People

Alyssa was lucky to spend her teenage years growing up on the gorgeous northern New South Wales coast, where she snorkelled regularly and learnt to dive as part of the high school curriculum there. She completed her Bachelor of Science degree majoring in marine biology at James Cook University in Townsville before heading off to explore the world working in the dive and tourism industries. Alyssa eventually ended up at the University of Guam Marine Lab in Guam, Micronesia where she completed her Masters of Science degree investigating unicornfish movement patterns and population dynamics under the supervision of Dr Jennifer McIlwain, and worked as a Graduate Research Assistant with the Government of Guam Coral Reef Monitoring Group. Alyssa completed her PhD  investigating the ecological roles of herbivorous surgeonfish on coral reefs, under the supervision of Professor Peter Mumby, Dr Alastair Harborne and Dr Ian Tibbetts.