Dr Georgia NesterDr Georgia Nester 

Dr Georgia Nester is a deep-sea postdoctoral researcher at the Minderoo Foundation. Her work revolves around using the environmental DNA (eDNA) to comprehensively characterize biodiversity and monitor species in complex marine habitats and expanding the footprint of eDNA in the deep-sea and exploring novel methodologies and technological applications.

In celebration of our Ultimate Depth: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea exhibition, our Senior Curator, Ocean Futures sat down with Dr Nester to ask her some questions about what it takes to be a deep-sea ecologist and why understanding Australia's marine biodiversity matters. 

I started my journey studying a Bachelor of Marine Science at Curtin University. Growing up in Western Australia, I always knew I wanted to work in a field that helped protect and conserve our incredible marine environments. During a genetics unit in my undergraduate degree, I was introduced to the concept of environmental DNA (eDNA), and I was instantly hooked by the challenge and potential of the technique.

I went on to begin my PhD in the TrEnD Lab at Curtin, applying eDNA to a wide range of environments, from searching for critically endangered pipefish in South Africa, to conducting open-ocean transects between Hobart and Antarctica, and exploring deep-sea submarine canyons off the coast of Western Australia. It was during this time that I fell in love with the deep sea.

Since then, I’ve joined the OceanOmics Centre at the University of Western Australia, where I work closely with the Minderoo-UWA Deep Sea Research Centre and Inkfish on projects that explore and protect deep-sea environments.

When I’m home, I might be in the lab processing eDNA samples or at my desk analysing data, interpreting results, and writing papers. In the field, it’s a completely different pace. We’re often up at 3 or 4 a.m. to deploy deep-sea landers and collect other samples. Depending on how deep the ocean floor is, we’ll recover the landers later in the day and process samples late into the night. On some voyages, we go for weeks without seeing land, completely surrounded by ocean and the marine life we’re trying to understand.

Australia’s marine ecosystems, from coral reefs and seagrass meadows to the deep-sea, face a range of interconnected threats, many of which affect the whole ocean.

Climate change is one of the most far-reaching challenges, with warming temperatures, shifting currents, acidification, and deoxygenation impacting species from the surface to the deep sea.  

Pollution, including plastics and chemical runoff, has been recorded throughout the water column- we’ve even found plastic debris on the deep-sea floor.  

Overfishing and ecosystem disruption also have widespread consequences, both directly and through changes in food webs.  

Meanwhile, offshore oil and gas activity can introduce noise pollution and physical disturbance that affect marine life across shallow and deep habitats.

In the deep sea, these pressures are compounded by the fact that many species:

• grow slowly
• reproduce infrequently, and
• live in specialised habitats that may take centuries to recover.  

Activities like seafloor trawling and industrial development can have long-lasting impacts in environments we are only beginning to understand.

Protecting biodiversity in Australian waters means addressing threats both near the surface and in the hidden depths. Tools like eDNA are helping us uncover what lives in these remote environments, laying the groundwork for better protection and long-term management.

The deep ocean plays a vital role in regulating Earth’s climate, storing carbon, and supporting biodiversity, so protecting it starts with protecting the ocean as a whole.

Even though most people will never see the deep sea, our everyday choices still affect it.

Simple actions like reducing plastic use, choosing sustainable seafood, and cutting back on carbon emissions (for example, by using public transport or reducing energy consumption) help reduce stress on marine ecosystems, including those in the deep sea.

Supporting marine protected areas, staying informed about ocean issues, and voting for policies that prioritise conservation also make a big difference. One growing concern is deep-sea mining, which poses a serious risk to fragile ecosystems we are only just beginning to understand. The public can help by supporting a precautionary approach, advocating for stronger protections, and encouraging further research before irreversible damage is done.

Even small actions add up. By making informed choices and speaking up for ocean health, we can help protect not just coasts and coral reefs, but the incredible, hidden ecosystems far below the surface.