Vanessa Pirotta

(She/her)

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Dr. Vanessa Pirotta is one of Australia’s most recognised wildlife scientists and a leading voice in science communication. Known for blending cutting-edge technology with conservation, her work spans both marine (whales) and terrestrial (illegal wildlife traffic detection) environments—bringing the natural world closer through innovation and storytelling.

A trailblazer in making science accessible, Vanessa has represented Australia on the global stage as the international runner-up in the prestigious FameLab competition, and she’s graced the TEDx stage. She’s been named one of the Top 100 Women of Influence by the Australian Financial Review and a Superstar of STEM by Science & Technology Australia.

In 2024, she was named Emerging Leader in Science at the Women’s Agenda Leadership Awards and in 2025, Vanessa was awarded the NSW Premier’s Woman of Excellence, Celestino’s Prize for Promoting Understanding of Science in the Australian Museum’s Eureka’s Prizes (Australian Oscars of science) and named the Young Tall Poppy of the Year for New South Wales by the Australian Institute of Policy & Science.

Vanessa’s work is deeply community-driven. She leads an international whale research program in the Kingdom of Tonga called the Tongan Whale Tourism Project, designed to empower local communities to help ensure the longevity and sustainability of whale swim tourism. Locally she runs Wild Sydney Harbour, a citizen science initiative exploring marine life in collaboration with the Gamay Rangers—local First Nations rangers—blending Indigenous Knowledge with scientific research to better understand marine mammals in Sydney’s blue backyard.

As an award-winning author, Vanessa brings the magic of the ocean across generations in her children’s and adult books. Vanessa was the invited MC for Australia’s most prestigious science event—the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science—held at Parliament House in Canberra. She is a regular face on national and international media, appearing across television, radio, and social platforms to advocate for marine science and environmental awareness.

In 2025 Vanessa delivered her first National Press Club of Australia with a talk titled "Australia's Scientific Future: Built on Education, Connection, and Investment".

Experience

  • –present
    Wildlife scientist and science communicator, Macquarie University
  • –present
    Lecturer, Macquarie University

Education

  • 2019 
    Macquarie University , Doctor of Philosophy
  • 2015 
    Macquarie University , Masters of Research
  • 2010 
    Australian National University, Bachelor of Science (Zoology and Evolution and Ecology majors)

Publications

  • 2026
    Gaping in humpback whales, a unique behavior documented through citizen science. Animal Behavior and Cognition, Animal Behavior and Cognition
  • 2026
    Marine wildlife trafficking: use of AI algorithms for the autodetection of shark fins, seahorses and sea cucumbers, Frontiers in Ocean Sustainability
  • 2026
    Detect and Trace: An Australian Field Trial Using Machine-Learning Tools to Combat Illegal Wildlife Trade. , Animals
  • 2025
    Australia’s Scientific Future: Built on Education, Connection, and Investment. , Australian Zoologist
  • 2025
    Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) continue migration after giving birth in temperate waters in Australia and New Zealand. , Front. Mar. Sci. Sec. Marine Megafauna
  • 2024
    Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera edeni) occurrence and foraging behaviour along the east coast of Australia, New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research
  • 2023
    Widespread exposure of marine parks, whales, and whale sharks to shipping. , Marine and Freshwater Research
  • 2023
    Sighting records of “Migaloo” the white humpback whale provide evidence of Australian site fidelity and use of New Zealand waters as a migratory route. , Australian Zoologist
  • 2022
    Detecting illegal wildlife trafficking via real time tomography 3D X-ray imaging and automated algorithms, Frontiers in Conservation Science
  • 2022
    Drone Observations of Marine Life and Human–Wildlife Interactions off Sydney, Australia, Drones
  • 2022
    Marine Mammal Chapter, Wildlife in Australia- practical and applied methods (CSIRO Publishing)
  • 2021
    First evidence of bubble-net feeding and the formation of ‘super-groups’ by the east Australian population of humpback whales during their southward migration, Aquatic Conserv: Mar Freshw Ecosyst.
  • 2020
    Operational Protocols for the Use of Drones in Marine Animal Research, Drones
  • 2020
    A citizen science approach to long-term monitoring of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) off Sydney, Australia, Marine Mammal Science
  • 2019
    Consequences of global shipping traffic for marine giants, Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment
  • 2019
    Cost‐effective mitigation strategies to reduce bycatch threats to cetaceans identified using return‐on‐investment analysis, Conservation Biology
  • 2019
    Challenges of collecting blow from small cetaceans, Ecosphere
  • 2018
    Virological Sampling of Inaccessible Wildlife with Drones, Viruses
  • 2017
    An Economical Custom-Built Drone for Assessing Whale Health, Frontiers in Marine Science
  • 2016
    Migrating humpback whales show no detectable response to whale alarms off Sydney, Australia., Endangered Species Research
  • 2014
    A whale alarm fails to deter migrating humpback whales: an empirical test., Endangered Species Research

Honours

Premier’s NSW Woman of Excellence 2025

Contact Vanessa for

  • General
  • Media request
  • Speaking request
  • Consulting / Advising
  • Research collaboration
  • Research supervision