Underwater science
ABOUT
Dr Emily Darling is the Director of Coral Reefs at the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). She has published 70+ publications in leading scientific journals, including Science, Nature, Ecology Letters, and Conservation Letters and received international awards for her research and science communication. Emily is a co-founder of MERMAID, a freely available, AI-powered database to identify the world's most climate-resilient reefs used by more than 2,000 scientists across 51 countries. Emily was recognized on the 2025 Forbes Sustainability Leaders list, honouring 50 people worldwide who are defining what climate leadership looks like today.
Community management
Small-scale fisheries
Field monitoring
Climate change
Coastal connections
MERMAID
MEDIA
In addition to being a leading coral reef scientist, Emily is also a passionate communicator, speaking at the Jackson Wild Film Festival and featured online at National Geographic, PBS Nature, CNN International, Radio Australia and Forbes.