Winner announced for early career researcher award – The Applied Ecologist

Journal of Utilized Ecology is delighted to announce Dominic McAfee because the winner of the 2023 Southwood Prize! The award is given yearly to one of the best article within the journal by an writer firstly of their profession. This yr, Dominic was chosen by the Senior Editors from a powerful shortlist of 12 articles. 

Winner: Dominic McAfee

Analysis: Soundscape enrichment enhances recruitment and habitat constructing on new oyster reef restorations

In regards to the analysis

Over the previous decade, we’ve seen the rise of a cool new area – soundscape ecology, the research of sounds in nature to know ecological dynamics throughout spatial and temporal scales. The work of Dominic McAfee and colleagues represents an revolutionary stride on this area, elucidating the pivotal position of marine soundscapes within the restoration of oyster reefs.

This analysis highlights the effectiveness of soundscape enrichment by means of using cost-effective marine audio system (constructed by the lead writer!). Oyster recruitment elevated by an element of as much as 18 instances in websites the place audio system performed recordings collected from wholesome reefs. The authors additionally noticed a 4.3-fold enhance within the building of three-dimensional habitats in sound-enriched websites.

This can be a nice instance of the kind of article Journal of Utilized Ecology needs to publish. It combines strong ecological science with inventive pondering, and has the potential to reshape the way in which managers design habitat restoration programmes.

In regards to the winner

Dominic is a marine ecologist on the College of Adelaide in South Australia. His work facilities on the restoration of degraded marine ecosystems, and he has a specific ardour for restoring misplaced oyster reefs. Dominic works on the seafloor, within the lab, and with coastal communities to assist guarantee marine restoration efforts are each a social and ecological success.

Underwater, his analysis focuses on options to reinforce restoration processes, corresponding to enjoying the pure sounds of the ocean to summon oyster larvae to new restoration websites. On land, he’s curious about supporting extra community-led restoration efforts to attach individuals in caring for his or her coastlines.

Learn the profitable article “Soundscape enrichment enhances recruitment and habitat constructing on new oyster reef restorations” in Journal of Utilized Ecology. You too can view the entire record of shortlisted articles in our Digital Concern.

Dominic’s podcast episode discussing his analysis and what it’s wish to be an ecologist might be discovered on Spotify, on SoundCloud and on Apple Music.