Future too warm for baby sharks
New research has found as climate change causes the world’s oceans to warm, baby sharks are born smaller, exhausted, undernourished and into environments that are already difficult for them to survi
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
Corals occupy one of the basal branches in the tree of life and have long been considered to be among the simplest of animals. However, many aspects of coral biology suggest that the coral polyp is far from simple. Corals have evolved a mass spawning strategy that is unique within the animal kingdom. Synchronised breeding among coral species provides opportunities for occasional hybridisation, with important implications for species diversity and resilience. Corals form partnerships with symbiotic algae, an association that underpins their success as reef builders. Evidence of flexibility in these partnerships highlights options for resilience that are becoming significant as climate changes. Recent discoveries of further complexity in coral symbioses, incorporating 3-way interactions with bacterial communities, and of elements of innate immunity are revealing previously unknown mechanisms of disease resistance. Given predictions of warming and acidifying oceans, emerging diseases, and deteriorating water quality, how resourceful is the coral polyp? What is the extent of its armoury and what chance for survival as we push the boundaries of its habitat?
Professor Willis, along with colleagues and students, has been unravelling the secrets of the coral polyp for the past two decades. She will highlight aspects of coral biology and life history that influence responses to environmental stressors. Her talk will touch on key research published by her group in diverse areas from mass spawning and the evolutionary implications of hybridisation, to flexibility in algal endosymbioses and innate immunity, providing insights into the potential of corals to rise to the challenge of climate change.
New research has found as climate change causes the world’s oceans to warm, baby sharks are born smaller, exhausted, undernourished and into environments that are already difficult for them to survi
A new study shows the coastal protection coral reefs currently provide will start eroding by the end of the century, as the world continues to warm and the oceans acidify. A team of researchers led
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
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Abstract: The Allen Coral Atlas (http://allencoralatlas.org) partnership uses high-resolution satellite imagery, machine learning, and field data to map and monitor the world’s coral reefs at unp
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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
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