Researchers
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ManagementPeter Cowman
Senior Research Fellow in Ecosystem Dynamics
James Cook University
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
Senior Research Fellow in Ecosystem Dynamics
James Cook University
Peter is originally from Ireland were he completed a BSc (Hon) degree in Marine Science at the National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG). He completed his PhD at James Cook University in 2012 on the topic of the evolutionary origins and biogeography of coral reef fishes.
After his PhD he was a Postdoctoral fellow in the Macroevolution and Macroecology group at the Australian National University in Canberra, where he investigated the genetic links between molecular evolution, life history and diversification in plants and animals. In 2014, he was awarded the Donnelley Environmental Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Yale Institute for Biospheric Studies (YIBS).
At Yale he worked on the phylogenetic reconstruction of the Fish Tree of Life and using it as a frame work to explore rate variation and biogeography across the largest vertebrate group.
He joined the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in 2016 where he continues to leverage phylogenetic data for fishes and corals to explore their evolutionary history under the Centre Program 2: Ecosystem dynamics: past, present and future.
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
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
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
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
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 (
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.
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
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
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,
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
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
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
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