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
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 in Sydney, Australia. Rachel undertook a Master of Science 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 adjust via phenotypic plasticity to ocean warming within and across generations.
Evolutionary potential of reef fishes to ocean warming.
Prof. Philip Munday and Dr. Jennifer Donnelson
Spinks, R.K., Munday, P.L. & Donelson, J.M. (2019). Developmental effects of heatwave conditions on the early life stages of a coral reef fish. ,
Spinks, R.K., Muschick, M., Salzburger, W. & Gante, H.F. (2017). Singing above the chorus: cooperative Princess cichlid fish (Neolamprologus pulcher) has high pitch. Hydrobiologia, 791, 115–125. DOI:10.1007/s10750-016-2921-5
A new study raises questions on whether current conservation science and policy for protected areas could be saving more biodiversity—with political and economic expediency often having taken prece
A new study reveals the strategies that stop bandits from illegally fishing in Australian waters—but warns there is a cost to the region’s poorer countries. Co-author Dr Brock Bergseth, from th
Five world-renowned scientists have signed a letter to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay to "thank UNESCO for its leadership in recognising the threat of climate change to the Great Barrier Reef
A new study has found baby coral reef fishes can outpace all other baby fishes in the ocean. Lead author Adam Downie is a PhD candidate at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at Jam
Abstract: Coral assemblages from the remote Kimberley coast in North Western Australia thrive despite experiencing extreme heat, aerial exposure and fluctuating turbidity. These corals present an
Abstract: Bio-physical interactions can shape the structures and dynamics of populations. Open populations are well mixed over hundreds to thousands of kilometres. In contrast, closed populations exc
Abstract: The elusive Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus) is an understudied and putatively important species in the Arctic. They inhabits large parts of the North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean inc
Abstract: The presentation will explore the National NAIDOC Theme and contextualise the connection between Indigenous Self-Determination and Country. The presentation will provide an overview of hist
Abstract: Among all epigenetic modifications, gene body methylation (GBM) is the most studied but arguably the least understood in terms of its function. It is believed by many to facilitate rapid ada
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
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