Dr Jonathan Botha

Jonathan joined Biosis in 2021 and has over ten years of ecological research experience across marine, freshwater aquatic and terrestrial systems. Primarily, his work has focused on the foraging ecology and distribution of marine predators, particularly in the context of marine spatial planning. Jonathan has worked on a number of fur seal and seabird species in South Africa, the Seychelles and Australia and has spent extensive periods collecting tracking data for fur seals and seabirds at island breeding colonies. He has also been involved in several aquatic invertebrate and ichthyofaunal research projects ranging from freshwater to open ocean systems.

Since joining Biosis, Jonathan has worked on and managed a variety of projects ranging from general flora and fauna assessments to detailed ecological monitoring of seabirds, shorebirds and waterbirds, terrestrial mammals, reptiles and amphibians.  Given his expertise in marine and aquatic ecology, he has managed several large offshore wind energy projects off the Gippsland coast and ongoing aquatic monitoring in northern and north-eastern Victoria.

Jonathan completed his tertiary education at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa. He is especially passionate about species distribution and movement ecology, and has developed strong capabilities in spatial modelling analysis.