Given his love of the ocean, it's probably a given that marine science PhD student Declan Stick tries to sneak in a trip to the beach before reaching the lab in the morning.

Raised on a diet of David Attenborough and 'backyard science', and with a childhood spent snorkelling and diving, there was never a doubt Declan would pursue a career in marine science.

At university, he became fascinated with coral bleaching events and how to prevent them and his PhD research is focused on the heat tolerance of coral. 

Working in Ningaloo, he hopes his research - a collaboration between the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), the Minderoo Foundation and UWA - will help better inform reef management and restoration practices in the area.

"The collaboration between these groups has given me freedom in my research and allowed me access to tools and facilities most PhD students wouldn’t have access to."

Declan said while there is never a dull day as a PhD student, his best days are the ones spent diving and running experiments along the picturesque Ningaloo reef.

He has also gained experience as a field team leader for Pendoley Environmental’s flatback turtle monitoring program, which he said has prepared him for just about any field work he might encounter in the future.

Spending eight weeks during turtle nesting season on a cattle station in remote northern WA, he juggled walking long stretches of beach with carrying heavy monitoring gear, while co-ordinating groups of volunteers for up to eight hours a night.

He said compared to that, his time in Exmouth diving and collecting coral data for his PhD "seemed like a splendid vacation”.

Declan’s passion for marine science and coral reef health, restoration and conservation make it no surprise that he was selected the 2022 Keiran McNamara World Heritage Research PhD Top Up scholarship recipient.

He said the honour has given him freedom to pursue his research without worrying about financial stresses and has allowed him to pursue more cutting-edge genetic methods, adding to a skill-base he can use in his future career.

“One of the great things about marine science is that everyone is incredibly passionate about what they do”, Declan said. "If I had any advice, it would be to embrace your interests and follow that niche animal or system no one has heard of, until you're an expert."

“For me, what’s important is doing good science and contributing to research that will help preserve healthy coral reefs. For now, I’m just hoping to gain as many skills as possible - soaking up all the information I can.”

While the young marine ambassador oneday hopes to travel and work in labs around the world on different coral reefs, his focus now is on learning as many new skills as possible, sharing his science through top-notch papers, and, of course, continuing to pursue his passion for all things oceans.

The Keiran McNamara World Heritage Research PhD Top Up Scholarship assists commencing PhD students to undertake research at a Western Australian university, and aims to advance knowledge and expertise relevant to the conservation and management of the natural values of World Heritage areas in Western Australia. Applications for 2023 are currently open and close on 31 October 2022.