Researchers
Students
Alumni
ManagementAshton Gainsford
PhD graduate
James Cook University
ashton.gainsford@my.jcu.edu.au
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
Molecular Ecology & Evolution Laboratory, School of Marine and Tropical Biology,
and ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies,
James Cook University
Townsville, QLD 4811 Australia
phone: 61-07-4781 5001
email: ashton.gainsford@my.jcu.edu.au
profile: ashtongainsford.wordpress.com
A multi-disciplinary evaluation of the hybrid anemonefish Amphiprion leucokranos: behaviour shaping evolutionary outcomes of hybridization.
Hybridization is an important source of genetic variation within the marine environment. The highly diverse nature of coral reef assemblages offers many opportunities to broaden our understanding of ecological and evolutionary implications associated with current and historical gene exchange between naturally hybridizing species. The project aims to evaluate the ecological and evolutionary implications of reef fish hybridization with the application of genetic techniques to provide high resolution inference of genetic structure within and among taxa. The broad objective of the project is to evaluate localised differences between regions across the narrow hybrid zone between two anemonefish species, and a confirmed hybrid. This project will use ecological and morphological techniques, as well as phylogenetic and population genetic analyses, to address this question, as well as how populations outside the hybrid zone compare to those within, how species are changing through time and whether an advantage or disadvantage exists for hybrids within mixed species groups with strong social structuring behaviour.
Dr. Lynne van Herwerden and Prof. Geoffrey P. Jones
Gainsford, A., L. van Herwerden, and G. P. Jones. (In Review) Hierarchical behaviour, habitat use and species size differences shape evolutionary outcomes of hybridization in a coral reef fish. Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
Gainsford, A., L. van Herwerden, G. P. Jones. 2013 Behaviour shapes evolutionary outcomes of hybridization in a coral reef fish. Presented at the 9th Indo-Pacific Fish Conference, Okinawa, Japan.
Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation Inc. Research Funding, 2014
ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies Travel Award, 2014
Australian Postgraduate Award, James Cook University, 2012 – 2015
First Class Honours Research Thesis (GPA 7), James Cook University, 2011
Australian National Network in Marine Science Coursework Scholarship, 2010
New research reveals marine heatwaves are a much bigger threat to coral reefs than previously thought, with effects that go beyond coral bleaching. In the study, scientists show for the first time th
The world’s largest coordinated study of coral reefs identifies just where and how to save coral reefs across the Indo-Pacific.More than 80 scientists, including an Australian team from the ARC
A group of Australian scientists has created the world’s first computer model that can accurately predict the movements of baby coral trout across the Great Barrier Reef.The study confirms the i
Being a fussy eater is a problem for reef fish who seek refuge from climate change on deeper reefs. But, scientists discovered, the coral that these fussy fish eat can support them.The study was l
Abstract: Coral reef restoration is gaining momentum globally in response to the threat of climate change and associated coral bleaching. In Australia, as part of the Reef Restoration and Adaptatio
Abstract:Developing global environmental policies, and implementing these at a local level has proven extremely challenging. I will present research using ethnographic techniques and multi-level
Abstract: Recurrent bleaching events since the early 1980’s have led to enduring ecosystems changes throughout the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea and the increasing frequency and intensity of
Abstract: Conservation relies largely on the ability to influence behaviours and ensure rule adherence. Yet, noncompliance in conservation contexts is common. For instance, poaching regularly neg
AbstractProjected near-future ocean CO2 levels alter behaviours that affect survival, such as predator escape and foraging, in marine invertebrates. However, the mechanisms responsible for these e
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 t
Abstract: The declining condition of many habitats in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area means marine park managers have to take a different approach to management. Managers can no longer rely
Abstract: Photosymbiosis is the main driver of reef development because it enhances calcification rates, thereby allowing corals to grow in oligotrophic environments. The reefal systems of the Palae
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