Alejandro Tagliafico Guzman

Dr Alejandro Tagliafico Guzman is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow and Technical Officer in Marine Science and Aquaculture at Southern Cross University’s National Marine Science Centre, located within the Faculty of Science and Engineering in Coffs Harbour, Australia. With more than a decade of experience, he bridges pure research and applied marine management in tropical and temperate systems.

Education

• BSc (Hons) Marine Biology – Southern Cross University (2000–2005)
• PhD – Southern Cross University (2014–2018)

Research Interests

Tagliafico’s work centres on marine ecology, fisheries biology, aquaculture and the conservation of coral reefs. He pursues questions that range from the physiological limits of corals under climate stress to the socio-economic resilience of small-scale fishing communities in the Pacific and Caribbean. His projects integrate field ecology, experimental aquaculture, geochemical proxies and social surveys to deliver solutions for coastal management.

Publication Trends

Across over 50 peer-reviewed articles since 2007, his research exhibits three dominant strands: (1) coral-reef responses to thermal stress and innovative shading interventions, (2) life-history and conservation of elasmobranchs and other exploited taxa, and (3) socio-economic evaluations of fishery development and resource diversification. Recent work (2022–2024) increasingly targets climate-adaptation tools such as lipid-enriched diets and engineered shading for reef restoration.

Scientific Outreach & Awards

• Director/Producer, Ciencia para todos / Science for All TV series (13 × 24-min episodes, 2011)
• Director/Producer, Pura Pesca, Estilo Venezolano TV series (13 × 24-min episodes, 2009)
• Creator of 20+ short science-communication videos covering diverse research projects

Supervision & Teaching

Tagliafico has supervised Honours and Masters students and lectures in Fisheries Biology, Physiology of Marine Organisms and general Biology. Prospective doctoral candidates are encouraged to contact him regarding higher-degree research opportunities at the National Marine Science Centre.

Laboratory & Field Facilities

His research is anchored at the National Marine Science Centre, Coffs Harbour, where he has access to wet-lab aquaria, analytical chemistry labs, boat access to Solitary Islands reefs, and collaborative links with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP).