Abstract: The geomorphology and ecology of coral reef systems are intimately linked, but it is my experience as a coral reef geomorphologist that few ecologists and managers are aware of these inter-relationships or how geomorphological knowledge can contribute to their thinking on ecological and/or management problems.  In this seminar I present some general geomorphological traits of the Great Barrier Reef of relevance to ecologists and managers, and use examples of geomorphological research on inshore reefs and reef islands of the Great Barrier Reef as case studies to show how geomorphological knowledge is relevant to some key challenges facing the Great Barrier Reef.

Biography: Scott’s interest in coastal geomorphology developed over the many hours he spent on a surfboard on the southern beaches of Sydney, where he grew up.  The academic interest in coral reef geomorphology developed during his Honours year at the University of Wollongong, where he worked on lagoonal sedimentation on the Cocos Keeling Islands, and later during his PhD where he worked on reconstructing past sea levels using coral ‘microatolls’.  Scott has been at JCU since completing his PhD, working on the GBR but continuing to work on coral reefs throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans, as well as in the Caribbean.  He has a wide range of interests, but recent research has focused on the growth of inshore turbid zone reefs, reef island growth and morphodynamics, and links between reef ecology, carbonate budgets, and reef growth.