Julia's unexpected road to species-saving research

Julia is researching sharks and rays here in the Top End at Charles Darwin University, a world away from her upbringing in north-western NSW. She's working to ensure some of Australia's most threatened species are around for many generations to come. 

“I grew up on a crop farm, so I literally didn’t know a single thing about sharks at all,” she says. “I was surrounded by wildlife, but certainly nothing marine!”

So how did Julia become a PhD candidate working on a project about river sharks?

A combination of coincidence, she notes, connections, and a passion for conservation biology. 

Coincidence and conservation biology

After finishing her undergraduate degree in Wollongong, Julia was at a crossroads. 

“I had no idea what I was going to do,” she says.

“It just so happened that I was talking to a girl who I previously volunteered with. She dropped me an email address of this guy in the Northern Territory who is one of her supervisors in the US where she lives,” she explains. 

Julia connected with the supervisor via email and was soon offered an opportunity to study Honours at Charles Darwin University. 

She jumped at the opportunity and made the move to the Northern Territory to start looking at the extinction risk of some incredibly rare species of sharks and rays. 

“My supervisor’s been doing the work on river sharks that I’m now doing since 2013 and he asked me if I wanted to finish up the project for him as a PhD.”

And with that, Julia embarked on a Higher Degree by Research after her Honours was completed.  

“Honestly, it’s so funny because I did not want to do any more study, but then the Honours project sounded so interesting. I came up here and it was only supposed to be a year, but then I got offered a PhD,” she says.

“Now that I’m in it, I absolutely love it, and I probably wouldn’t do anything else now.”

What makes the Top End special

From a research perspective, Julia notes that CDU’s unique location provides access to super rare species that don’t exist anywhere else on Earth.   

“The sharks that I work with are only in northern Australia and southern Papua New Guinea, and they’re only in a few river systems. In the same habitat are these Freshwater Whiprays that are literally only found in northern Australia,” she says.

“The Speartooth Shark, for example, there’s only been three adults recorded in Australian waters. We have literally no idea where the adults go!”

Julia’s PhD fieldwork takes her to some of the Territory’s most spectacular locations where her research species reside, from the river systems in Kakadu National Park all the way to the Roper River in the Gulf of Carpentaria. 

It’s a real perk of the job.

“I just love being super remote. Getting back to my roots of being completely in the middle of nowhere and relying on yourself. The landscape just hasn’t been touched yet – it’s just incredible.”

For any future students or researchers looking to the NT for their next big opportunity, Julia understands that it might seem like a “big, scary decision”. 

“Take the leap, make the move,” she says. 

“Darwin is like a small town, but there’s so much on—it’s a pretty cool place to live. There’s always something new to see. I think that’s the most special part about it for me.”

While Julia plans to make Darwin her base for the foreseeable future, she’s focused on finishing her PhD and doing her part for some of the most threatened groups of animals on the planet. 

“I’m really passionate about making sure they survive into the future for future generations to be as amazed by them as I am.”

Study a Higher Degree by Research like Julia and contribute to the conservation of Australia’s precious and unique wildlife.