Dr Kenneth R.N. Anthony

Lecturer

Research Fellow, UQ (2007-), Lecturer JCU (2004-2006), ARC Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2000-2004) investigating the physiological ecology of reef corals. BSc Copenhagen & MSc Copenhagen, PhD at JCU.

Research Interests

• Coral ecology and physiology
• Niche theory and its application to coral reefs under environmental change
• Modeling of stress responses and risk in reef organisms

My research focuses mainly on the physiological ecology of reef corals. I am particularly interested in how coral physiology relates to environmental variables such as light, temperature and water quality, and how information about physiological condition relates to mortality risk. Some recent research initiatives of mine are:

• The relative importance of heterotrophy and autotrophy in the coral energy balance
• Modeling of thresholds for coral growth and reproduction
• Energy allocation to tissue and skeletal growth in corals under resource variation
• Kinetics of photoacclimation in corals in high-turbidity environments
• Morphological mechanisms of optimizing the light climate within coral colonies
• Physiological niches of corals along turbidity-light gradients
• The role of turbidity and sedimentation as a mechanism of structuring coral populations on inshore reefs
• Adaptations to extreme sediment and turbidity environments
• Interactions between light, temperature and water quality in the coral-bleaching response

Selected Publications

• Anthony, K.R.N., Hoogenboom, M.O and Connolly, S.R.. (2004). Adaptive variation in coral geometry and the optimization of internal colony light climates. Functional Ecology (accepted with minor revision).


• Anthony, K.R.N., Ridd,P.V,. Orpin, A., Larcombe, P. and Lough, J.M.. (2004). Temporal variation in light availability in coastal benthic habitats: effects of clouds, turbidity and tides. Limnology and Oceanography (in press).


• Anthony, K.R.N., and Connolly, S.R.. (2004). Environmental limits to growth: physiological niche boundaries of corals along turbidity-light gradients. Oecologia (in press).


• Leuzinger, S., Anthony,K.R.N. and Willis, B.L.. 2003. Reproductive energy investment in corals: scaling with module size. Oecologia 136: 524-531.


• Anthony, K.R.N., and O. Hoegh-Guldberg. (2003). Variation in coral photosynthesis, respiration and growth characteristics in contrasting light microhabitats: an analogue to plants in forest gaps and understoreys? Functional Ecology 17: 246-259.


• Anthony, K.R.N. & Hoegh-Guldberg, O. (2003) Kinetics of photoacclimation in corals. Oecologia 134: 23-31


• Anthony, K.R.N., Connolly, S.R. and Willis, B.L. (2002). Comparative analysis of energy allocation to tissue and skeletal growth in corals. Limnology & Oceanography 47: 1417-1429.


• Anthony, K.R.N. and Fabricius, K.E.. (2000). Shifting roles of heterotrophy and autotrophy in coral energy budgets at variable turbidity. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 252: 221-253


• Anthony, K.R.N. (2000). Enhanced particle-feeding capacity in nearshore reef corals (Great Barrier Reef, Australia). Coral Reefs 19: 59-67


• Anthony, K.R.N. (1999). A tank system for studying benthic aquatic organisms at predictable levels of turbidity and sedimentation: Case study examining coral growth. Limnology & Oceanography 44: 1415-142


• Anthony, K.R.N. (1999). Coral suspension feeding on fine particulate matter. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 232: 85 -106