Researchers
Students
Alumni
ManagementAlejandra Hernandez
PhD candidate
James Cook University
alejandra.hernandezagreda@my.jcu.edu.au
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au
Alejandra grew up in Caracas, Venezuela and completed her BSc (honors) (Biology) at Simon Bolivar University (USB). During her undergraduate studies, Alejandra discovered her passion for corals while she worked as support staff for the Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity (CARICOMP) program in the Laboratory of Marine Communities and Ecotoxicology (USB). Her undergraduate thesis evaluated the effect of suspended solids on the development of Caribbean ciliate infections in Acropora palmata. During the following four and half years, Alejandra worked as a researcher in the Experimental Ecology Laboratory (USB), collaborating in monitoring programs related to coral reefs, seagrass extensions, and intertidal and subtidal rocky shores, environmental impact assessments and in the evaluation of antibacterial activity in healthy and infected corals. In 2014, Alejandra obtained the Australian Awards Scholarship and moved to Australia. She jointed the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies to begin her PhD under the supervision of Dr. Bill Leggat, Dr. Tracy Ainsworth and Dr. Pim Bongaerts. The focus of her research is coral-associated bacteria, their habitat distribution and response to environmental changes.c
Being a fussy eater is a problem for reef fish who seek refuge from climate change on deeper reefs. But, scientists discovered, the coral that these fussy fish eat can support them.The study was l
Australian scientists have created a world-first tool that can systematically assess climate change risks to all types of World Heritage properties: marine and terrestrial, natural and cultural. Ther
An international group of scientists is making major advances in sustaining the world's environments, untangling the intricate ways in which people and nature depend on each other.The results are
Squid will survive and may even flourish under even the worst-case ocean acidification scenarios, according to a new study published this week. Dr Blake Spady, from the ARC Centre of Excellence for C
Abstract: The declining condition of many habitats in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area means marine park managers have to take a different approach to management. Managers can no longer rely
Abstract: Photosymbiosis is the main driver of reef development because it enhances calcification rates, thereby allowing corals to grow in oligotrophic environments. The reefal systems of the Palae
Abstract: Disease transmission is a natural process that helps shape the ecology and evolution of all organisms on Earth, yet, the burden and distribution of disease outbreaks is changing at an alarmi
West Nile Virus (WNV), a mosquito-borne virus of birds, emerged in North America in 1999; the invading strain was then displaced within a few years by a novel mutant. In order to understand this com
China’s extraordinary economic development over recent decades has had enormous impacts on coastal marine ecosystems, including extensive, coastal coral reefs in the southern provinces. With around
Pesticides (particularly herbicides and insecticides) are detected ubiquitously in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) region waterways. This is largely as the GBR has relatively comprehensive long-term moni
In 2016, JCU joined the pilot of the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Athena SWAN program. This program aims to move towards gender equity in STEMM at universities and research institutes acr
Most of the world's coral reefs are periodically exposed to heavy seas generated by tropical cyclones which can cause major structural damage to corals that, over time, can play a key role in shaping
Partner Research Institutions
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
James Cook University Townsville
Queensland 4811 Australia
Phone: 61 7 4781 4000
Email: info@coralcoe.org.au