Rate My Professor Matthew Taylor

Professor Matthew Taylor serves as Adjunct Professor in the School of Science within the College of Engineering, Science and Environment at the University of Newcastle, Australia, and as Conjoint Professor in the School of Environmental and Life Sciences since April 2018. He also holds an Adjunct Professor position at Murdoch University. Taylor earned his PhD from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), along with a BSc in Biochemistry and a BSc Honours in Marine Science from the same institution. His academic career began with an Australian Research Council Postdoctoral Fellowship prior to 2010. From January 2010 to June 2011, he was Lecturer in Applied Marine Ecology at UNSW's School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, where he coordinated late-stage undergraduate, postgraduate courses, and two Master's programs. Since July 2011, he has worked at the Port Stephens Fisheries Institute of the NSW Department of Primary Industries' Fisheries Research Branch, progressing from Senior Research Scientist (2011-2015) to Principal Research Scientist – Estuarine Fisheries (2015-2020), and currently serves as Principal Research Scientist and Program Leader – Recreational Fisheries Research.

Taylor's research focuses on applied marine ecology, including fish habitat, recruitment, and population processes; fisheries productivity and sustainability in estuarine and recreational contexts; stock enhancement and sea-ranching; ecotoxicology of contaminants such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS); movement ecology via acoustic telemetry and otolith chemistry; and crustacean biology encompassing species like giant mud crab, blue swimmer crab, and eastern king prawn. His extensive publication record exceeds 100 papers, with key works including 'Restoring blue carbon ecosystems unlocks fisheries’ potential' (2026), 'Unravelling the magnitude and drivers of PFAS trophic magnification' (2025), 'Consequences of Juvenile Fish Movement and Seascape Connectivity' (2024, Journal of Applied Ecology), 'Seascape connectivity of temperate fishes' (2022, Journal of Applied Ecology), 'Global trends in aquatic animal tracking with acoustic telemetry' (2022, Trends in Ecology & Evolution), and 'Adaptive Spatial Management to Deal with Post-flood Inshore Bycatch' (2022, North American Journal of Fisheries Management). These contributions advance fisheries management, spatial planning, bycatch reduction, and ecosystem services understanding.