Zoe T. Richards Australian Marine Sciences Association 2025 Conference

Zoe T. Richards

I am a scleractinian coral taxonomist with over 25 years of global research experience. I have undertaken species-level coral biodiversity and benthic cover surveys across the Indo-Pacific. I have described two new coral species and curated over 6000 specimens across multiple museums. With training in molecular techniques from several laboratories, I lead the Coral Conservation and Research Group (CORE) within the Trace and Environmental DNA Laboratory at Curtin University and my group focuses on biodiversity conservation, phylogeography and population genetics of coral reef fauna. One of my earliest projects involved assessingthe resilience of corals at Bikini Atoll post-nuclear testing. I am a member of the IUCN Coral Specialist Group, and my work informs policies on threatened species. I coordinate a Marine Ecology unit at Curtin University and serve as the Marine Invertebrate Curator at the Western Australian Museum. I have received numerous awards and fellowships over my career including a Tall Poppy Award and a Churchill Fellowship.