Sterling Tebbett
PhD candidate
B.Sc. (Hons) Marine Biology (Advanced) James Cook University (2016)
James Cook University
sterling.tebbett@my.jcu.edu.au
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
B.Sc. (Hons) Marine Biology (Advanced) James Cook University (2016)
James Cook University
sterling.tebbett@my.jcu.edu.au
Sterling grew up on Australia’s Sunshine Coast where he became interested in the marine environment from a young age. He has been at JCU since 2012 and completed a BSc in Marine Biology in 2014 and an Honours in 2016, under the supervision of David Bellwood and Chris Goatley. His honours examined how sediments mediated interactions between surgeonfishes and algal turfs on coral reefs. Since completing his honours he worked as the lab manager in the Bellwood Lab up until the end of 2018. In 2019 he started his PhD candidature under the supervision of David Bellwood and Sean Connolly. Sterling’s research is now building on his earlier honours research to understand how fishes, sediments and productivity will interact to sustain the functioning of future coral reef configurations.
The functioning of transitioning coral reefs: fishes, sediments and productivity
Tebbett SB, Streit RP, Bellwood DR (2019) A 3D perspective on sediment accumulation in algal turfs: implications of coral reef flattening. Journal of Ecology doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.13235
Bellwood DR, Pratchett MS, Morrison TH, Gurney GG, Hughes TP, Álvarez-Romero JG, Day JC, Grantham R, Grech A, Hoey AS, Jones GP, Pandolfi JM, Tebbett SB, Techera E, Weeks R, Cumming GS (2019) Coral reef conservation in the Anthropocene: confronting spatial mismatches and prioritizing functions. Biological Conservation doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2019.05.056
Latrille FX, Tebbett SB, Bellwood DR (2019) Quantifying sediment dynamics on an inshore coral reef: putting algal turfs in perspective. Marine Pollution Bulletin 141: 404-415
Tebbett SB, Streit RP, Bellwood DR (2019) Expansion of a colonial ascidian following consecutive mass coral bleaching at Lizard Island, Australia. Marine Environmental Research 144: 125-129
Bellwood DR, Streit RP, Brandl SJ, Tebbett SB (2019) The meaning of the term ‘function’ in ecology: a coral reef perspective. Functional Ecology 33: 948-961
Wismer S, Tebbett SB, Streit RP, Bellwood DR (2019) Spatial mismatch in fish and coral loss following 2016 mass coral bleaching. Science of the Total Environment 650: 1487-1498
Tebbett SB, Goatley CHR, Bellwood DR (2018) Algal turf sediments across the Great Barrier Reef: putting coastal reefs in perspective. Marine Pollution Bulletin 137: 518-525
Tebbett SB, Bellwood DR (2018) Functional links on coral reefs: urchins and triggerfishes, a cautionary tale. Marine Environmental Research 141: 255-263
Tebbett SB, Bellwood DR, Purcell SW (2018) Sediment addition and reduced herbivory drive declines in coral reef algal turfs: implications for reefs and reef fisheries. Coral Reefs 37: 929-937
Goatley CHR, Wroe S, Tebbett SB, Bellwood DR (2018) An evaluation of a double-tailed deformity in a coral reef surgeonfish (Acanthuridae) using micro-computer tomography. Journal of Fish Biology 92: 1645-1650
Bellwood DR, Tebbett SB, Bellwood O, Mihalitsis M, Morais RA, Streit RP, Fulton CJ (2018) The role of the reef flat in coral reef trophodynamics: past, present and future. Ecology and Evolution 8: 4108-4119
Tebbett SB, Bellwood DR (2018) Unusual caudal spines in the surgeonfish Zebrasoma scopas. Coral Reefs 37: 251
Tebbett SB, Goatley CHR, Huertas V, Mihalitsis M, Bellwood DR (2018) A functional evaluation of feeding in the surgeonfish Ctenochaetus striatus: the role of soft tissues. Royal Society Open Science 5: 171111
Khan JA, Goatley CHR, Brandl SJ, Tebbett SB, Bellwood DR (2017) Shelter use by large reef fishes: long-term occupancy and the impacts of disturbance. Coral Reefs 36: 1123-1132
Tebbett SB, Goatley CHR, Bellwood DR (2017) Clarifying functional roles: algal removal by the surgeonfishes Ctenochaetus striatus and Acanthurus nigrofuscus. Coral Reefs 36: 803-813
Tebbett SB, Goatley CHR, Bellwood DR (2017) Algal turf sediments and sediment production by parrotfishes across the continental shelf of the northern Great Barrier Reef. PLoS ONE 12: e0170854
Tebbett SB, Goatley CHR, Bellwood DR (2017) The effects of algal turf sediments and organic loads on feeding by coral reef surgeonfishes. PLoS ONE 12: e0169479
Tebbett SB, Goatley CHR, Bellwood DR (2017) Fine sediments suppress detritivory on coral reefs. Marine Pollution Bulletin 114: 934-940
Bellwood DR, Goatley CHR, Khan JA, Tebbett SB (2016) Site fidelity and homing in juvenile rabbitfishes (Siganidae). Coral Reefs 35: 1151-1155
Tebbett SB, Latrille FX, Purcell SW, Bellwood DR (2019) Sediment impacts and the role of algal turfs in sediment dynamics on coral reefs. Australian Marine Sciences Association. Fremantle, Australia
Tebbett SB, Goatley CHR, Bellwood DR (2017) Not all herbivores are herbivores: sediments reveal disparate ecosystem roles of similar fishes. European Coral Reef Symposium. Oxford, United Kingdom
Tebbett SB, Goatley CHR, Bellwood DR (2017) The functional role of fishes on coral reefs: mediation by sediments. Indo-Pacific Fish Conference. Papeete, French Polynesia
Tebbett SB, Goatley CHR, Gordon SE, Bellwood DR (2016) Interactions between sediments and herbivorous fishes on coral reefs. International Coral Reef Symposium. Honolulu, HI, United States of America
International Coral Reef Society Graduate Fellowship (2019)
Orpheus Island Research Station Morris Family Trust Student Grant (2019)
James Cook University Prestige Research Training Stipend (2019)
Dr R Palmerston-Rundle Prize for Biological Sciences (2017)
James Cook University Academic Medal (Bachelor Coursework) (2015)
Port of Townsville Limited Prize in Marine Biology (2015)
Chris Alexander Memorial Prizes for Marine Biology (2015)
James Cook University Faculty of Science and Engineering Entry Bursary (2012)
New research has found as climate change causes the world’s oceans to warm, baby sharks are born smaller, exhausted, undernourished and into environments that are already difficult for them to survi
A new study shows the coastal protection coral reefs currently provide will start eroding by the end of the century, as the world continues to warm and the oceans acidify. A team of researchers led
A team of scientists led by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (Coral CoE) won one of the nation’s top science awards at tonight’s ‘Oscars of Australian science’, the Eureka P
An analytical tool will be used to assess the climate risks facing historic World Heritage sites in Africa—the ruins of two great 13th century ports and the remains of a palace and iron-making indus
Abstract: It is a little over a decade since research commenced into the effects of anthropogenic ocean acidification on marine fishes. In that time, we have learned that projected end-of-century
Abstract: Increased uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere has caused the world’s ocean to become more acidic. Different marine habitats are known to have varying ranges of CO2 across mul
Abstract: The Allen Coral Atlas (http://allencoralatlas.org) partnership uses high-resolution satellite imagery, machine learning, and field data to map and monitor the world’s coral reefs at unp
Abstract: Climate change is causing the average surface temperature of the oceans to rise and increasing the frequency and intensity of marine heatwaves. In addition, absorption of additional CO2
Abstract: Marine environments are a concealing medium, where observations of natural fish behavior are challenging. In particular, the geographic and depth distributions of migratory top predators ar
Abstract: Invasive species management can be the the subject of debate in many countries due to conflicting ecological, ethical, economic, and social reasons, especially when dealing with a species s
Abstract: Ocean acidification, the increase in seawater CO2 with all its associated consequences, is relatively well understood in open oceans. In shelf seas such as the Great Barrier Reef, processe
Abstract: The backdrop of legends and movies, the deep sea has always been unfathomable because we had no idea what existed there. Once thought to be barren of life, we now know this couldn’t be
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