DNA reveals the past and future of coral reefs
New DNA techniques are being used to understand how coral reacted to the end of the last ice age in order to better predict how they will cope with current changes to the climate. James Cook Univer
From 2005 to 2022, the main node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies was headquartered at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland (Australia)
With regards to avoiding regime shifts Dr Nystrom’s research entails studies of ecological tipping points, and the role of biodiversity buffering disturbance (i.e. the resilience) in coral reefs. To better understand how to reverse already degraded states his research focuses on identifying self-reinforcing (positive) feedback mechanisms that tend to lock reefs in undesirable states; the way human actions influence the strength and direction of these feedbacks, how different feedbacks interact and at what scales they operate. Dr Nystrom’s research also comprises inter-disciplinary studies on how changes in ecological feedbacks interact with socioeconomic processes, potentially generating so called “social-ecological traps”, and how these traps are distributed within society and across scales. Magnus Nystrom received his PhD in 2001 and is currently associated professor at the Department of Systems Ecology, Stockholm University. He is also chairing one of the research themes at the Stockholm Resilience Centre.
Marine ecosystem decline is accelerating. At some point degradation may pass a tipping point beyond which ecosystems become trapped in alternative degraded states, as a result of changes in critical feedbacks. Self-reinforcing feedbacks pose a major challenge for managers and policy-makers seeking remedial actions to curb the marine crisis. A better understanding of the way human actions influence the strength and direction of feedbacks, how different feedbacks interact and at what scales they operate, is crucial for successful implementation of marine ecosystem management.
New DNA techniques are being used to understand how coral reacted to the end of the last ice age in order to better predict how they will cope with current changes to the climate. James Cook Univer
A new study on the effects of climate change in five tropical countries has found fisheries are in more trouble than agriculture, and poor people are in the most danger. Distinguished Profess
James Cook University researchers have found brightly coloured fish are becoming increasingly rare as coral declines, with the phenomenon likely to get worse in the future. Christopher Hemingson, a
Researchers working with stakeholders in the Great Barrier Reef region have come up with ideas on how groups responsible for looking after the reef can operate more effectively when the next bleaching
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Abstract: The Reef Ecology Lab in KAUST’s Red Sea Research Center explores many aspects of movement ecology of marine organisms, ranging from adult migrations to intergenerational larval dispersal
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Abstract: The past few years have seen unprecedented coral bleaching and mortality on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) but the consequences of this on biodiversity are not yet known. This talk will expl
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