The double burden of climate change
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
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
Abstracts:
Waves affect escape performance in juvenile coral reef fishes: Locomotion is an integral component of predator-prey interactions and fundamental to the survival of mobile organisms. In fishes, for example, the fast-start escape response is used for escaping from predators. This behaviour is critical for juvenile reef fishes as predation is one of the dominant factors influencing their survivorship and distribution in nature. In shallow coastal habitats, wave action is a powerful physical force thought to exert significant effects fish locomotor performance. My PhD research examines how complex, wave-driven water flows can influence the outcome of predator-prey relationships. Using laboratory experiments and high-speed kinematic analyses, I examined how unsteady, wave-driven water motion affects the fast-start performance of juvenile coral reef fishes. I compared three species with contrasting body morphologies since deep bodies are thought to improve postural control and maneuverability compared to fusiform bodies. Unsteady flow had little effect on maximum escape velocities but dramatically altered response times for some species and not others. Since response latency is a major determinant of escape success, postural disturbances from unsteady water motion might reduce the ability of some coral reef fishes to evade predators during settlement. This could have important implications for the distribution, abundance and recruitment of juvenile fishes on the reef, across both spatial and temporal scales.
Waves shape intraspecific variation in a widespread damselfish: Wave-driven water flow is a major environmental factor limiting the distribution and abundance of marine organisms in shallow aquatic habitats. Distribution patterns of many coral reef fishes have been linked to their swimming performance across wave energy gradients, suggesting that species are limited to specific habitats according to these features. Yet, some widespread species are routinely found across habitats ranging from sheltered lagoonal fringing reefs to the exposed crests of barrier reefs. How are these species able to thrive in such a broad range of wave environments? As part of my PhD research, I am exploring the swimming performance of the spiny chromis, Acanthochromis polyacanthus, a common and widespread damselfish on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Using a combination of behavioural observations, morphological measurements, respirometry and rearing experiments, I will describe the intraspecific adaptations that allow this species to persist across such a diversity of flow environments as well as suggest proximate mechanisms contributing to this variation. Studying natural populations distributed across steep environmental gradients provide excellent opportunities for understanding factors contributing to diversity and the capacity of species to respond to environmental fluctuations..
Biographies:
Dom completed a joint master’s degree at McGill University in Canada and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama; he is currently in the final year of his PhD at the Australian National University. His research focuses on fish and invertebrates, both in marine and freshwater systems, and he has worked on invasive species, predation and host-parasite interactions. Currently, his thesis examines how complex water flows affect locomotion and predator-prey interactions in coral reef fishes.
Sandra completed her BSc Honours and MSc degrees in biology at McGill University, Canada. Her Masters thesis explored intraspecific variation and ecomorphology in East African cichlid fishes. In 2010, Sandra commenced her PhD at the Australian National University and is using techniques in ecomorphology, ecophysiology and behavioural ecology to explore inter- and intraspecific phenotypic variation in coral reef fishes in response to biotic (mostly parasite) and abiotic (mostly wave) gradients.
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
A new study has delivered a stark warning about the impacts of urban growth on the world’s coral reefs. As coastal developments expand at pace around the world, a year-long study of coral on a reef
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
Abstract: Outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) are a major driver of coral decline across the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and compound upon the impacts of increasingly frequent and severe coral
Abstract: Being a new staff member at JCU, I will start with a short overview of my research. Next I will zoom in on a specific topic that I have been interested in for a long time: the impact of e
Abstract: The harsh truth is that, despite exciting innovations and increases in activity, ocean conservation is not succeeding, at least not fast enough. This is my conclusion from the last decad
This talk is the last of the parachute science seminar series organized by the ARC CoE Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee. Abstract Universities and institutions across th
This talk is the second of three on parachute science being organized by the ARC CoE Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee. Abstract For millenia, Traditional Owners have hel
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