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Research interests:

Rachel’s interest in the marine realm began in her youth, privately breeding rare fishes and working in the ornamental aquarium industry. She went on to complete a Bachelor of marine science at Macquarie University, whilst working as an environmental educator for Sydney National Parks & Marine Reserves. Rachel undertook a MSc in evolutionary biology at the University of Basel in Switzerland, where she studied the adaptive radiation of cichlid fishes in the African Great Lakes. After her research at Lake Tanganyika, she worked in South Africa as a scuba diver and then for an international NGO as a marine ecologist. Rachel came to James Cook University to embark on a PhD at the Centre of Excellence, studying the ability of reef fishes to acclimate and adapt to rising sea temperature.

Project title:

Evolutionary potential of reef fishes to acclimate and adapt to global ocean warming.

Project description:

Coral reef fishes are under great pressure from the rapidly changing climate. The ability to understand and predict climate impacts is essential for effective management of future fish stocks and the development of climate adaptation strategies. However, there remains a lack of knowledge regarding the long-term effects of climate change on marine reef fishes. This project aims to enhance our understanding of how temperature influences fish biology and how predicted climate change scenarios may impact fish populations and their ability to persist.

Supervisors:

Prof. Philip Munday and Dr. Jennifer Donnelson

Publications:

Spinks, R.K., Muschick, M., Salzburger, W. & Gante, H.F. (2016). Singing above the chorus: cooperative Princess cichlid fish (Neolamprologus pulcher) has high pitch. Hydrobiologia DOI:10.1007/s10750-016-2921-5