Biography
Dr Leo Dutra is a Senior Research Scientist at CSIRO with multi-disciplinary expertise linking ecological processes, stakeholder engagement, governance and decision-making to support resource management, conservation and adaptation. He has a BSC (Honours) in Biology, MSC in Marine Geology, and PhD in Ecological Economics. Between 1998 and 2004 Leo was involved in a number of research projects in Brazil looking at the ecology of marine organisms, Present and Past (Holocene) climate change impacts on coral reefs, and effects of sedimentation on reef corals. In 2004 Leo came from Brazil to Australia to do his PhD at the Centre for Ecological Economics and Water Policy Research at the University of New England looking at coral reef management issues in Timor-Leste.
Since then and after joining CSIRO in 2008, he gained extensive experience in the fields of fisheries and coastal management, marine conservation, water quality management from catchments to coastal waters, adaptive management, modelling, participatory approaches, stakeholder engagement, governance and decision-making processes. He worked in projects in iconic Kakadu National Park and the Great Barrier Reef, South East Queensland and, more recently in Torres Strait. Between 2015 and 2017 Leo took leave from CSIRO to lecture and research at the University of the South Pacific (Fiji). He taught courses related to coral reef ecology, marine spatial planning and marine geology and ran a research program looking at coral reef socio-ecological systems in Fiji.
Leo has led and participated in project teams that have tackled complex ecological, fisheries, climate change and coastal zone management issues in Brazil, East-Timor, Australia and Fiji. He has developed and applied methods to understand social, ecological, economic and governance system interactions to effectively link science, knowledge systems and resource management.
Professional Areas
Current Roles
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Governance mapping and analyses
Ecosystem-based fisheries management indicators and guidelines (Lenfest) (2017-Present) -
Principal Investigator
Climate variability and change relevant to key fisheries resources in the Torres Strait (2019-Present) -
Member of science committee / Pacific Engagement
Climate Change and Agriculture in the Asia Pacific Region – Knowledge, Risks, and Opportunities: A Scoping Study (2019-Present) -
Modeller
Adaptation of commonwealth fisheries management (2017-Present) -
Modeller
Developing MICE for Resilience and Restoration Applications (2019-Present) -
Scientific Diver / Survey analyses
Torres Strait Rock Lobster and bêche-de-mer surveys (2018-Present)
Academic Qualifications
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2008
PHD
Centre for Ecological Economics & Water Policy Research, University of New England, Armidale -
2003
MSC (Geology: Coastal and Sedimentary Geology)
Federal University of Bahia, Brazil -
2000
BSC (Biological Sciences, Honours)
Federal University of Bahia, Brazil
Professional Experiences
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1997-2002
Research Assistant
Research Centre of Geophysics and Geology, Geosciences Institute - Federal University of Bahia, Brazil -
2003-2004
Research Fellow
Research Centre of Geophysics and Geology, Geosciences Institute - Federal University of Bahia, Brazil -
2004-2007
Research Assistant / PhD candidate
Centre for Ecological Economics and Water Policy Research, University of New England, Armidale, Australia -
2008-2011
Research Scientist
CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere -
2011-Present
Senior Research Scientist
CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere -
2015-2017
Senior Lecturer
School of Marine Studies, The University of the South Pacific -
2017-Present
Adjunct Senior Lecturer
School of Marine Studies, The University of the South Pacific -
2018-Present
Research Associate
Centre for Marine Socioecology, University of Tasmania -
2019-2021
Deputy Program Leader - Sustainable Offshore Developments
Blue Economy CRC
Achievements and Awards
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2014-2014
Research Recognition Award
CSIRO Oceans & Atmosphere -
2016-2016
USP Research Award
The University of the South Pacific
Other highlights
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2009-2010
Acting Integrated Coastal Zone Management Team Leader (2009-2010)
Community and Corporate Citizenship
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2009-2011
Deputy Fire Warden
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2008-2011
Convener - CSIRO Catchment to Coast Community of Practice