1

People and ecosystems

Understanding of the links between coral reef ecosystems, the goods and services they provide to people, and the wellbeing of human societies.

2

Ecosystem dynamics: past, present and future

Examining the multi-scale dynamics of reefs, from population dynamics to macroevolution

3

Responding to a changing world

Advancing the fundamental understanding of the key processes underpinning reef resilience.
Coral Bleaching

Coral Bleaching
Coral Reef Studies

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

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Carolyn Wheeler

Carolyn Wheeler

PhD Candidate

MSc, University of Massachusetts Boston; BSc, University of New England

James Cook University; The University of Massachusetts Boston

Bio

Originally from New York state, Carolyn found her passion for fish biology during her undergraduate honors research at the University of New England. There she conducted physiological research on sturgeon and a variety of species of sharks and skates. Carolyn is currently a co-tutelle PhD student between the School for the Environment at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University jointly supervised by Drs. John Mandelman and Jodie Rummer. Carolyn spent the first half of her PhD working with the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium in Boston studying the effects of temperature on development and physiological performance of epaulette shark embryos and hatchlings. She was awarded a graduate fellowship through the American Australian Association to continue her research at JCU assessing the impacts of thermal stress on reproduction in adult epaulette sharks.

 

Publications

Wheeler CR, Rummer JL, Bailey B, Lockwood J, Vance S, Mandelman JW. 2021. Future thermal regimes for epaulette sharks (Hemiscyllium ocellatum): growth and metabolic performance cease to be optimal. Scientific Reports, 10: 79953 (doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-79953-0).

Wheeler CR, Gervais CR, Johnson MS, Vance S, Rui R, Mandelman JW, Rummer JL. 2020. Anthropogenic stressors influence reproduction and development in elasmobranch fishes. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 30: 373-386 (doi: 10.1007/s11160-020-09604-0).

Prohaska BK, Tsang PCW, Driggers III WB, Hoffmayer ER, Wheeler CR, Sulikowski JA. 2018. Effects of delayed phlebotomy on plasma steroid hormone concentrations in two elasmobranch species. Journal of Applied Ichthyology, 00:1–6 (doi: 10.1111/jai.13700).

Wheeler CR, Novak AJ, Wippelhauser GS, Sulikowski JA. 2018. Validity of external morphology to determine sex of Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus). Journal of Applied Ichthyology, (doi:10.1111/jai.13775).

Novak AJ, Carlson AE, Wheeler CR, Wippelhauser GS, Sulikowski JA. 2017. Critical Foraging Habitat of Atlantic Sturgeon Based on Feeding Habits, Prey Distribution, and Movement Patterns in the Saco River Estuary, Maine. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society, (doi: 10.1080/00028487.2016.1264472).

Wheeler CR, Novak AJ, Wippelhauser GS, Sulikowski JA. 2016. Using circulating reproductive hormones for sex determination of Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) in the Saco River estuary, Maine. Conservation Physiology, (doi: 10.1093/conphys/cow059).

Sulikowski JA, CR Wheeler, AJ Gallagher, BK Prohaska, JA Langan, N Hammerschlag. 2016. Variation in the reproductive ecology of a marine apex predator, the tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier), at a protected female aggregation site. Aquatic Biology, 24:175-184 (doi: 10.3354/ab00648).

Prohaska BK, Tsang PCW, Driggers III WB, Hoffmayer ER, Wheeler CR, Brown AC, Sulikowski JA. 2013. Assessing reproductive status in elasmobranch fishes using steroid hormones extracted from skeletal muscle tissue. Conservation Physiology, 1(1) (doi: 10.1093/conphys/cot028).

 

 

Media Releases

More
10 Jun 2021
More ‘fairness’ needed in conservation

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
11 May 2021
Time running out to save coral reefs

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
04 May 2021
Limited fishing zones support reef conservation

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
30 Apr 2021
Reef researcher wins British Ecological Society prize

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

Seminars

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29 May
Hidden differences among cryptic species of coral (Pocillopora spp) have large ecological consequences at Moorea, French Polynesia.

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 (
27 May
Phylogenomics of Antipatharia (black corals) and their role as reef ecosystem engineers

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.
25 May
Multi-site, harmonized sustainability science: community monitoring in common-pool resources

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
25 May
Processes and patterns in larval settlement of crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster cf. solaris)

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

18 May
No evidence for tropicalization of coral assemblages in a subtropical climate change hot spot

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,
12 May
A Planetary Health Approach to Watershed Management for Downstream Reefs and Human Well-Being

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
23 Apr
Behavioural and physiological phenotypes of fishes: Now and into the future.

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
21 Apr
What can the fishes tell us about the world’s changing reefs?

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
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Coral Reef Studies

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

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