Researchers
Students
Alumni
ManagementSamuel Payet
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
Sam grew up in North-West Australia on a plantation in the small coastal town of Carnarvon. He was given free rein to explore on weekends and quickly developed a curiosity for the ocean through fishing and diving. In 2014 Sam completed a BSc. (Hons.) in Marine Science at Curtin University where he studied hybrid reef fish at Cocos (Keeling) Islands and Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. He then worked as a research intern at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. This time, studying colour polymorphism in coral reef fish. Upon returning home Sam spent a memorable year living in a shack in Shark Bay, Western Australia. He worked as an Aquarist and Dive Master in the world heritage site and after spending a little too long away from civilization he decided it was time to do a PhD. Sam started at JCU in 2017 and is studying the role of natural selection and hybridisation in the evolution of Coral Trout (Genus: Plectropomus). His research is based in the Coral Sea where he hopes to combine genetic and ecological tools to study these iconic species.
A massive global study of the world’s reefs has found sharks are ‘functionally extinct’ on nearly one in five of the reefs surveyed. James Cook University’s Professor Colin Simpfendorfer wa
A study published today found national governments repeatedly resisted the placement of 41 UNESCO World Heritage sites—including the Great Barrier Reef—on the World Heritage in Danger list. This r
Scientists can now explain how baby reef sharks tolerate living in the sometimes-extreme environments of their nurseries—but, they also say these habitats face an uncertain future which may leave ne
A new study illustrates the potential impact of recurrent heatwaves on coral species collected by the Australian aquarium coral industry. The study’s lead author, Professor Morgan Pratchett from
Abstract: Transformative environmental policy reform at a system-wide scale has received minimal attention as an academic research focus. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Zoning Plan 2003, release
Abstract: Anyone trying to communicate about sustainability quickly runs into difficulties. The most common definition, “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the
Abstract: Coral reefs are dynamic and complex systems, and hence have ability teach us about fundamental principles of community ecology. One long-standing interest is learning how ecological communi
Abstract: Global heating will affect ecosystems and the benefits that they provide to people in a wide variety of ways, with profound direct and indirect effects on human society. Microeconomic adapt
Abstract: Most of the world’s population live within 100km of a coastline and depend on coastal marine ecosystems for sustenance, shoreline protection, and economic resources. Because our shoreline
Abstract: Urbanization deeply alters ecosystems, livelihoods, lifestyle, and consequently, human-nature relationships, with significant consequences for health and environmental behaviour. However, t
Abstract: Overexploitation from direct fishing and bycatch devastated shark populations around the world, leaving considerable doubt as to their ecological status. Yet much of what is known about sta
Abstract: Early life history stages of marine organisms can be difficult to study in the field, in part due to their inherently small size. Understanding to what extent early post-settlement processe
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