Peter is an ARC Laureate Fellow and Professor of coral reef ecology at the University of Queensland. His research responds to conservation management questions and combines remote sensing, empirical field studies and ecological models to identify threats to ecosystems and opportunities for management intervention. He has worked on the connectivity of fish among mangroves, seagrass and reef ecosystems, the impacts of marine reserves on ecosystem function, modelling the resilience of reefs to climate change, and the creation of coral-friendly fisheries policies. Peter is a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation, a former working group chair of the World Bank/GEF Coral Reef Targeted Research, and coordinator of the EU-funded Future of Reefs in a Changing Environment Programme.

ABSTRACT:

This talk will draw mostly from studies of Caribbean reefs and will examine the processes driving resilience and dynamics across the region. The talk will explore the benefits of some conservation interventions and look ahead to the challenges facing reef ecology as systems continue to change. Peter will finish with some consideration of how transferable (or not) these ideas are to the Pacific.