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
A two-year study has found the amount of algae on a coral reef is influenced by interaction between light and temperature, as well as by human impacts.
Global studies have long linked human activities to an increase in algae and the decline in reef-building corals, but have not focused on the impact of natural changes in the environment.
A team of scientists from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoralCoE) and Global Change Institute (GCI) based at The University of Queensland (UQ) have tracked environmental conditions, reef composition and coral-algal competition across Heron Island, on the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef.
They discovered interactions between light and temperature also influenced algal levels.
Lead author and CoralCoE PhD candidate, Kristen Brown said changes in algal biomass influenced the composition and frequency of coral-algal interactions.
Until now, how environmental factors interact to control the abundance of algae have mostly been inferred from seasonal peaks.
“Competition between coral and algae can lead to reductions in coral growth and survival, which can have implications on the structure and function of coral reef ecosystems,” Ms Brown said.
“Algae and their interactions with corals are more relevant than ever, especially given the rapidly degrading coral reef ecosystem dynamics.”
CoralCoE’s Deputy Director, Professor Ove Hoegh-Guldberg said a greater understanding of seasonal and spatial variation was important for interpreting the response of coral reef communities to any future disturbances.
The research, The dynamics of coral-algal interactions in space and time on the southern Great Barrier Reef’, is published in Frontiers in Marine Science (doi: 10.3389/fmars.2018.00181).
Media: Kristen Brown, @imkristenbrown, +61 7 3346 7330; 0438 285 283
An international team of researchers have described a remarkable new species of fish that lived in the sea in the time of the dinosaurs in the late Jurassic about 150 million years ago.The new sp
A researcher at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University has received one of Queensland’s most prestigious science prizes – the Queensland Young Tall Poppy
James Cook University researchers say a new global database will lead to better marine parks by helping to bridge critical gaps in marine conservation planning.Dr Jorge G. Álvarez-Romero from the
An international team of researchers has mapped Nemo’s genome, providing the research community with an invaluable resource to decode the response of fish to environmental changes, including climate
Abstract: Characterization of genomic biodiversity through comprehensive species sampling has the potential to change our understanding of evolution. To study evolution across a major vertebrate cl
Abstract: There are a number of competing definitions of anomalous ‘novel’ communities, either via the ‘novel ecosystem hypothesis’ derived from restoration ecology, or as ‘no-analogue
Abstract: Ecosystem accessibility, through road networks, is the main driver of their conditions, with the most accessible ecosystems being most at risk of resource depletion. To date, measuring
Abstract:Whether and how conservation ideas and practices spread can have major impacts on both people and ecosystems. Mbaru’s project examines how people adopt conservation initiatives but also
Abstract: The long-standing paradigm that ecology and evolution play out on different timescales is increasingly challenged by recent studies that show real-time interaction of the two. Similarly
Abstract:Climate change is severely modifying the structure and function of marine and coastal ecosystems worldwide. In the Mediterranean Sea the ongoing warming have been linked to increased mass
Abstract: Anthropogenic emissions are driving global climate change, which is resulting in the warming and acidification of the world’s oceans. The current changes have displayed a range of neg
Abstract:In fisheries management—as in environmental governance more generally—regulatory arrangements that are thought to be helpful in some contexts frequently become panaceas or, in other w
Partner Research Institutions
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
