Bert is a research fellow in Just Ocean Governance at the University of Melbourne, in association with WorldFish. He studies the functions and dynamics of complex marine systems. To date, his complex system of choice was coral reef fish ecology: How fishes remove algae, where they do it, how these functions impact changing reef health, and how scientists can better measure and predict such change – through better ecological concepts and clearer, more rigorous traits. Now his research explores how such principles of functional ecology may be useful to understand other complex marine systems and keystone species: not fish on reefs, but humans and social-ecological marine systems. He asks: who are the key players, what are the key nutrients and critical functions, where lie vulnerabilities, limited redundancy, or competition, and how can we steer the system for maximum long-term benefit and stability? And ultimately, who decides what a stable, desirable future looks like? A natural scientist and coral reef ecologist by training, he is interested in leveraging interdisciplinary insights into complex systems for conservation, the governance of change, and ultimately, social justice and shared prosperity.