Eryn Sampson

I am research masters student at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), with the BEAM lab.

I’m a shell wearing, dolphin loving, marine biologist from a small coastal town. When I’m not on the water on a whale watching boat, you’ll find me in the water. I love scuba diving and snorkelling, but once I’m back on land, I’m dodging shakes bushwalking, camping, 4WD and practicing my photography.

In between completing a Bachelor of Marine Biology and Climate Change in 2025, and starting my Masters degree. I filled the time researching newborn humpback whale calves with the East Coast Whale Study on SeaWorld Cruises and also interned with Natualiste Charters in Bremer Bay (WA) researching Australia’s largest aggregation of orca

Supervisors: Dr Frédérik Saltré (BEAM), Prof James Brown (UTS), and Dr Katharina J. Peters (MAVE lab, UoW)

My research

Mass stranding events represent one of the most significant yet poorly quantified sources of mortality for long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas edwardii) in New Zealand, a global hotspot for both cetacean diversity and strandings. Despite this, their cumulative impact on population persistence remains unknown.

My Masters project will address this critical gap by developing the first integrated modelling framework to quantify how repeated strandings shape population trajectories and extinction risk. A population viability analysis will be used to estimate population trends, determine extinction risk, and identify intervention thresholds required to stabilise populations under current and future stranding events.

My interests

Marine mammal conservation and ecology
Ecological modelling
Impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems
Photo identification
Cetacean population studies

Publications

During my Bachelor degree, I developed a project under supervision from the Future Reefs Lab at UTS that looked at quantifying the gut loading efficiency of brine shrimp Artemia tibetiana and Artemia fransciscana, an implication for aquaculture feed and coral restoration research, which is still in the works. So keep an eye out for that one.

Fun facts

I’ve been lucky enough to travel to every state and mainland territory in Australia, and I’d do it all again in a heartbeat.

Favourite quote

“If we save our wild places, we will ultimately save ourselves.” – Steve Irwin