Matilda Murley is a research associate at the University of Western Australia, working across various multidisciplinary projects ranging from intertidal invertebrate ecology to marine spatial planning with Traditional Owners. 

Matilda has a Bachelor of Science (Marine Science), Masters of Biological Science (Marine Biology) and a PhD from the University of Western Australia.

Matilda's PhD, 'A holistic approach to the ecological assessment of invertebrates on intertidal rock platforms in Western Australia', used a multi-faceted approach to comprehensively assess ecological patterns on intertidal rock platforms across a broad latitudinal range.

The research captured a latitudinal gradient in intertidal invertebrate species richness and provided insights into the functional roles of gastropod assemblages across this gradient. A molecular intertidal sampling method was developed and recorded similar diversity estimates to traditional sampling. Karajarri Traditional Ecological Knowledge documented species distributions across a greater spatial scale than current western knowledge and identified hotspots of cultural significance to guide marine spatial planning. Overall, the thesis found that investigating biogeography in this holistic way helps to build a detailed understanding of spatial distributions and collects baseline data for future study of the underlying processes.

Since completing her PhD in 2024 Matilda has been working as a post-doctoral research associate in the Prince Hovey Lab. Matilda’s research draws on two-way methodologies to integrate Traditional Ecological Knowledge with Western Science knowledge. Matilda has formed strong relationships with Traditional Owner groups across the Kimberley and south-west of Western Australia.

Matilda has been working across two Park Australia 'Our Marine Parks' grant funded projects both focus on supporting the aspirations of First Nations people in managing their traditional land and Sea Country.

• Mayala Inninalang (Islands and reefs): Investigating connectivity between Mayala Sea Country and the Kimberley Marine Park.
  • Dr Jane Prince and Dr Renae Hovey are the co-Principal Investigators.
  • This project is a collaboration between the Mayala Inninalang Aboriginal Corporation and UWA, which aims to grow the capacity of the Mayala reef monitoring program. The partnership will facilitate two-way learning, allow TOs to apply their ecological knowledge to inform the design of monitoring protocols and collect valuable baseline data for culturally important taxa and ecosystems.
    
    
• Waatu Wardan Kaartdijin: communicating Sea Country health and actions.
  • Dr Matthew Navarro is the Principal Investigator.
  • This project is in collaboration with the six salt water Bibbulmun Noongar and Yorga peoples’ groups in the south-west of WA to co-create a framework and tool to understand and share knowledge of Sea Country Health and environmental pressures across the Australian Marine Parks and adjacent waters.

Matilda also works as a part-time and as an undergraduate teaching academic across biological and marine sciences.