DNA reveals the past and future of coral reefs
New DNA techniques are being used to understand how coral reacted to the end of the last ice age in order to better predict how they will cope with current changes to the climate. James Cook Univer
From 2005 to 2022, the main node of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies was headquartered at James Cook University in Townsville, Queensland (Australia)
The purpose of my PhD research is to explore variation in bleaching susceptibility within and among coral species, which is the first step in understanding the capacity of species and assemblages to withstand ongoing climate change. Dire predictions about the fate of scleractinian corals typically ignore the potential for acclimation and/ or adaptation, and generally assume that all corals, especially within species, will respond similarly to climate-related increases in ocean temperatures. My experiments have already revealed large differences in the time to bleach among similar sized colonies of two common corals (Acropora nasuta and Pocillopora damicornis) collected from within the same habitat. Further experiments are planned to compare variability in bleaching susceptibility for coral populations at different latitudes and across a range of species, and also assess whether prior exposure to moderate thermal stresses (resulting in sub-lethal bleaching) increases or decreases subsequent bleaching susceptibility. This research is expected to show that individual corals vary greatly in their responses to increasing ocean temperatures. If this phenotypic plasticity in bleaching responses is due to heritable genetic variation within local populations, then this will suggest a capacity for corals to adapt, and thereby withstand moderate increases in ocean temperatures.
New DNA techniques are being used to understand how coral reacted to the end of the last ice age in order to better predict how they will cope with current changes to the climate. James Cook Univer
A new study on the effects of climate change in five tropical countries has found fisheries are in more trouble than agriculture, and poor people are in the most danger. Distinguished Profess
James Cook University researchers have found brightly coloured fish are becoming increasingly rare as coral declines, with the phenomenon likely to get worse in the future. Christopher Hemingson, a
Researchers working with stakeholders in the Great Barrier Reef region have come up with ideas on how groups responsible for looking after the reef can operate more effectively when the next bleaching
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Abstract: The past few years have seen unprecedented coral bleaching and mortality on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) but the consequences of this on biodiversity are not yet known. This talk will expl
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