Joanne Oakes

Dr. Joanne Oakes is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Science and Engineering at Southern Cross University, where she also serves as Deputy Director of the Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry and Deputy Director of Higher Degree Training and Research. She holds a BSc(Hons) and PhD from Griffith University. With over 20 years of research experience, Dr. Oakes specializes in applying stable isotope techniques to investigate biogeochemical processes across coastal, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems.

Her research examines carbon and nitrogen cycling under environmental changes including nutrient enrichment, ocean acidification, and warming. Key focus areas include:

• Tracing element flows using isotope labelling in microphytobenthos, seagrass, and mangrove systems
• Climate change impacts on sediment biogeochemistry from the Arctic to tropics
• Coastal carbon dynamics including blue carbon ecosystems and greenhouse gas fluxes

Her recent publications demonstrate strong emphasis on coastal biogeochemistry (65% of last 15 articles), climate change interactions (40%), and methodological innovations in stable isotope applications (20%). Research spans fundamental microbial processes to global-scale carbon databases.

Awards & Recognition:

• Southern Cross University Research Award (2023)

Academic Leadership: Dr. Oakes has secured over $2.2M in research grants, supervises 5 current PhD students (with 2 completed), and has mentored 5 Honours students. She teaches undergraduate units including Cells and Molecules, Ecology for Natural and Managed Systems, and Biogeochemistry.

She leads research teams at the Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry focusing on isotope-enabled investigations of ecosystem processes. Current projects examine carbon-climate feedbacks in Australian estuaries and tropical blue carbon systems.