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)
“Charlie” Veron, former Chief Scientist of AIMS, has worked on all the major coral reef regions of the world. He has over 100 research publications including 12 books and monographs on corals and coral reefs.
His latest book, A Reef in Time: the Great Barrier Reef from Beginning to End (Harvard University Press, 2008), distils the world’s best science for general readers, following the GBR from its earliest origins, to current issues, to future prognoses.
ABSTRACT:
The outlook for the Great Barrier Reef is serious in the extreme. Not only is climate change on a course that will lead to the wholesale destruction of most of the Reef’s biota, it is pushing our planet to the brink of the Earth’s sixth mass extinction. In the deep geological past, these extinctions have hit tropical marine life hardest through upheavals of the carbon cycle mediated by carbon dioxide. Today, carbon dioxide is creating changes to temperature, weather, sea level and ocean alkalinity. These changes are widely known; what is not widely known is the immediacy of the crisis. The last IPCC report – currently the main provider of information to governments about climate change – has seriously underestimated time-lines. This talk looks at how humanity has responded to this crisis and what the future options are.
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: Evolution of many eukaryotic organisms is affected by interactions with microbes. Microbial symbioses can ultimately reflect host’s diet, habitat range, and even body shape. However, how
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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