Rate My Professor Adriana Verges

Adriana Vergés is a Professor in marine ecology in the School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences at UNSW Sydney and at the Sydney Institute of Marine Science. She earned her PhD Cum Laude from the University of Barcelona between 2003 and 2007, MSc in Science Communication with 1st Class Honours from Dublin City University between 1998 and 1999, and BSc (Hons) in Marine Science with 1st Class Honours from the National University of Ireland Galway between 1994 and 1998. As Director of the Kelp Forest Alliance, she oversees initiatives for kelp forest conservation and restoration worldwide. Vergés co-founded Operation Crayweed and Operation Posidonia, community science projects that have engaged thousands of volunteers in restoring crayweed kelp forests and Posidonia seagrass meadows along Sydney Harbour and New South Wales coastlines over the past decade. Her career integrates ecological research with public involvement, science communication, and collaborations with artists on participatory exhibitions to highlight marine ecosystem challenges.

Her research specializations include community ecology excluding invasive species, marine and estuarine ecology including marine ichthyology, and ecological impacts of climate change, with a focus on temperate marine habitats such as kelp forests and seagrass meadows. Key interests encompass plant-herbivore interactions, tropicalisation, and ecosystem restoration strategies. Vergés has authored over 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles and book chapters, accumulating more than 13,900 citations. Notable publications include 'The tropicalization of temperate marine ecosystems: climate-mediated changes in herbivory and community phase shifts' (Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 2014), 'Latitudinal variation in seagrass herbivory: Global patterns and explanatory mechanisms' (Global Ecology and Biogeography, 2018), 'Operation Crayweed: Ecological and sociocultural aspects of restoring Sydney’s underwater forests' (Ecological Management & Restoration, 2020), and 'The Kelp Forest Challenge: A collaborative global movement to protect and restore 4 million hectares of kelp forests' (Journal of Applied Phycology, 2024). She has received the UNSW Emerging Thought Leader Prize in 2019, the WINGS Women of Discovery Award in 2024, and the Green Globe Award for Operation Crayweed in 2017. Through these contributions, Vergés advances marine conservation and influences policy and public engagement on ocean health.