Sabahan reef ecologist and educator - Zarinah

Sabahan reef ecologist and educator from Kota Kinabalu; lecturer at the Borneo Marine Research Institute of Universiti Malaysia Sabah.

Zarinah Waheed

I grew up near the (back then idyllic and quaint) Tanjung Aru beach and received my early education in St. Francis Convent, Kota Kinabalu. My formative years in a coastal town sparked a fascination and deepening curiosity for all things marine-related. I started diving on the reefs of the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, Kota Kinabalu in 1998 and obtained a BSc. (Hons.) in Marine Science from the National University of Malaysia (UKM) in Bangi, Selangor in 2000. While pursuing my undergraduate degree, I was keen on physical oceanography and my dissertation compared temperature and salinity data of water masses from different locations between the Pacific Ocean and South China Sea.

I moved back to Kota Kinabalu and was offered an MSc. scholarship from Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), funded by the Danish Government (DANCED). My research took me to Lahad Datu in Darvel Bay, on the east coast of Sabah, where I examined the seasonal diversity and abundance of fish larvae on the reefs within the bay. Shortly after the completion of my MSc. in Marine Biology in 2003, I accepted a lecturer position in the Borneo Marine Research Institute (BMRI), UMS.

Through a series of fortunate events, I was introduced to Dr. Bert W. Hoeksema (who became my PhD supervisor) by Dr. Annadel S. Cabanban (my former MSc. supervisor) in 2005. At the end of 2008, I spent three months in Naturalis under the Martin Fellowship, where I had my first exposure to coral taxonomy. I also developed a proposal for a PhD research towards the end of my fellowship. In 2010, I moved to Leiden to pursue my PhD degree in Coral Reef Ecology supported by the Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia. If you are interested in my PhD research, check out here and here.

Currently I am a lecturer at BMRI and teach undergraduate courses on the coral reef ecosystem and integrated coastal zone management (ICZM). My research interest is on coral diversity and reef population genetics. I am also keen to engage more people outside of academia to better understand and conserve our natural heritage, especially through citizen science and awareness in news media.

Zarinah Waheed: a Sabahan reef ecologist and educator from Kota Kinabalu.

volunteer reef survey kota kinabalu — Since 2018, I have been part of the team from the BMRI (with colleagues and students like Vanessa) working together with Sutera Harbour Resort, on a project to gather baseline data on the biodiversity and coral reef conditions in Kota Kinabalu, primarily through citizen science (volunteers). The project, Sustaining Kota Kinabalu’s Marine Heritage, is co-sponsored by Jebsen & Jessen.

citizen science in Semporna — After sharing about coral reefs with local citizens and stakeholders at the 2017 launch of Semporna’s Coral Bleaching Early Response Plan, the first in Sabah.