The Great Barrier Reef has lost half its corals
A new study of the Great Barrier Reef shows populations of its small, medium and large corals have all declined in the past three decades. Lead author Dr Andy Dietzel, from the ARC Centre of Excell
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: Habitats are degrading worldwide and such change leads to a major loss of biodiversity. This talk will summaries our recent research that explores how the degradation of coral reefs affects how fish assess risk. For fish that closely associate with live coral, the loss of live coral nearby can modify important olfactory cues that indicate risk, alter how they learn the identity of predators and their ability to pass this information to other. These fish are no longer able to develop a neophobic, risk averse, phenotype and die much faster than when not affected by cues from degraded coral. Luckily, they can still learn risk from other non-affected species, but this learning mechanism not as efficient as learning first hand and leads to reduced survival. Determining the mechanisms that underlie why some species are affected while others are not will improve our understanding of species resilience to coral degradation.
Biography: Professor Mark McCormick has been studying fish communities on temperate and tropical reefs for 30 years, and is a world expert on the early life history of fishes, producing over 200 research papers. He has been funded extensively through the Australian Research Council to examine the processes that regulate the numbers and distribution of fishes on today’s reefs, and those we may see in the future. His research has focused on the interconnections between fish life-stages; from how environmental change affects parents and their larval offspring, through to who survives the gauntlet of mouths as the larvae return to reefs to become breeding members of the fish community. His current research projects involve determining the impact of habitat degradation and anthropogenic noise on fish communities.
A new study of the Great Barrier Reef shows populations of its small, medium and large corals have all declined in the past three decades. Lead author Dr Andy Dietzel, from the ARC Centre of Excell
Scientists have found that as the world undergoes profound environmental change, identifying and protecting ‘novel’ communities of species can help prevent extinctions within vulnerable ecosystems
Scientists say a ‘portfolio’ of protected areas within marine parks such as the Great Barrier Reef can help secure sustainable fish populations. Dr Hugo Harrison from the ARC Centre of Excellen
Scientists have developed a new genetic tool that can help them better understand and ultimately work to save coral reefs. “Surprisingly, we still don’t know how many coral species live on the
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
Abstract: When abundant, seabirds feeding in the open ocean transport large quantities of nutrients onto islands, enhancing the productivity of island fauna and flora. These nutrients can leach int
Abstract: Current-day populations of coral reef fish suffer when exposed acutely to elevated temperatures, but future warming will occur over greater timescales. Recent studies show that developmenta
Abstract: There is often a mismatch between the scales at which ecosystems are threatened by human impacts and those at which management and policy are implemented. Better understanding the scales ov
Abstract: Ocean warming and acidification are challenging the tolerance limits of scleractinian corals. However, beneficial acclimation and stress-hardening via phenotypic plasticity may be pathw
Abstract: Globally, coral reefs are under threat. Unfortunately, the rate of ecosystem degradation often surpasses the rate of generation of knowledge required to support management. Despite the consi
Abstract: Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing threatens resource sustainability and equity. A major challenge with such activity is that most fishing vessels do not broadcast their positions
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