Charlotte Birkmanis

Charlotte Birkmanis is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the UWA Oceans Institute, affiliated with the School of Earth and Oceans at The University of Western Australia. Her work bridges academia, industry, and public engagement in marine conservation and science communication. She holds a PhD from The University of Western Australia and multiple undergraduate degrees from Queensland universities, including a Bachelor of Applied Science (Ecology), Bachelor of Arts (International and Global Studies with Mandarin Chinese), and a first-class honors degree in Biomechanics and Marine Biology.

Education:

• PhD (Marine Biology) – University of Western Australia (2022)
• BSc (Honours, Biomechanics/Marine Biology) – University of Queensland
• BAppSc (Ecology) – Queensland University of Technology
• BA (International and Global Studies/Mandarin) – Queensland University of Technology

Research Interests: Charlotte focuses on shark behavior and movement ecology, climate change impacts on marine ecosystems, and science communication strategies. She actively addresses predator conservation, media portrayal of sharks, and the ecological importance of apex predators in marine food webs. Her methodologies include tagging, satellite tracking, and statistical modeling to predict future shark distributions under climate change scenarios.

Awards: Charlotte has received prestigious recognitions such as Fresh Science, Robson and Robertson Award, and Superstar of STEM (Science and Technology Australia). She is a STEM Ambassador and has contributed to initiatives like the Three Minute Thesis competition.

Professional Roles: She serves as a State Representative for the Australian Society for Fish Biology, General Council member of the Oceania Chondrichthyan Society, and has held leadership roles in the Australian Marine Sciences Association. Charlotte’s consulting work spans offshore renewable energy projects and marine megafauna management.

Labs/Teams: She collaborates with interdisciplinary teams on projects involving predictive modeling, marine spatial planning, and public outreach through media platforms, podcasts, and children’s literature.