical thresholds for bleaching events and identifying phenotypic markers for reef resilience under climate change scenarios.

Major recognitions include:

• Best Student Poster Presenter (2023)
• Keiran McNamara World Heritage PhD Top-Up Scholarship (2022)
• Research Training Program Fees Offset Scholarship (2022)

Stick serves as Field Team Leader at Pendoley Environmental Pty. Ltd. (2021-present), conducting applied reef conservation fieldwork while managing academic teaching responsibilities. His media features include PeerJ Award coverage (2023) and scholarship recognition for reef conservation research (2022).