I graduated from James Cook University in 2001, from the Department of Mathematical and Physical Sciences. It was a blue-collar maths department, and my skills are consequently very applied. I became interested in biophysical oceanography during my honours year. My thesis analysed macroscale structure in coral reef fish connectivity patterns on the Great Barrier Reef. The larval dispersal patterns were modelled by JCU’s Marine Modelling Unit, consisting of Lance Bode - my dad – Maurice James and Luciano Mason. After graduating, I spent a year teaching secondary school in Malawi, and following another year working as a Research Assistant for Sean Connolly, I began a PhD at the University of Queensland’s Mathematics Department in 2007, supervised by Hugh Possingham and Kevin Burrage.

I am currently an ARC Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Melbourne’s School of Botany. I am most interested in spatial planning and decisions in dynamic ecosystems. I also spend a little time thinking about less-applied ecology, particularly the dispersal ecology of coral reef ecosystems.