Dr Tracy Ainsworth

Postdoctoral Fellow

ARC Postdoctoral Research Fellow (2008-2010), ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University Research Interests Select Publications

Research Interests

Tracy's broad research interests include stress responses, cell biology, immunity and disease of marine invertebrates. Her current research focuses on investigating the cellular and molecular response's of corals to environmental stressors as a means to better understand the impact of climate change and disease in reef ecosystems.

 

Select Publications

• Ainsworth, TD, Hoegh-Guldberg, O, Heron, SF, Skirving, WJ and Leggat, W (2008). Early cellular changes are indicators of pre-bleaching thermal stress in the coral host. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 364(2): 63-71.
  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6T8F-4T9TCB4-1/2/7375e9641ae55c6e3a3f7deec20a4fed


• Ainsworth TD, Roff G, Fine M, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2008) Bacteria are not the cause of mass coral bleaching. Re-visiting the annual bleaching of Oculina patagonica in the Mediterranean Sea. ISME Journal 2:67-73


• Ainsworth TD, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2008) Cellular mechanisms of bleaching in the Mediterranean coral O. patagonica. Coral Reefs, In press. (accepted 6th January 2008).


• Ainsworth TD, Leggat WP, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2008) Imaging the innate fluorescence of marine invertebrates and their associated flora. Journal of Microscopy, In press. (accepted 15th January 2008)


• Leggat W, Ainsworth TD, Bythell J, Dove S, Gates R, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Iglesias-Prieto R, Yellowlees D (2007) The hologenome theory disregards the coral holobiont. Nature Review Microbiology 5(10):doi:10.1038/nrmicro1635-c1 (I.F. = 15.8)


• Ainsworth TD, Kvennefors EC, Blackall L, Fine M, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2007) Disease and cell death in White Syndrome of Acroporid corals on the Great Barrier Reef. Marine Biology 151(1): 19-29. (IF1.7)


• Ainsworth TD, Kramasky–Winter E, Loya Y, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Fine M (2007) Coral Disease Diagnostics: What’s between a plague and a band? Applied and Environmental Microbiology 73(3):981-992 (IF 3.5)


• Yarden O, Ainsworth TD, Roff G, Leggat W, Fine M, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2007) Increased prevalence of ubiquitous ascomycetes in an Acroporid coral (Acropora formosa) exhibiting symptoms of brown band syndrome and skeletal eroding band. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 73:2755-2757 (IF 3.5)


• Ainsworth TD, Fine M, Blackall L, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2006) Fluorescence in situ hybridisation and spectral imaging of coral-associated bacterial communities. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, Volume 72, Issue 4:3016-3020. (IF3.5)


• Leggat W, Ainsworth TD, Dove S, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2006) Aerial exposure influences coral bleaching patterns. Coral Reefs 25(3):452 (IF 2.2)


• Fine M., Roff G., Ainsworth TD, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2006) Phototrophic microendoliths bloom during coral “White Syndrome”. Coral Reefs 25(4): 577-581. (IF 2.2)


• Ainsworth TD (2004) Immunological markers for monitoring the health of the tiger prawn Peneaus mondodon. Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales; 137:3.


• Schmid K., Iskander K., Brinkworth D., and Ainsworth T. (2002). Ophthalmology and vision science 43: 187 (IF 4.1).