People

Research Associate (2011-2013)

Vanessa grew up in a few places, but has her roots in France and Germany. She moved to Townsville in 2000, where she completed a BSc with Honours in Marine Biology in 2003. After working at the University of Perpignan (France) for a couple of years, she returned to JCU and obtained her PhD in 2010. Her research focuses on the causes and consequences of biodiversity loss from a genetic to ecosystem level in coral reef fish assemblages, as well as the effects of climate change on reef organisms

Publications online

Selected Publications

• Messmer V., Jones G. P., Munday P. L., Planes S. (2012) Concordance between genetic and species diversity in coral reef fishes across the Pacific Ocean biodiversity gradient. Evolution. 66(12):3902-3917

• Messmer V., Jones G.P., Munday P.L., Holbrook, S.J. Schmitt R.J. and Brooks A. (2011) Habitat biodiversity as a determinant of local fish community structure on coral reefs. Ecology. 92(12):2285-2298

• Lawton R.J., Messmer V., Pratchett M.S. and Bay L.K. (2011). High gene flow across large geographic scales reduces extinction risk for a highly specialized coral feeding butterflyfish. Molecular Ecology. 20: 3584-3598.

• Pratchett M.S., Hoey, A.S., Wilson S.K., Messmer V., and Graham, N.A.J. (2011). Changes in biodiversity and functioning of reef fish assemblages following coral bleaching and coral loss. Diversity. 3(3): 424-452.

• Gaither M.R., Bowen B.W., Toonen R.J., Planes S., Messmer V., Earle J. and Robertson D.R. (2010). Genetic consequences of introducing allopatric lineages of Bluestriped Snapper (Lutjanus kasmira) to Hawaii. Molecular Ecology 19(6):1107-1121.

• Messmer V (2010). From genes to ecosystems: patterns, processes and consequences of declining biodiversity in coral reef fish communities. PhD thesis, James Cook University.

• Messmer V., van Herwerden L., Munday P.L. and Jones J.P. (2005) Phylogeography of colour polymorphism in the coral reef fish, Pseudochromis fuscus, from Papua New Guinea and the Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs. 24(3) 392-402.

• Messmer V., Jones J.P., van Herwerden L. and Munday P.L. (2005) Genetic and ecological characterization of colour dimorphism in a coral reef fish. Environmental Biology of Fishes. 74(2): 175-183.

• Gaither M.R., Planes S., Toonen R.J., Robertson D.R., Choat J.H., Messmer V, Bowen B.W. (2008) The introduction of Lutjanus kasmira to the Hawaiian islands: using genetics to investigate an invasion. 11^thInternational Coral Reef Symposium

• Planes S., Fauvelot C., Messmer V., Swarup S., Leray M., Tison J.L. (2008) Absence of geographic barrier across the indo-pacific province for coral reef fishes. 11^th International Coral Reef Symposium.