Researchers
Students
Alumni
ManagementJohanna Leonhardt
PhD candidate
James Cook University
johanna.leonhardt@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
As a passionate conservationist and an ocean-lover, a career in marine biology was an easy choice! Attending a University on the surf coast of Victoria, Australia, I had the unique opportunity to study a B.Sc and gain a greater respect and love for the ocean through surfing and marine activities. However my marine conservation efforts didn’t start until I travelled up to Far North Queensland in 2010, where I decided to go back to uni to study a Masters in Conservation and Management at James Cook University. This gave me the opportunity to visit the beautiful Great Barrier Reef through diving and snorkelling on many sites along the coast (from Port Douglas to to Gladstone), both recreationally and for research.
My love of animals lead me to focus my research on marine turtle health for a few years, where I gained knowledge and inspiration from my fellow researchers and teachers – the up-close experiences I’ve had with these marine reptiles, including a research expedition to Raine Island, have been some of the best moments of my academic life.
Currently, I am focusing on coral health, including their resilience and ability to grow and reproduce after a major disturbance. I am also looking at the current interspecific relationship some species of coral have with algal-farming damselfish, and if this relationship will impact the future survival and persistence of the Great Barrier Reef. I have also been given the opportunity to work in the tourism industry on a weekly basis, travelling out on daily tours, educating people from all around the world about the ecological and physiological elements of a coral reef system, including the very apparent threats to the reef and current conservation efforts made by other researchers at JCU and other affiliates.
I have been given this unique opportunity to spread awareness and make people think about their future actions (however seemingly small) and how it may affect such a beautiful ecosystem whilst being involved in research and conservation on the GBR.
“Success is the good fortune that comes from aspiration, desperation, perspiration and inspiration.”
~ Evan Esar
A new study suggests sharks will need to adapt, move or die as climate change could soon render their nurseries uninhabitable. Baby sharks rely on coastal nursery-like spaces such as shallow lagoons
Scientists from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE) this week received two prestigious awards for their interdisciplinary work on solving environmental problems. The Aus
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This talk is the last of the parachute science seminar series organized by the ARC CoE Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) committee. Abstract Universities and institutions across th
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ABSTRACT This presentation reports on a journal paper being drafted that has been around 10 years in the making. I set out a long time ago to settle the arguments around protected areas being resid
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