People

Bio:

Originally from the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia. Augustine became interested in the marine environment during his teenage years while camping/free-diving with family and friends along Victoria’s southern cost. After traveling aboard for several years and discovering the delights of diving in warmer waters, he decided to return to Australia and pursue a career in Marine Biology. He has been at JCU since 2013 and completed a BSc in Marine Biology in 2016 and an Honours in 2017, under the supervision of Andrew Baird, Tom Bridge and Geoff Jones. His honours thesis investigated how coral and fish taxa responded to the 2016 bleaching event along an extended depth gradient in the clear waters of Osprey Reef, in the Coral Sea. In 2019 he started his PhD candidature under the supervision of Andrew Baird and Tom Bridge. Augustine’s research is now building on his earlier honours research to explore the environmental drivers behind patterns of coral species zonation across depth gradients on coral reefs.

Project Title:

Physiological and environmental drivers of coral depth zonation

Supervisors:

Prof. Andrew Baird (ARC), Dr. Tom Bridge (ARC, QMN)

Publications:

Crosbie, A. J., Bridge, T. C., Jones, G., & Baird, A. H. (2019). Response of reef corals and fish at Osprey Reef to a thermal anomaly across a 30 m depth gradient. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 622, 93-102.

Awards and Grants:

David Yellowlees Excellence in Research Award (2019)

James Cook University Research Training Program Stipend (2019-2022)

James Cook University College of Science and Engineering Prize for the Best BSc Honours Student (2017).

James Cook University Academic Medal (Bachelor Coursework) (2016)