Diving with…
DR ELODIE CAMPRASSE
PT Hirschfield chats to Dr Elodie Camprasse, a marine ecologist with a love of Australian waters and a soft spot for Victoria’s spider crabs Photographs by Elodie Camprasse, Carole Brassac and Matthias Klapperstueck
D
r Elodie Camprasse’s passion is marine ecology. From her PhD research in seabird ecology to the current ‘Spider Crab Watch’ citizen science project she’s leading in Victoria, Elodie’s love of the underwater world is underpinned by her desire to understand the scientific interplay of species with other species as a foundation for advocacy. Elodie started diving at 13 years old in France when her father was a lifeguard. From her first dive where she encountered sea slugs and fish, she ‘was sold completely’ on the idea of becoming a marine biologist. At age 16 she completed the equivalent of the Advanced Open Water course. Some of her earliest dive adventures included cenotes in Mexico and cave diving in France. In 2009, Elodie was a ‘broke student’ doing inventory and tracking research on terrestrial animals and plants in Ecuador. With ten free days in her schedule, she made a decision to head to the Galapagos. She had no concept of how expensive liveaboards were until she arrived. ‘I approached a liveaboard with one last spot for the next day that they were advertising as discounted. I tried to
With ten free days in her schedule, she made a decision to head to the Galapagos 38
bargain but the guy realised I had peanuts, so he shooed me away. I couldn’t sleep that night, so I woke up and withdrew all the money in my account, determined to show up with my packed bags in the morning and take my chances. The guy behind the counter rolled his eyes when I turned up again. But I gave him my envelope of cash and got to dive with whalesharks, hammerheads, batfish, turtles and sea lions.’ Elodie did her Divemaster training in 2010 in the US, then completed her instructor course in Vietnam in 2013: ‘I was looking for a way to do my dive instructor certification as an internship because I still didn’t have much money. A lot of centres offered internships, but you usually had to commit to working there for at least six months. A dive centre in Vietnam took me on even though I could only commit to working with them for three months as they were struggling to find French-speaking staff. I couldn’t stay longer because my PhD had a set date that couldn’t be moved, so it was a win-win and again saved me lots of money’. Elodie arrived in Melbourne in 2013 to undertake her PhD on individual foraging specialisations in penguins and other seabirds. ‘Individuals tend to display specialisations
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