Researchers
Students
Alumni
ManagementLaura Velasquez Jimenez
PhD candidate
James Cook University
laura.velasquezjimenez@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
Laura was born in Bogota, Colombia where she completed her undergraduate degree in ecology at Javeriana University in 2013. For her undergraduate thesis, Laura worked with population structure and dynamics of barnacles in Malpelo Island. After finishing her undergraduate degree, Laura worked with an international cooperation in environmental governance. In 2016, Laura moved to Australia to study a Master of Marine Biology and Ecology at JCU. For her minor project, under the supervision of Mark McCormick and Maria del Mar Palacios, Laura evaluated the effect of mesopredator release on the behaviour of Pseudochromis fuscus.
Laura is currently completing a PhD under the supervision of Mark McCormick (JCU), Geoffrey Jones (JCU) and Sophie Nedelec (University of Exeter). She aims to assess the effect of anthropogenic noise on the behaviour and physiology of coral reef fish and evaluate their potential for habituation. Laura will conduct a series of lab and field experiments, exposing fish to anthropogenic noise and recording the behavioural and physiological responses of individuals.
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: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
Abstract: Disease transmission is a natural process that helps shape the ecology and evolution of all organisms on Earth, yet, the burden and distribution of disease outbreaks is changing at an alarmi
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