Researchers
Students
Alumni
ManagementWiebke Wessels
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
Wiebke was born and raised in Hannover, Germany. Very early she decided that she wants to work as a marine biologist. For her undergraduate studies, Wiebke therefore moved to Bremen to study Biology with a focus on Marine Biology. She conducted the research for her Bachelor Thesis on the oxygen consumption rates in gill tissue of the Ocean quahog Arctica islandica under hypoxia at the Alfred-Wegener-Institute in Bremerhaven. While studying in France for a year duing high school, she learnt to enjoy living abroad. So after graduating from the University of Bremen, Wiebke took the chance to complete the first year of her Master Studies in Marine Biology at the Ocean University of China in Qingdao. Following her year in China, Wiebke continued her studies at the University of Bremen and started her Master Thesis on gene expression patterns in the Ocean quahog Arctica islandica under hypoxia/anoxia and reoxygenation at the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology in Kiel.
During her volunteer work for coral spawning, she became aware of and interested in the different developmental strategies of corals at the GBR. In 2012 Wiebke started her PhD under the supervision of Dr David Miller focussing on transcriptomic analysis of hard and soft coral developement.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Abstract: Disease transmission is a natural process that helps shape the ecology and evolution of all organisms on Earth, yet, the burden and distribution of disease outbreaks is changing at an alarmi
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