DNA reveals the past and future of coral reefs
New DNA techniques are being used to understand how coral reacted to the end of the last ice age in order to better predict how they will cope with current changes to the climate. James Cook Univer
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
Roberto Iglesias-Prieto is the head of the Unidad Académica Puerto Morelos at the Institute of Marine Sciences and Limnology of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and the Chair of the Mesoamerican Center of Excellence of the GEF/World Bank Coral Reef Targeted Research program.
Born in Mexico City, he received a Bachelor’s degree in biology and a MSc. in biological oceanography at UNAM. Roberto moved to the University of California Santa Barbara, where he received a PhD in aquatic and population biology. After a year as a post-doctoral fellow at UCSB, Dr. Iglesias-Prieto moved in 1994 to the northern Mexican state of Baja California to take a position as a senior scientist at the Center for Scientific Research and Higher Studies of Ensenada.
Since 1996, Roberto has been a research professor at UNAM’s laboratory at Puerto Morelos in the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula. Roberto’s main research interest is the photobiology of the symbiotic associations between zooxanthellae and reef-building corals. His work has been focused on the ecological and evolutionary consequences of symbiont specificity in corals, the effects of thermal and light stress on the organization of the photosynthetic apparatus of symbiotic dinoflagellates, and the role of coral skeletons as modulators of the intracellular light environment. In addition to his research interests in coral reefs, Roberto is currently serving as the head of the Scientific and Technical Advisory Council on Coral Reefs for the Mexican government.
New DNA techniques are being used to understand how coral reacted to the end of the last ice age in order to better predict how they will cope with current changes to the climate. James Cook Univer
A new study on the effects of climate change in five tropical countries has found fisheries are in more trouble than agriculture, and poor people are in the most danger. Distinguished Profess
James Cook University researchers have found brightly coloured fish are becoming increasingly rare as coral declines, with the phenomenon likely to get worse in the future. Christopher Hemingson, a
Researchers working with stakeholders in the Great Barrier Reef region have come up with ideas on how groups responsible for looking after the reef can operate more effectively when the next bleaching
Abstract: As marine species adapt to climate change, their heat tolerance will likely be under strong selection. Individual variation in heat tolerance and its heritability underpin the potential fo
Abstract: The Reef Ecology Lab in KAUST’s Red Sea Research Center explores many aspects of movement ecology of marine organisms, ranging from adult migrations to intergenerational larval dispersal
Abstract: Macroalgal meadows are a prominent, yet often maligned component of the tropical seascape. Our work at Ningaloo reef in WA demonstrate that canopy forming macroalgae provide habitat for ad
Abstract: Sharks are generally perceived as strong and fearsome animals. With fossils dating back at least 420 million years, sharks are not only majestic top predators but they also outlived dinosa
Abstract: Connectivity plays a vital role in many ecosystems through its effects on fundamental ecological and evolutionary processes. Its consequences for populations and metapopulations have been
Abstract: Evolution of many eukaryotic organisms is affected by interactions with microbes. Microbial symbioses can ultimately reflect host’s diet, habitat range, and even body shape. However, how
Abstract: The past few years have seen unprecedented coral bleaching and mortality on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) but the consequences of this on biodiversity are not yet known. This talk will expl
Abstract: Molecular approaches have revolutionised our understanding of the systematics and evolution of most branches on the tree of life, including corals. Over the last twenty-five years molecula
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