Maria Del Mar Palacios
PhD graduate
BSc (Universidad del Valle, Colombia) • PhD (JCU)
James Cook University. AU
maria.palaciosotero@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
PhD graduate
BSc (Universidad del Valle, Colombia) • PhD (JCU)
James Cook University. AU
maria.palaciosotero@my.jcu.edu.au
Personal website: http://www.mariadelmar-palacios.com/
Profile @ Google Scholar
Maria grew up in Cali (Colombia) and completed her BSc in Biology at Universidad del Valle. Before graduating in 2010, she fell in love with coral reef fish while studying the structure and composition of fish communities from Gorgona and Malpelo Islands (Eastern tropical Pacific). Guided by professor Fernando Zapata and associated to the Coral Reef Ecology research group, Maria won a research grant to study the impacts of pufferfish corallivory on pocilloporid reefs and led numerous research projects describing the coral reefs of the Colombian Pacific Coast (funded by WWF and TNC). In 2013 she moved to Australia to begin her Phd at JCU under the supervision of Professor Mark McCormick. Her research focuses on interactions among reef fish mesopredators and how these can be modified by the fear responses to top predators and by intra/ interspecific guild dynamics
Controlling Mesopredators: importance of intraguild behavioural interactions in trophic cascades
Populations of large predators have been overfished and decimated from oceans worldwide. Loss of predation force (top down control) has triggered trophic cascades and phase shifts due to the explosion of small consumers that deplete resource prey species. Using a reef fish food web I will experimentally address how the effect of small predators on their resource prey can be modified by the fear response to top predators and by intra/ interspecific guild interactions. Understanding the behavioural interactions among predators and its impact on trophic cascades is indispensable to predict consequences of predator loss and design appropriate management policies on coral reefs
Principal supervisor: Prof Mark McComick
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Study: Small Fish comforted by big predators – The scientist
Less fish stress for youngsters when big barrier reef predators nearby– Fishens magazine
Baby fish are comforted by the presence of large marine predators– Phys.org
Stress relief on coral reef fish – 7 local news Townsville (skip to 6:03 for story)
Baby fish “less stressed” around large ocean predators – Brisbane times
Baby fish breathe easier around large predators- CoE for Coral Reef Studies & James Cook University
Controlling Mesopredators: importance of intraguild behavioural interactions in trophic cascades (2016) – ACRS newsletter
Fear tactics in fish – Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation
James Cook University researchers have found brightly coloured fish are becoming increasingly rare as coral declines, with the phenomenon likely to get worse in the future. Christopher Hemingson, a
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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