Dr Christopher Sean Hallett
BSc(Hons), MSc, PGCE, PhD

Email:

PROFILE

Highly proficient and qualified marine and estuarine research scientist with excellent written and oral communication skills. I am specialised in estuarine and nearshore marine fish ecology, ecological health assessment, monitoring and reporting, and indicator development, and have broad expertise across temperate and tropical ecosystems and faunal groups. I am now seeking a challenging and rewarding opportunity to further developmy leadership skills and apply my broad expertiseand experience within a strong team environment.

Experience

  • Volunteer research fellow (fisheries biology); CSIRO Marine Research, Tasmania (2003).
  • Senior Research Assistant, Murdoch University (2011-present).
  • Consultant (Aquenal Pty Ltd); lead Fish Specialist for wet and dry season baseline fish surveys on the Gorgon DomGas project, Pilbara (2010-2011).
  • PhD – developed and validated the first fish-based, multimetric index for quantifying the health of estuaries in Australia
  • MSc(Distinction) in Marine Environmental Protection.
  • Postgraduate Certificate in Secondary Education; Secondary schoolteacher; Science and Physical Education (2005-2006).
  • Teaching and Research assistant, Murdoch University(2007-2010).
  • Proven ability to design and undertake independent research, including estuarine fish surveys across Western Australia.
  • Marine research experience in the Irish Sea; benthic, fisheries and zooplankton surveys.
  • Board member, Centre for Fish and Fisheries Research (CFFR) Strategy Group.
  • Convenor / chair, CFFR student peer-review group and CFFR seminar series.
  • Reviewerfor peer-reviewed journals;Ecological Indicators, Marine and Freshwater Research.

Achievements - Teaching

  • Developed, taught and evaluated courses in biology (for years 7-13), chemistry (7-11) and physics (7-9), incl.responsibility for writing of lectures, assessment and reporting.
  • Established and conducted extension programs for Gifted and Talented students.
  • Trialled and evaluated formative assessment techniques with student groups.
  • Conducted supervision of International Baccalaureate student research projects.
  • Delivered pastoral care, behaviour management and Personal and Social Education programs as Year 7 form tutor; managed and coached rugby teams (years 9, 10, 11).
  • Laboratory demonstration for BIO 157 - Introduction to Australian Biodiversity; supervision ofstudent literature reviews and research projects in BIO 209 - Vertebrate Evolution and Adaptation; co-managed marine ecology field courses for ENV 268 (Murdoch University).

Achievements - Research

  • Awarded the 2010 Future Water Leaders award at the 13th International Riversymposium, Perth, WA.
  • Secured funding for project to validate health indices developed for the Swan Estuary ($80,000).
  • Secured funding for project to investigate the effects of artificial oxygenation on benthic macroinvertebrate communities in the Swan Estuary ($73,000).
  • Awarded a distinction for MSc in Marine Environmental Protection (included units on Environmental Impact Assessment, Ecotoxicology, Fisheries, Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Coastal/Maritime Law).
  • Consistent success in securinggrants and scholarships (NERC, IPRS, WAMSI).
  • Independentlydesigned, conducted and managed MSc project within a demanding 3 month deadline, having secured a Volunteer Research Fellowship at CSIRO.
  • Presented PhD work at CERF conference in Oregon, USA (2009) and at ECSA conference in Portugal (2010).

EDUCATION and EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

2011-presentSenior Research Assistant
Centre for Fish, Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystem Research, Murdoch University

Principal investigator:‘Validation of the fish assemblage-based index of estuarine health and development of a monitoring regime for the Swan-Canning Riverpark.’
Funded by the Swan River Trust and Murdoch University ($107,000).

Principal investigator: ‘Monitoring the effects of artificial oxygenation on macroinvertebrate fauna.’
Funded by the Swan River Trust ($73,000).

This position has enabled me to lead and manage two key research projects involving extensivefish and macro-benthic surveys of the Swan-Canning Estuary. I have applied my considerable experience and expertise in designing, implementing and overseeing sampling and monitoring programs, and have worked closely with government stakeholders to manage projects and deliver robust, cost-effective tools and outcomes for natural resource managers. In addition, I have contributed to studies lead by other CFFR researchers, includingbenthic macroinvertebrate studies in the Vasse-Wonerup wetlands and an investigation for DEC into the effects of a boat ramp development on the nearshore marine fish fauna of Cockburn Sound.

2010-2011Consultant – Lead Fish Specialist
Aquenal Pty Ltd

In my role as lead fish specialist, I was responsible for the design, planning and in-field implementation of dry season and wet season baseline demersal fish surveys for Chevron on the Gorgon DomGas project, Pilbara, including allpost-survey data analysis and report writing.

2007-2011PhD
Centre for Fish, Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystem Research, Murdoch University

‘Development and validation of an Estuarine Health Index using fish community characteristics’
Awarded an International Postgraduate Research Studentship($70,000) and a
Western Australian Marine Science Institute (WAMSI) PhD scholarship ($24,000).

2007-2011Graduate Research Assistant
Murdoch University

Co-investigator: ‘Development of biotic indices for establishing and monitoring ecosystem health of the Swan-Canning Estuary.’

Funded by the Swan River Trust, Department of Water, Department of Fisheries ($434,000).

Co-investigator: ‘Relationships between fish faunas and habitat type in south-western Australian estuaries.’

Funded by the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation ($480,000).

Considerable experience in conducting field surveys; involving bathymetric mapping, the sampling of fish and macroinvertebrate communities across many estuaries in southern WA, and taxonomic identification of estuarine and nearshore marine fish species.

2007-presentTeaching assistant
Murdoch University
Laboratory demonstration (unit BIO 157- Introduction to Australian Biodiversity).Supervision of student literature reviews and research projects (unit BIO 209 - Vertebrate Evolution and Adaptation).Management ofmarine ecology field courses (unit ENV 268 - Ecology).

2005-2006Secondary School Teacher

Dartford Grammar School, Kent, UK

2004-2005Post-Graduate Certificate in Secondary Education
Christ Church University College, Canterbury, UK

2002-2003MSc. Marine Environmental Protection (Distinction)
University of Wales, Bangor, UK
Awarded a Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Studentship (£7,000)
and NERC overseas fieldwork research grant (£2,500).

1998-2001BSc. (Hons.) Biology (2.1)
University of Manchester, UK

RESEARCH SUMMARY

My current research projects focus onestuarine fish and macroinvertebrate community ecology, the concept of ecological health, its monitoring and assessment, and the use of ecological indicators for aquatic ecosystem management and reporting. In addition, my broad research interests include approaches to managing and restoring estuaries, wetlands and other ecosystems; the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem function; studies of trophic partitioning among fish; the factors affecting the temporal and spatial distributions of organisms, and multivariate methods for analysing ecological data.

Peer-reviewed publications

Hallett, C.S., Hall, N.G., Valesini, F.J., Veale, L.J. (In prep.).Equivalence factors for standardising catch data across multiple beach seine nets to account for differences in net-specific bias.

Hallett, C., Barton, J., Coade, G., Crawford, C., Creese, B., Elsdon, T., Gillanders, B., Moss, A.,
Robb, M., Ross, J., Rotherham, D., Scanes, P., Scheltinga, D., Valesini, F. (In prep.). Assessment and monitoring of estuarine health across Australia: a review.

Hoeksema, S.D., Hallett, C.S. (In prep.). Inter-decadal changes in the composition of estuarine fish communities in response to warming trends.

Hallett, C.S., Valesini, F.J., Clarke, K.R. (2011).A method for selecting health index metrics in the absence of independent measures of ecological condition.Ecological Indicators.doi: 10.1016/j.eolind.2011.07.002

Hallett, C.S. and Daley, R.K.(2010). Feeding ecology of the southern lanternshark (Etmopterus baxteri) and the brown lanternshark (E. unicolor) from south-eastern Australia. ICES J. Mar. Sci.68 (1): 157-165.

Theses, reports and other publications

Hallett, C.S., Valesini, F.J.(2011). Validation of the fish assemblage-based index of estuarine health and development of a monitoring regime for the Swan-Canning Riverpark. Final Report to the Swan River Trust. Murdoch University.

Aquenal Pty Ltd.(2011). DomGas Marine Baseline Survey Dry and Wet Season Report: Demersal Fish Assemblages Characterising Mangrove Communities. Prepared for Chevron Australia.

Hallett, C.S.(2010). The development and validation of an estuarine health index using fish community characteristics (PhD thesis, Murdoch University).

Valesini, F.J., Hallett, C.S., Cottingham, A., Hesp, S.A., Hoeksema, S.D., Hall, N.G., Linke, T.E., Buckland, A.J.(2010). Development of biotic indices for establishing and monitoring ecosystem health of the Swan-Canning Estuary. Final Report to the Swan River Trust, Department of Water, Department of Fisheries. Murdoch University.

Valesini, F.J., Coen, N.J., Wildsmith, M.D., Hourston, M., Tweedley, J.R., Hallett, C.S., Linke, T.E., Potter, I.C. (2009). Relationships between fish faunas and habitat type in south-western Australian estuaries. FRDC Project 2004/045 Final Report. Murdoch University.

Hallett, C.S., Valesini, F.J., Potter, I.C.(2007).Fish community characteristics as indicators of estuarine health: Discussion paper. Swan River Trust, East Perth.

Hallett, C.S. (2003).Thediet of Etmopterus baxteri and E. sp. B from waters off Tasmania (M.Sc. thesis, University of Wales, Bangor).

Hallett, C.S. (2001).Effects of light wavelength on metamorph fitness of the leaf frog Phyllomedusalemur(B.Sc. thesis, University of Manchester).

Seminar / Conference presentations

2011 Hallett, C.S.,Valesini, F.J. How healthy is the Swan-Canning Estuary? Assessing ecological health using fish-based indices. (River Forum, Perth).

2011Hallett, C.S.Establishing reference conditions for multimetric health indices: the benefits and challenges of historical data sets. (Australian Marine Science Association conference, Fremantle).

2011Hallett, C.S. and Valesini, F.J. Progress towards fish-based multimetric indices for assessing and monitoring the ecological health of the Swan-Canning Estuary. (National Estuaries Network symposium, Perth).

2010Hallett, C.S.Assessing the health of estuaries: an Australian perspective (or “How do we catch up?”). (Plenary presentation; Riversymposium, Perth).

2010Hallett, C.S. and Valesini, F.J. A fish-based Estuarine Health Index for the Swan Estuary, WA. (Riversymposium, Perth).

2010Hallett, C.S. and Valesini, F.J. Developing a multimetric estuarine health index for the Swan Estuary, Western Australia: An approach for selecting fish community metrics in the absence of independent measures of ecological condition. (Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association conference, Figueira de Foz, Portugal).

2009Hallett, C.S. and Valesini, F.J. The development of a multimetric index of ecosystem health for the Swan Estuary, Western Australia: Metric selection. (Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation conference, Portland, Oregon, USA). Funded by a Murdoch University International Conference Travel Award.

2009Hallett, C.S. and Valesini, F.J. The development and validation of an estuarine health index using fish community characteristics. (8th Indo Pacific Fish conference, Fremantle).

2009Hallett, C.S. Selection of metrics for incorporation into an Estuarine Health Index. (Swan River Trust Research Program Showcase, Perth).

2008Hallett, C.S. Selection of metrics for establishing an index of estuarine health (AMSA 6th Annual Student conference, Rottnest Island).

2007Hallett, C.S.Fish as Indicators of Estuarine Health (presented at: Centre for Ecosystem Management Seminar Series, Edith Cowan University; AMSA 5th Annual Student Conference, Rottnest Island;

National Estuaries Network Public Forum: ‘Estuary Science for a Changing Climate’, Perth).

Poster presentations

2011 Hallett, C.S., Valesini, F.J.An overview of fish-based estuarine health indices developed for the Swan-Canning Riverpark. (River Forum, Perth).

2011Hallett, C.S.Spatial and temporal variability of multimetric health index scores: implications for management. (Australian Marine Science Association Conference, Fremantle).

2009Hallett, C.S. and Daley, R.K.Feeding ecology of the southern lanternshark, Etmopterus baxteri, and the brown lanternshark, E. unicolor, from south-eastern Australia (8thIndo-Pacific Fish Conference, Fremantle).

Current Society / Association Memberships

Australian Marine Science Association (AMSA)

Australian Society for Fish Biology (ASFB)

Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association (ECSA)

Oceania Chondrichthyan Society (OCS)

Western Australian Fish Foundation (WAFF) – Board Member

Centre for Fish, Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystem Research (CFFAER) – Strategy Group Member

Swan River Trust Technical Advisory Panel

Swan River TrustEstuarine Report Cards Working Group

PERSONAL DETAILS

Address: 54d Mint Street, East Victoria Park, WA 6101British Citizen (AUS - permanent resident).

E-mail: B: 07/08/79

Telephone: (08) 9355 0765 Mobile: 0420 636399Marital Status: Married

  • Qualified SCUBA diver, PADI Open Water and Advanced Open Water levels
  • Recreational Skipper’s Ticket and 1,000+ boating hours on inshore waters
  • Clean driving licence

REFERENCES

Dr. Fiona Valesini Centre for Fish, Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystem Research,

Murdoch University, South Street, Murdoch, WA 6150. Telephone: 9239 8805

Prof. Ian PotterCentre for Fish, Fisheries and Aquatic Ecosystem Research,

Murdoch University,South Street, Murdoch,WA 6150. Telephone: 9239 8801

Mr. Sean RileyAquenal Pty Ltd,