Researchers
Students
Alumni
ManagementRachel Spinks
PhD candidate
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
PhD candidate
James Cook University
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.
Evolutionary potential of reef fishes to acclimate and adapt to global ocean warming.
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.
Prof. Philip Munday and Dr. Jennifer Donnelson
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
Squid will survive and may even flourish under even the worst-case ocean acidification scenarios, according to a new study published this week. Dr Blake Spady, from the ARC Centre of Excellence for C
Scientists have revealed the torrid, adulterous love lives of the mouth-brooding cardinalfish, with cuckoldry going hand-in-hand with cannibalism of the young.“This is a small and unassuming cor
A new study published today in Nature Climate Change finds coral reefs are under threat from ocean acidification.The study was led by researchers from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef S
New research has revealed that the short lives and violent deaths of some of coral reefs’ smallest tenants may be vital to the health of reef systems, including the iconic Great Barrier Reef.Dr
China’s extraordinary economic development over recent decades has had enormous impacts on coastal marine ecosystems, including extensive, coastal coral reefs in the southern provinces. With around
Pesticides (particularly herbicides and insecticides) are detected ubiquitously in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) region waterways. This is largely as the GBR has relatively comprehensive long-term moni
In 2016, JCU joined the pilot of the Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Athena SWAN program. This program aims to move towards gender equity in STEMM at universities and research institutes acr
Most of the world's coral reefs are periodically exposed to heavy seas generated by tropical cyclones which can cause major structural damage to corals that, over time, can play a key role in shaping
Anthropogenic global heating has emerged as a major driver of the trajectory of the world’s coral reefs. Pan-tropical coral bleaching (affecting >94% of coral reefs) has now occurred three times
Corals and sponges are morphologically simple organisms, playing key roles in the ecosystems they build and maintain, providing habitats for other species of animals, plants and microbes: branching st
This seminar will provide an overview of our recent adventures into bio-imaging and analysis with particular focus toward understanding structure and interaction at the scale of a single cell and/or i
Adaptation to climate change has been traditionally studied at the scale of the individual, with studies either looking at vulnerability or focusing on specific adaptation actions and the potential of
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