1

People and ecosystems

Understanding of the links between coral reef ecosystems, the goods and services they provide to people, and the wellbeing of human societies.

2

Ecosystem dynamics: past, present and future

Examining the multi-scale dynamics of reefs, from population dynamics to macroevolution

3

Responding to a changing world

Advancing the fundamental understanding of the key processes underpinning reef resilience.

Coral Bleaching

Coral Bleaching

Coral Reef Studies

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

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Sarah Lawless

Sarah Lawless

PhD candidate

MSc, International and Community Development, Deakin University (2016); Bsc Social Science (Environment), RMIT University (2013)

James Cook University

Sarah holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Environment) and a Master of International and Community Development. She has spent several years working in Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea as a researcher and consultant for various research and non-governmental organisations including WorldFish, Wildlife Conservation Society and the World Wide Fund for Nature. Her past research has been motivated around understanding the intersection between gender, natural resource management and livelihood development. She offers a grounded perspective about how gender is, and should be, understood and incorporated into development practice. Sarah’s PhD research investigates the relationship between institutional policy and practice, and pursuits to address gender and social inequity through community-based development interventions, specifically in small-scale fisheries in the Pacific. Sarah is under the supervision of Prof. Tiffany Morrison, Dr. Philippa Cohen, Dr. Andrew Song and Dr. Danika Kleiber.

 

Peer-reviewed publications:

Barclay, K., McClean, N., Foale, S., Sulu, R., & Lawless, S. (2018). Lagoon livelihoods: gender and shell money in Langalanga, Solomon Islands. Maritime Studies.

Cohen, P; Lawless, S; Dyer, M; Morgan, M; Saeni, E; Teioli, H; Kantor, P. (2016) Understanding adaptive capacity and capacity to innovate in social-ecological systems; applying a gender lens, Ambio, 45:3, pp. 309-321.

Iniesta-Arandia, I; Ravera, F; Buechler, S; Díaz-Reviriego, I; Fernández-Giménez, M; Reed, M; Thompson-Hall, M; Wilmer, H; Aregu, L; Cohen, P; Djoudi, H; Lawless, S; Martín-López, B; Smucker, T; Villamor, G; Wangui, E. (2016) A synthesis of convergent reflections, tensions and silences in linking gender and global environmental change research, Ambio, 45:3, pp. 383-393.

Non-peer reviewed:

Lawless, S., (2019). Translating gender equality from paper into practice: A new research agenda for coastal fisheries, SPC Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin, 45-47

Barclay, K., Lawless, S., McClean, N., Foale, S., Sulu, R., (2019). Gender and coastal livelihoods: The case of shell money production and trade in Langalanga, Solomon Islands, SPC Women in Fisheries Information Bulletin, 20-23

Lawless, S., Doyle, K., Cohen, P., Eriksson, H., Schwarz, A., Teioli, H., Vavekaramui, A., Wickham, E., Masu, R., Panda, R., McDougall, C. (2017). Considering gender: Practical guidance for rural development initiatives in Solomon Islands (Vol. Program Brief: 2017-22). Penang, Malaysia: WorldFish.

Lawless, S., & Frijlink, S., (2015). Socioeconomic assessment of villages in the Tigak and Tsoi Islands, Northern New Ireland Province Papua New Guinea, Wildlife Conservation Society, Papua New Guinea program, https://programs.wcs.org/png/About-Us/Publications.aspx.

Bennett, G., Cohen, P., Schwarz, A.M., Albert, J., Lawless, S., Paul, C., Hilly, Z. (2014). Solomon Islands: Western Province Situation Analysis, CGIAR Research Program on Aquatic Agricultural Systems. WorldFish Penang: AAS-2014-15, http://www.worldfishcenter.org/content/solomon-islands-western-province-situation-analysis.

Media Releases

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13 Aug 2019
Marine heatwaves a bigger threat to coral reefs than previously thought

New research reveals marine heatwaves are a much bigger threat to coral reefs than previously thought, with effects that go beyond coral bleaching. In the study, scientists show for the first time th
13 Aug 2019
Coral reefs are in jeopardy but can still be saved

The world’s largest coordinated study of coral reefs identifies just where and how to save coral reefs across the Indo-Pacific.More than 80 scientists, including an Australian team from the ARC
01 Aug 2019
Tracking baby fish for better reef management

A group of Australian scientists has created the world’s first computer model that can accurately predict the movements of baby coral trout across the Great Barrier Reef.The study confirms the i
17 Jul 2019
Fussy fish can have their coral, and eat it too

Being a fussy eater is a problem for reef fish who seek refuge from climate change on deeper reefs. But, scientists discovered, the coral that these fussy fish eat can support them.The study was l

Seminars

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22 Aug
Regulatory Implications of Coral Reef Restoration and Adaptation under a Changing Climate

Abstract: Coral reef restoration is gaining momentum globally in response to the threat of climate change and associated coral bleaching.  In Australia, as part of the Reef Restoration and Adaptatio
08 Aug
Multi-level governance and complex environmental change in Indonesia’s tropical peatlands

Abstract:Developing global environmental policies, and implementing these at a local level has proven extremely challenging. I will present research using ethnographic techniques and multi-level
07 Aug
Mapping the genomic seascape of environmental adaptation

Abstract: Recurrent bleaching events since the early 1980’s have led to enduring ecosystems changes throughout the Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea and the increasing frequency and intensity of
05 Aug
Understanding and influencing human behaviour to bolster conservation of coral reefs

Abstract: Conservation relies largely on the ability to influence behaviours and ensure rule adherence. Yet, noncompliance in conservation contexts is common. For instance, poaching regularly neg
05 Aug
The neurobiological mechanisms through which elevated CO2 affects cephalopod behaviours -Confirmation seminar

AbstractProjected near-future ocean CO2 levels alter behaviours that affect survival, such as predator escape and foraging, in marine invertebrates. However, the mechanisms responsible for these e
31 Jul
Exploring eco-evolutionary dynamics to predict the future of coral reefs

Abstract:The long-standing paradigm that ecology and evolution play out on different timescales is increasingly challenged by recent studies that show real-time interaction of the two. Similarly t
25 Jul
The changing face of Marine Park Management: adaptive management of marine and island habitats in the Great Barrier Reef

Abstract: The declining condition of many habitats in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area means marine park managers have to take a different approach to management. Managers can no longer rely
11 Jul
Photosymbiosis in the Palaeozoic: the origin of MCEs and Devonian bleaching

Abstract:  Photosymbiosis is the main driver of reef development because it enhances calcification rates, thereby allowing corals to grow in oligotrophic environments. The reefal systems of the Palae

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Coral Reef Studies

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

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