Fish diet heats up marine biodiversity hotspot
Scientists have discovered a never-before-seen biodiversity pattern of coral reef fishes that suggests some fishes might be exceptionally vulnerable to environmental change. A new study shows plank
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: The early development of the hard coral Acropora millepora has been described at both the morphological and molecular levels, and comparative studies are under way for other Scleractinia. Complementary data on Octocoral embryogenesis are however essential for a broader understanding of the different developmental strategies in Cnidaria and their evolution. Although the morphology of soft coral embryogenesis has been previously described, data are scarce and molecular data complementing the morphology are missing. My PhD involves the investigation of reproduction and early development in soft corals, using Lobophytum pauciflorumas model. As the majority of soft corals, L. pauciflorum colonies are either female or male. The time of reproduction coincides with the annual synchronised mass spawning event of hard corals on the GBR. The process of gametogenesis is longer in the gonochoric soft coral than in the hermaphrodite A. millepora. Further early development in L. pauciflorum appears to be slower than in A. millepora. Key genes and their expression patterns during embryogenesis however are similar.
Bio: Wiebke was born and raised in Hannover, Germany. Very early she decided that she wanted to work as a marine biologist. For her undergraduate studies, Wiebke therefore studied Biology with a focus on Marine Biology in Bremen. After graduating from the University of Bremen, Wiebke took the chance to complete the first year of her Master Studies in Marine Biology at the Ocean University of China in Qingdao. After finishing her Master’s degree, Wiebke came to Australia to work as volunteer on coral spawning. Being in the field and observing the corals spawn, laid the ground work for her persuit of a PhD degree looking at coral development. In 2012 Wiebke started her PhD under the supervision of Prof. David Miller focussing on soft coral developement. Since then she has been working on the establishment of the soft coral Lobophytum pauciflorum as a model for soft coral developmental studies. Her research allowed Wiebke to compare reproductive and developmental strategies in hard and soft corals. Further her work links morphological characteristics to molecular properties in soft coral development.
Scientists have discovered a never-before-seen biodiversity pattern of coral reef fishes that suggests some fishes might be exceptionally vulnerable to environmental change. A new study shows plank
Scientists say stable seafood consumption amongst the world’s poorer coastal communities is linked to how local habitat characteristics influence fishing at different times of the year. In the co
An international group of scientists is predicting markedly different outcomes for different species of coral reef fishes under climate change – and have made substantial progress on picking the ‘
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
Abstract: The vast majority of reef fishes have a life history consisting of a pelagic larval phase of typically 20 to 60 days, followed by larval settlement where they remain through their juvenile a
Abstract: Social networks have been and remain important across the Pacific Islands, and beyond, for building and maintaining social-ecological resilience. However, there is little quantitative infor
Abstract: The global conservation community is comprised of a range of organisations, processes, and professionals. Given the diversity of these actors, and the complexity of the systems that conser
Abstract: Seasons create a rhythm in nature and, by extension, in the lives of people who depend directly on natural resources. However, our understanding of how seasons affect the ways that people
Abstract: Oceanic shark populations have declined 77% over the past 60 years as a result of overexploitation in fisheries. However, sustainable shark management is limited to a few developed nations
Abstract: Vertigo3 is a new class of small, fast and agile ‘true-flight’ underwater glider, purposely designed for robotic, artificial intelligence-assisted broadscale marine surveys, and capable
Abstract: Recurrent marine heat waves are leading to widespread coral bleaching, transforming the structure and function of tropical coral reefs. Past bleaching events have highlighted large variatio
Abstract: Shallow-water tropical seascapes typically include a range of habitat types such as coral reefs, mangroves, macroalgal and seagrass beds. These habitats can occur in close proximity and are
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