Bright spots take out top science prize
A team of scientists led by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE) won one of the nation’s top science awards at tonight’s ‘Oscars of Australian science’, the Eureka P
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
Abstract: Concern about overfishing and the ecological costs of aquaculture dominate popular and research narratives about the sustainability of marine resources; while the more utilitarian role of fish as a direct provider to poor, vulnerable and food insecure populations is conspicuously undervalued. The social benefits provided by marine resources (e.g., livelihoods, nutrition, well-being) are critical to the welfare of hundreds of millions of people, particularly in developing countries. Through fieldwork on small-scale fisheries, small and commercial-scale aquaculture in Mozambique and Solomon Islands, I will explore the importance and vulnerability of marine resource-based livelihoods. I will argue that the extraordinary diversity of coastal livelihoods necessitates an interdisciplinary approach to marine resource governance, one based on broad participation to help negotiate trade-offs between food and livelihood security, resource conservation, and development goals.
Biography: Jessica grew up in Newfoundland, Canada. She completed a BSc from Memorial University with a focus on juvenile cod behaviour. After spending an influential year living in Malawi and studying tilapia farming, she switched to social sciences and completed a MA from York University in 2009. In 2013, Jessica earned her PhD from the University of Victoria, which investigated small-scale fishers’ resilience and vulnerability in coastal Mozambique. Jessica joined the CoE as a joint postdoctorate research fellow with WorldFish in 2013. She uses social science methods to explore struggles over resources and livelihoods in coastal communities of the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Kiribati.
A team of scientists led by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE) won one of the nation’s top science awards at tonight’s ‘Oscars of Australian science’, the Eureka P
An analytical tool will be used to assess the climate risks facing historic World Heritage sites in Africa—the ruins of two great 13th century ports and the remains of a palace and iron-making indus
A world-first study on the Great Barrier Reef shows crown-of-thorns starfish have the ability to find their own way home—a behaviour previously undocumented—but only if their neighbourhood is stoc
An international team of scientists has found leaving more big fish in the sea reduces the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the Earth’s atmosphere. When a fish dies in the ocean it si
Abstract: Invasive species management can be the the subject of debate in many countries due to conflicting ecological, ethical, economic, and social reasons, especially when dealing with a species s
Abstract: Ocean acidification, the increase in seawater CO2 with all its associated consequences, is relatively well understood in open oceans. In shelf seas such as the Great Barrier Reef, processe
Abstract: The backdrop of legends and movies, the deep sea has always been unfathomable because we had no idea what existed there. Once thought to be barren of life, we now know this couldn’t be
Abstract: Coral reefs provide economic and environmental services for millions of people but undergoing significant ecological decline due to local (i.e., sedimentation, land-based pollution, invas
Abstract: Increasing human populations around the world’s coastline have caused extensive loss, degradation and fragmentation of coastal ecosystems. Swift losses of coastal ecosystems have been rec
Abstract: CHE is not a particular theory or a single approach but a collection of lines of research that address human-environmental interactions in coastal and marine systems at the local scale
Abstract: How can we care about something we never see or experience? Virtual reality has the potential to connect people with far-away places, and is an effective medium to generate empathy and sel
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