Andrew is a marine biologist whose research on reefs, beginning with a PhD at James Cook University, has taken him to tropical locations worldwide since the 1980s. His current work, within the AIMS Sustainable Use of NW Marine Ecosystems team, is divided between studies of coral reproduction and exploratory surveys to uncover little studied coastal and offshore habitats in northwest Australia. In 1994 he led the establishment of long term reef monitoring at Scott Reef, the foundation of a study that continues to this day. Subsequently he has pioneered a systematic evaluation of the numerous submerged shoals lying across the Oceanic Shoals bioregion of north west Australia.
Expeditions to assess areas too deep or dangerous for divers has produced new insights into the near-shore environments of the northwest, especially the rich sponge gardens in offshore areas of the Ningaloo Marine Park World Heritage Area and the highly diverse and complex fringing coral reefs of the Kimberley coast. This research is in its discovery phase and is expected to bring recognition to the globally significant diversity of benthic marine habitats in the northwest and Timor Sea.
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