Professor David Bellwood

Dave Bellwood Professor (2003-present) Associate Professor (1999-2003), Senior Lecturer (1995-98), Lecturer (1991–94), Senior Research Fellow (1991), Research Associate (1988-91) Marine Biology Department, J.C.U. ; Post- doctoral consultant (1986) Silliman University, Philippines; Assistant Scientific Officer (1979) British Museum (Nat. Hist.), London, UK; Assistant Scientific Officer (1978) MAFF Fisheries, Lowestoft, UK.

BSc Bath, PhD James Cook University


Research Interests

My research centres on the ecology of fishes on coral reefs. The major emphasis is on the functional capabilities of fishes, their evolutionary history and the role of fishes in ecosystem function.

The general approach is ecomorphological, examining the relationship between functional morphology and ecology. The work is based on behavioural observations in the field, morphological analyses in the laboratory and behavioural/functional studies in aquaria.

This approach has been applied to a wide range of questions from the swimming abilities of fish larvae to feeding by wrasses and parrotfishes. This work is taken a step further to look at the evolution if fishes on coral reefs by direct examination of the fossil record, and using molecular phylogenetic approaches to examine evolutionary changes within specific groups.

Differences in the functional abilities of fishes and fish assemblages are examined in a biogeographic context, to evaluate the role of fishes in reef ecosystem function across broad biogeographic ranges. The current focus in on Caribbean – Great Barrier Reef comparisons.


Selected Publications

[1]  Bellwood, DR, Hoey, AS, Ackerman, JL and Depczynski, M (2006). "Coral bleaching, reef fish community phase shifts and the resilience of coral reefs." Global Change Biology 12(9): 1587-1594.
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[2]  Bellwood, DR, Wainwright, PC, Fulton, CJ and Hoey, AS (2006). "Functional versatility supports coral reef biodiversity." Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences 273(1582): 101-107.
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[3]  Bellwood, DR, Hughes, TP, Connolly, SR and Tanner, J (2005). "Environmental and geometric constraints on Indo-Pacific coral reef biodiversity." Ecology Letters 8(6): 643-651.
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[4]  Connolly, SR, Hughes, TP, Bellwood, DR and Karlson, RH (2005). "Community Structure of Corals and Reef Fishes at Multiple Scales." Science 309(5739): 1363-1365.
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[5]  Depczynski, M and Bellwood, DR (2005). "Shortest recorded vertebrate lifespan found in a coral reef fish." Current Biology 15(8): R288-R289.
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[6]  Bellwood, DR, Herwerden, Lv and Konow, N (2004). "Evolution and biogeography of marine angelfishes (Pisces: Pomacanthidae)." Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 33(1): 140-155.
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[7]  Bellwood, DR, Hughes, TP, Folke, C and Nystrom, M (2004). "Confronting the coral reef crisis." Nature 429(6994): 827-833.
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[8]  Bellwood, DR, Hoey, AS and Choat, JH (2003). "Limited functional redundancy in high diversity systems: resilience and ecosystem function on coral reefs." Ecology Letters 6(4): 281-285.
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[9]  Hughes, TP, Baird, AH, Bellwood, DR, Card, M, Connolly, SR, Folke, C, Grosberg, R, Hoegh-Guldberg, O, Jackson, JBC, Kleypas, J, Lough, JM, Marshall, P, Nystrom, M, Palumbi, SR, Pandolfi, JM, Rosen, B and Roughgarden, J (2003). "Climate Change, Human Impacts, and the Resilience of Coral Reefs." Science 301(5635): 929-933.
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