Researchers
Students
Alumni
ManagementDr April Hall (née Boaden)
Advance Queensland Postdoctoral Research Fellow
PhD (2015), James Cook University
James Cook University
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
Advance Queensland Postdoctoral Research Fellow
PhD (2015), James Cook University
James Cook University
April is a post-doctoral research fellow; her research activities explore fundamental concepts of coral reef fish ecology, with a particular focus on marine parks management and conservation of coral reef fish communities. April’s current research activities are focussed around evaluating the value of conservation park (yellow) zones to biodiversity conservation in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. April holds an Advance Queensland Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship, and works in collaboration with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, as well as the Reef and Ocean Ecology Laboratory. April’s PhD research focused on the importance of predatory fishes on reefs, and the trophic impacts of predator removals on coral reef fish communities. This project provided valuable information on how fishing of predators affects trophic dynamics on the Great Barrier Reef, and demonstrated the utility of no-take marine reserves in protecting ecosystem processes on reefs. Other research projects include investigation of the demographics, reproduction and habitat associations of nemipterid fishes, as well as collaborative projects examining spatial and temporal trends in coral trout abundance in the Capricorn Bunkers. April co-supervises post-graduate students and has held several roles as a course demonstrator in the College of Marine and Environmental Sciences.
April’s research activities explore fundamental concepts of coral reef fish ecology, with a particular focus on trophic relationships in coral reef fish communities. Her PhD research focused on the importance of predatory fishes on reefs, and the trophic impacts of predator removals on coral reef fish communities. This project provided valuable information on how fishing of predators affects trophic dynamics on the Great Barrier Reef, and demonstrated the utility of no-take marine reserves in protecting ecosystem processes on reefs. Other research projects include investigation of the demographics, reproduction and habitat associations of nemipterid fishes, as well as collaborative projects examining spatial and temporal trends in coral trout abundance in the Capricorn Bunkers. April currently co-supervises a masters student, and is a casual course demonstrator in the College of Marine and Environmental Sciences at James Cook University.
Dr Timothy Clark
Darren Cameron and David Wachenfeld (GBRMPA)
Co-supervisor (with Prof. Michael Kingsford) for Honours Student (first class) Stephanie Garra
Project: Inter-relationships between reef fishes and soft corals
Co-supervisor (with Prof. Michael Kingsford) for Masters Student: Lisa Vitale.
Project: Early Life History Traits of Scolopsis bilineatus
Hall AE, Vitale L, Kingsford MJ (2019) Planktonic larval duration, early growth, and the influence of dietary input on the otolith microstructure of Scolopsis bilineatus (Nemipteridae) Environmental Biology of Fishes 102:541-552 doi:10.1007/s10641-019-00852-z Link to full text
Hall, A.E. and Kingsford, M.J. (2016). Variation in the population demographics of Scolopsis bilineatus in response to predators. Coral Reefs. doi:10.1007/s00338-016-1486-0 Link to full text
Hall, A.E. and Clark, T.D. (2016). Seeing is believing: visual rather than chemosensory predator cues elicit a metabolic response in a prey species of coral reef fish. Animal Behaviour. 115:117-126. Link to full text
Hall, A.E. and Kingsford, M.J. (2016). Predators exacerbate competitive interactions and dominance hierarchies between two coral reef fishes. PLoS ONE. Link to full text
*Boaden, A. E. and Kingsford, M. J. (2015). Predators drive community structure in coral reef fish assemblages. Ecosphere DOI: 10.1890/ES14-00292.1. Link to full text
*Boaden, A. E. and Kingsford, M. J. (2013). Distributions and Habitat Associations of the Bridled Monocle Bream (Scolopsis bilineatus : Nemipteridae): a Demographic Approach. Journal of Fish Biology, 83: 618-641. Link to full text.
*Boaden, A.E., and Kingsford, M.J. (2012) Diel behaviour and trophic ecology of Scolopsis bilineatus (Nemipteridae). Coral Reefs 31: 817-883. Link to full text.
* Published in maiden name of April Boaden. Name change to April Hall as of November 2015.
Advance Queensland Fellowship announcement- ‘Centre scientists assess fishing zones’
JCU media release ‘Mix of marine zones matters most for prey fish’
CoE Media release- ‘Fishing impacts on the Great Barrier Reef‘
Science Daily article: ‘Fishing impacts on the Great Barrier Reef‘
The Age: ‘Fishing damaging Great Barrier Reef’s Food Chain’
New research shows what is often assumed to be ‘fair’ in conservation practice may not be considered so by the very people most affected by it—and a new approach is needed if protected areas are
New research on the growth rates of coral reefs shows there is still a window of opportunity to save the world’s coral reefs—but time is running out. The international study was initiated at th
A world first study within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park has found limited fishing zones (yellow zones) are still important conservation and fisheries management tools when paired with no-fishing
Today, the British Ecological Society announced Dr Renato Morais from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University as the winner of this year’s Haldane Prize. The
Abstract: I will present some findings showing genetically-identified cryptic coral species within a functional group differing in their response to disturbance (bleaching), environmental gradients (
Abstract: This project aims to set some of the fundamentals necessary for the study of antipatharians (black corals) in the disciplines of ecology, phylogenomics, biology and conservation management.
Abstract: In 1990, Elinor Ostrom published Governing the Commons, a demonstration that communities could successfully manage common pool resources without resorting to individual private property ri
Abstract: Population irruptions of the crown-of-thorns starfish, Acanthaster cf. solaris, are a perennial threat to coral reefs and may be initiated by fluctuations in reproductive or settlement
Abstract: Climate change is causing the distribution and abundance of many organisms to change. In particular, organisms typical of the tropics are increasing in abundance in many subtropical regions,
Abstract: Research from the Pacific Islands during the past decade has linked watershed modification to degradation in downstream freshwater and coral reef communities. However, even creative communic
Abstract: Earth´s climate has changed cyclically throughout history. What is stark and unequivocal is that since the industrial revolution, human activities have irreversibly altered the Earth´s cl
Abstract: When a coral reef is bleached, a temperate kelp forest is destroyed by an army of sea urchins, or when intense fishing pressure is removed through the establishment of a marine park, the ma
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