I gained my Bachelor of Science in 1996, and my PhD in 2001, from the University of Sydney. My Honours research was on the coral Goniopora tenuidens, and my PhD research was on the pit organs of sharks and rays. Pit organs are microscopic sensory organs on the skin, which detect water motion. My further research has included studies of the behaviour, ecology and evolution of sharks and rays, corals and jellyfish. Much of my research was assisted by Manly Oceanworld, where I worked for several years.

I have been an academic lecturer and researcher at the University of Sydney and the University of Technology, Sydney. I was the first co-ordinator of the NSW Biodiversity Research Network, and President of BiolSoc (the University of Sydney Biological Society) for a time. These days my biological interests are becoming more terrestrial, as I study the biodiversity of my bush block in New South Wales. I also work as an environmental education officer at Sydney Olympic Park, and do some biological consulting and writing.

My background in biology informs much of my artwork. I have collaborated with various other scientists on art projects (e.g. "Perplexity"), and have plans for more such collaborations in future.

Publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals

• Peach, M. B. & Marshall, N. J. (2009). The comparative morphology of pit organs in elasmobranchs. Journal of Morphology, 270: 688-701.
• van den Broek, J., Peach, M.B. & Booth, D.J. (2009) The reproductive biology of the common stingaree Trygonoptera testacea (Urolophidae) in eastern Australia. In Press.
• Peach, M.B. (2005) New microvillous cells with possible sensory function on the skin of sharks. Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology 38(4): 275-279.
• Peach, M.B. & Pitt, K.A. (2005) Morphology of the nematocysts of the medusae of two scyphozoans Catostylus mosaicus and Phyllorhiza punctata (Rhizostomeae): implications for capture of prey. Invertebrate Biology, 124(2): 98-108.
• Peach, M.B. & Rouse, G.W. (2004) Phylogenetic trends in the abundance and distribution of pit organs (free neuromasts) on elasmobranchs. Acta Zoologica, 85: 233-244.
• Peach, M. B. (2003) The behavioural role of pit organs in the epaulette shark. Journal of Fish Biology, 62(4): 793-802.
• Peach, M. B. (2003). Inter- and intraspecific variation in the distribution and abundance of pit organs (free neuromasts) on sharks and rays. Journal of Morphology, 256(1): 89-102.
• Peach, M. B. (2002). Rheotaxis by epaulette sharks Hemiscyllium ocellatum (Chondrichthyes: Hemiscylliidae) on a coral reef flat. Australian Journal of Zoology, 50(4): 407-414.
• Peach, M. B. (2001). The dorso-lateral pit organs of the Port Jackson shark contribute sensory information for rheotaxis. Journal of Fish Biology 59(3): 696-704.
• Peach, M. B. & Rouse, G. W. (2000). The morphology of the pit organs and lateral line canal neuromasts of Mustelus antarcticus (Chondrichthyes: Triakidae). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 80: 155-164.
• Peach, M. B. & Marshall, N. J. (2000). The pit organs of elasmobranchs: a review. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 355: 1131-1134.
• Peach, M. B. & Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (1999). Sweeper polyps of the coral Goniopora tenuidens (Scleractinia: Poritidae). Invertebrate Biology 118(1): 1-7.

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