Researchers
Students
Alumni
ManagementAlejandra Hernandez
PhD candidate
James Cook University
alejandra.hernandezagreda@my.jcu.edu.au
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)
Alejandra grew up in Caracas, Venezuela and completed her BSc (honors) (Biology) at Simon Bolivar University (USB). During her undergraduate studies, Alejandra discovered her passion for corals while she worked as support staff for the Caribbean Coastal Marine Productivity (CARICOMP) program in the Laboratory of Marine Communities and Ecotoxicology (USB). Her undergraduate thesis evaluated the effect of suspended solids on the development of Caribbean ciliate infections in Acropora palmata. During the following four and half years, Alejandra worked as a researcher in the Experimental Ecology Laboratory (USB), collaborating in monitoring programs related to coral reefs, seagrass extensions, and intertidal and subtidal rocky shores, environmental impact assessments and in the evaluation of antibacterial activity in healthy and infected corals. In 2014, Alejandra obtained the Australian Awards Scholarship and moved to Australia. She jointed the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies to begin her PhD under the supervision of Dr. Bill Leggat, Dr. Tracy Ainsworth and Dr. Pim Bongaerts. The focus of her research is coral-associated bacteria, their habitat distribution and response to environmental changes.c
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
Abstract: As marine species adapt to climate change, their heat tolerance will likely be under strong selection. Individual variation in heat tolerance and its heritability underpin the potential fo
Abstract: The Reef Ecology Lab in KAUST’s Red Sea Research Center explores many aspects of movement ecology of marine organisms, ranging from adult migrations to intergenerational larval dispersal
Abstract: Macroalgal meadows are a prominent, yet often maligned component of the tropical seascape. Our work at Ningaloo reef in WA demonstrate that canopy forming macroalgae provide habitat for ad
Abstract: Sharks are generally perceived as strong and fearsome animals. With fossils dating back at least 420 million years, sharks are not only majestic top predators but they also outlived dinosa
Abstract: Connectivity plays a vital role in many ecosystems through its effects on fundamental ecological and evolutionary processes. Its consequences for populations and metapopulations have been
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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