Jack Williams
PhD candidate
Jack completed a Bachelor of Science (Honours) at Monash University in 2025, where he completed an extended major in Ecology and Conservation Biology alongside a second major in Zoology. During his honour studies, he conducted research investigating how invasive species impact the foraging behaviours of native bees. Driven by his passion for marine biology, applied ecology and climate change mitigation, Jack has moved his focus to marine research and conservation.
Commencing his PhD in 2026, Jack’s research focuses on how sea turtle nest intervention strategies can be optimised to increase hatchling success and restore stable sex ratios. Sea turtles exhibit temperature-dependent sex determination, where cooler incubation temperatures produce males and warmer temperatures produce females. While this mechanism historically supported population persistence, rising sand temperatures are now driving extreme feminisation and mortality of sea turtle hatchlings. Current mitigation strategies have shown success, but they are becoming less effective against the continuous rise in temperatures. Jack’s PhD aims to untangle the ecological tolerances of sea turtle nests and eggs to help construct practical and accessible strategies that can safeguard these species long into the future.