Dr C. Roland Pitcher provides a science foundation supporting management for sustainability of the seabed environment. He has more than 30 years experience in marine ecology and fisheries research, covering coral reef fishes, tropical rock lobster, effects of trawling, recovery & dynamics, biodiversity mapping & prediction, modelling & assessment, and management evaluation.Dr Roland Pitcher is a marine ecologist with CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere Flagship. He has diverse interests in seabed ecology including dynamics of habitat forming biota, drivers of distribution & abundance, the effects of human uses and management.Dr Pitcher leads research to better understand regional seabed ecosystems and provide information that supports improved planning of ocean uses, more detailed quantitative assessments of the effects of human activities and evaluations of the efficacy of management measures. His research addresses issues such as:Characterisation & mapping of large marine regions, using available (and often sparse) survey data, and where required designing & implementing new marine biodiversity surveys. Planning for management of multiple uses of the marine environment, to ensure appropriate & sustainable use of different habitat types; and comprehensive, adequate & representative design of marine reserves. r Pitcher joined CSIRO in 1988, researching tropical rock lobster (TRL) in Torres Strait — the most important commercial fishery for local indigenous people and subject to an international treaty with PNG. He quickly developed & led a broad range of research including commercial & traditional fisheries, seabed habitat mapping, effects of trawling on the seabed, GIS & remote sensing, marine conservation planning, dynamics of seabed megabenthos, among others. His work has also included early development of a number of innovative technological solutions for obtaining quantitative data remotely without extractive sampling, such as towed-video, remotely operated vehicle (ROV), and acoustics — complete with precise positioning & underwater tracking, and advanced data recording. He has managed research projects and supervised staff ranging from single-project teams to very large multi-agency multi-disciplinary programs and international projects.

Tropical seabed ecology