Nathan Cook

Applied Marine Scientist

MSc • Southern Cross University
PhD Candidate • James Cook University

Nathan is an applied scientist and specialist in coral reef restoration and capacity building with 20 years of experience working in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. As an applied scientist and specialist in coral reef monitoring and environmental assessment, Nathan has provided guidance for a diverse range of government, industry and management stakeholders both in Australia and abroad. Nathan has been a passionate advocate for sustainability and stewardship, working with communities, tourism businesses and governments to activate and sustain meaningful on-ground actions to build and support the resilience of coral reefs. He has developed local-specific marine monitoring and assessment programs and established innovative coral reef restoration programs in several key locations around the world. His decades of practical experience are underpinned by a Masters in Marine Science. He has authored and co-authored several technical reports and peer review publications.

Recent Projects

• Integrated Coral Reef Citizen Science Program
• Whitsundays Reef Recovery and Public Art Project
• Kiribati Strategic Advice – Phoenix Islands Protected Area
• Reef Resilience Project
• Reef Restoration & Resilience

Recent Publications

• Smith, A. K., Cook, N., Grundy, A., Lück, M., Pert, P. L., Picken, F., & Stacey, J. (2022). Innovative local response to cyclone-damaged reef leads to rapid tourism recovery. Journal of Ecotourism, January, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1080/14724049.2022.2027952
• Cook, N., Smith, A., Songcuan, A., Cassidy, D., Sartori, G., & McLeod, I. (2021). Lessons learned from small scale coral outplanting interventions at a restoration site on the Great Barrier Reef. Ecological Management & Restoration. https://doi.org/10.1111/emr.12547
• Smith, A., Cook, N., Cook, K., Brown, R., Woodgett, R., Veron, J., & Saylor, V. (2021). Field measurements of a massive Porites coral at Goolboodi (Orpheus Island), Great Barrier Reef. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-94818-w
• Vardi, T., Hoot, W., Levy, J., Shaver, E., Winters, S., Banaszak, A., Baums, I., Chamberland, V., Cook, N., Gulko, D., Hein, M., Kaufman, L., Loewe, M., Lundgren, P., Lustic, C., MacGowan, P., Matz, M., Mcgonigle, M., McLeod, I., & Montoya-Maya, P. (2021). Six priorities to advance the science and practice of coral reef restoration worldwide. Restoration Ecology. 29. 10.1111/rec.13498.
• Smith, A., Cook, N., Songcuan A., Sartori, G., Cassidy, D., Deane, M., Teroroko, T., Rimon, B. (2020). Ecological and infrastructure assessment of Kanton (Abariringa) Island, Phoenix Island Protected Area, Kiribati. Atoll Research Bulletin, 627, 1-34.