Courtney Stuart

Courtney is a DPhil student participating in the Natural Environment Research Council's Doctoral Training Partnership (NERC-DTP). As a member of the Oxford Seascape Ecology Lab supervised by Dr Lisa Wedding, Courtney studies ecological connectivity in heterogeneous, nearshore seascapes, with a current focus on nutrient connectivity across the land-sea interface of remote tropical islands. Prior to joining the University of Oxford, Courtney obtained an MSc in Ecology from the University of Alberta in January 2022. Her MSc thesis involved the construction of species- and life-stage-specific spatial models of habitat suitability and functional connectivity for reef fishes with complex life histories, particularly those involving ontogenetic habitat shifts. In May 2019, Courtney received a BSc in Marine Vertebrate Biology from the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook University. Her undergraduate honors thesis examined the patterns, rates, and socio-ecological consequences of tooth replacement in fishes of the Peruvian Amazon. Courtney is passionate about diversity in the scientific community, science communication, and mentorship.

Through invited lectures, teaching practicums, and supervisory roles, Courtney has provided biology, ecology, and geographic information science (GISc) and systems (GIS) training to undergraduate and graduate students across several institutions and countries. Here at SoGE, Courtney serves as a Teaching Assistant for the FHS Option: Geographic Data Science.

• Stuart, C.E., Wedding, L.M., Pittman, S.J., Serafy, J.E., Moura, A., Bruckner, A.W. and Green, S.J. (2023) Seascape connectivity modeling predicts hotspots of fish-derived nutrient provisioning to restored coral reefs. Marine Ecology Progress Series.
• Yuen, B., Stuart, C.E., Pittman, S.J., Green, S.J., Henderson, L.M. and Wedding, L.M. (2023) Habitat suitability models of elkhorn coral provide ecological insight to support coral reef restoration. Restoration Ecology, e13953.
• Stuart, C.E., Wedding, L.M., Pittman, S.J., Serafy, J.E., Moura, A., Bruckner, A.W. and Green, S.J. (Accepted pending minor revisions) Seascape connectivity modeling predicts potential hotspots of fish-derived nutrient provisioning to restored coral reefs. Marine Ecology Progress Series.
• Yuen, B., Stuart, C.E., Pittman, S.J., Green, S.J., Henderson, L.M. and Wedding, L.M. (Accepted pending minor revisions) Habitat suitability models of elkhorn coral provide ecological insight to support coral reef restoration. Restoration Ecology.
• Christmann, T., Gopalakrishna, T., Stuart, C.E. and Amaral, V. (2023) Young voices and visions for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Restoration Ecology, 31(3), e13871.
• 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.
• Stuart, C.E., Green, S.J., Vernygora, O., LeBlanc, A.R.H., Bertschi, M.H. and Brown, M. (2021) New insights into patterns and rates of tooth replacement in serrasalmid and characid fishes, with implications for the subsistence fishery of Peru's remote ribereños villages. Journal of Fish Biology, 98(4): 1196-1201.