Courtney Stuart

Mapping and modelling land-sea nutrient connectivity to enhance island ecosystem resilience

Courtney is a DPhil student in the Natural Environment Research Council’s Doctoral Training Partnership (NERC-DTP) and a member of Dr. Lisa Wedding’s Oxford Seascape Ecology Lab. Her research focuses on ecological connectivity in tropical nearshore seascapes, with a particular emphasis on nutrient cycling and the movements of coral reef fishes.

Before joining the University of Oxford, Courtney completed an MSc in Ecology at the University of Alberta (2022). Her MSc thesis involved developing species- and life-stage-specific spatial models of habitat suitability and functional connectivity for reef fishes with complex life histories, particularly those with ontogenetic habitat shifts. She previously earned a BSc in Marine Vertebrate Biology from the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University (2019), where her honours thesis examined the patterns, rates, and socio-ecological consequences of tooth replacement in fishes of the Peruvian Amazon.

Courtney is passionate about fostering diversity in the scientific community, as well as advancing science communication and mentorship.

Through invited lectures, teaching practicums, and supervisory roles, Courtney has delivered training in biology, ecology, and geographic information science (GIS) to undergraduate and graduate students across multiple institutions and countries. At the School of Geography and the Environment (SoGE), she serves as a Teaching Assistant for the FHS Option in Geographic Data Science and as a co-supervisor for undergraduate dissertations in physical geography.

• Wedding, L.M., Stuart, C.E., Govers, L.L., Lilley, R.J., Olds, A., Preston, J., ... and Pittman, S.J. (2025) Five ways seascape ecology can help to achieve marine restoration goals. Landscape Ecology, 40(6): 115.
• Stuart, C.E., Pittman, S.J., Stamoulis, K.A., Benkwitt, C.E., Epstein, H.E., Graham, N.A., ... and Wedding, L.M. (2025) Seascape configuration determines spatial patterns of seabird‐vectored nutrient enrichment to coral reefs. Ecography, e07863.
• Peterson, E.A., Stuart, C.E., Pittman, S.J., Benkwitt, C.E., Graham, N.A., Malhi, Y., ... and Wedding, L.M. (2024) Graph-theoretic modeling reveals connectivity hotspots for herbivorous reef fishes in a restored tropical island system. Landscape Ecology, 39(8): 145.
• Stuart, C.E., Wedding, L.M., Pittman, S.J., Serafy, J.E., Moura, A., Bruckner, A.W. and Green, S.J. (2024) Seascape connectivity modeling predicts hotspots of fish-derived nutrient provisioning to restored coral reefs. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 731: 179-196.
• Stuart, C.E., Wedding, L.M., Pittman, S.J. and Green, S.J. (2021) Habitat suitability modeling to inform seascape connectivity conservation and management. Diversity, 13(10): 465.