Professor Sean Connolly

Leader Program 2: Understanding and Managing Coral Reef Biodiversity

Dr Sean Connolly Australian Professorial Fellow (2008-2012), Associate Professor James Cook University (2007-); Senior Lecturer JCU (2003-2006), Lecturer J.C.U. (2000-2003), Postdoctoral Fellow, Research Training Group in the Analysis of Biological Diversification, University of Arizona, USA (1999-2000).


PhD, Biological Sciences Stanford University, USA (1999)
B.A., Biology  Earlham College, USA (1994)

Research Interests

My research group uses a combination of mathematical modelling and empirical work to examine the causes of large-scale patterns in marine community structure and diversity. Increasingly, we are moving beyond the use of traditional “canned” statistical models. Instead, we are integrating theory and data by using contemporary analytical tools that allow us to confront process-oriented ecological models directly with empirical data. Our work falls into three areas: biogeography, community dynamics, and energetics and population dynamics.

Our biogeographical work, part of a broader research program involving several JCU and overseas colleagues, investigates the effects of historical and contemporary environmental factors on coral reef biodiversity. We develop and test models of biodiversity and community structure. Compared to other fields of ecology, biogeography has been slow to develop rigorous models for species distributions and patterns of abundance. Our work contributes directly to this emerging body of theory.

Another area of work in my group is community dynamics. An emerging thrust of this research concerns the ecological stability of coral reef ecosystems (their “resilience”). An important real-world problem is to understand the factors that influence the capacity for coral reefs to cope with large-scale human impacts like overfishing and global warming. We are developing models to determine whether factors under the control of resource managers, such as the design of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), can enhance coral reef resilience.

My third major area of research involves understanding the population-level consequences of environmental degradation, such as global warming and eutrophication. To do this, we are scaling from the physiological responses of individual coral colonies to their effects on population growth rates. This research, a collaboration with Dr Ken Anthony, closely links model development with experimental calibration and testing.

An additional emerging area of research in my group is in fisheries modelling. Current projects include the effects of no-take zones on fisheries productivity, sustainable balancing of commercial and subsistence fishing, and the population viability analysis of reef sharks.

Selected Publications