Adriana Vergés is a marine ecologist whose research focuses on the ecology and conservation of coastal marine habitats. In particular, her team investigates the ecological impacts of climate change in our oceans and develops hands-on restoration solutions to protect and conserve marine ecosystems, including seagrass meadows, kelp forests and coral reefs.  She has authored over 100 peer-reviewed scientific publications and is a passionate science communicator.

Professor Vergés is a Director of the Kelp Forest Alliance and a co-founder of Operation Crayweed and Operation Posidonia, two projects that have been restoring missing seaweed forests and seagrass meadows over the last ten years. Operation Crayweed was awarded Australia’s NSW Green Globe Award in 2017. Adriana received the UNSW Emerging Thought Leader Prize in 2019. She holds a PhD from the University of Barcelona, an MSc in Science Communication from Dublin City University & Queen’s University Belfast and is a Professor at UNSW Sydney and the Sydney Institute of Marine Science.