Rachel Austin

Rachel Austin is a Research Officer at the School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia. She specializes in marine ecosystem conservation, with a focus on seagrass restoration and climate change adaptation. Her work contributes to UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 13 (Climate Action), 14 (Life Below Water), and 15 (Life on Land).

• ORCID: 0000-0003-2803-7545
• h-index: 48

Key research areas include:

• Seagrass metabolomics under climate stressors
• Comparative gene expression in marine plants
• Seed-based restoration methodologies
• Marine heatwave impacts on coastal ecosystems

Recent publications analyze:

• 2025: Long-term seagrass restoration case studies in Cockburn Sound
• 2024: Seed germination patterns in Posidonia species
• 2024: Brassinosteroid pathway activation under ocean warming
• 2023: Metabolic responses to marine heatwaves

She contributed to the grant-funded project Seagrass Restoration at Useless Loop, Shark Bay (2022-2023) with Shark Bay Resources Pty Ltd. Her interdisciplinary work combines molecular biology with field-based ecological restoration.