Victoria Camilieri-Asch Australian Society for Fish Biology Conference 2022

Victoria Camilieri-Asch

With a background in veterinary science in Europe, Vic is a fish biologist specialised in cartilaginous fish sensory ecology and behaviour (neuroethology) based in Australia. She completed a BSc and Honours at UQ, and a PhD at The UWA Oceans Institute. Vic is now a postdoctoral research fellow leading the Fish Cartilage theme of the Max Planck QLD Centre at QUT and a small research group (CartiLab). Her research to date has focused on a range of ecological adaptations in this fish group, with implications to better understand and predict their behaviours, including studies on the behavioural impacts of anthropogenic electromagnetic fields (from remote sensing buoys transmitting data) on demersal species, the electrosensory, mechanosensory, olfactory and nociceptive abilities of different species, as well as human-shark interactions and mitigation research. More recent work as part of her role at QUT investigates the biomechanical adaptations of the skeletal system in species from different depth environments, from deepwater species to shallower counterparts, to understand their ability to sustain at depths, deep-dive or yo-yo dive. Concurrent research as a consultant for Shark Ethology Australia (SEA) focuses on co-running the Lord Howe Island shark research program, better understanding the drivers of human-shark interactions in fisheries, and conducting other research projects in remote systems where human-shark conflicts occur. Vic's main interests reside in ethology, ecology, evolution, in light of conservation; specifically, using multidisciplinary approaches to generate bridging knowledge between stakeholders, create practical tools for management, reduce anthropogenic impacts, and ultimately promote sustainable human-shark interactions.