Peter Porskamp

Peter Porskamp is a member of Deakin University’s Marine Mapping Group. After working at one of the leading habitat mapping labs in Canada, Peter brought new ideas and methods to Deakin University, DELWP and Parks Victoria, enabling habitat mapping of large swathes of seafloor.

Using the innovative technique of high resolution multibeam sonar, Peter has lead a project to map the Bunurong Marine National Park uncovering extensive rhodolith beds. With this improved understanding of the habitat within the park, managers can target their monitoring and management efforts with increased confidence.

He has also been at the forefront of uptake for the new CBiCS scheme, developed by DELWP and now used by Parks Victoria. CBiCs has been designed to provide a standardised scheme for habitat mapping at a level of resolution relevant to ecological processes and decision support for environmental management. Peter has now applied CBiCs across much of the Cape Otway bioregion and the Bunurong and Wilsons Promontory marine national parks, creating a baseline understanding of these areas.

Peter’s research work has significantly contributed to the seafloor and habitat mapping of Victoria’s marine environment. He has become one of Victoria’s leading authorities on understanding and mapping Victoria’s nearshore habitats. And these advances in Victoria’s habitat mapping have been published in the international peer-reviewed journal Geoscience informing both national and international audiences.