Researchers
Students
Alumni
ManagementChico Birrell
PhD graduate
University of Queensland
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)
Chico first experienced coral reefs as a “beche de mer” collector from Cairns in 1993. As an Ecological Science undergraduate at the University of Edinburgh he became involved in initiatives for conservation of coral reefs in Central America. Following work in the tourism and dive industry in Spain, Portugal and Morocco he moved to Townsville and undertook an MSc to investigate the impacts of macroalgae on coral reproduction at James Cook University. Since 2003 Chico has worked as an independent marine consultant, a dive instructor and biologist on the Great Barrier Reef and in the Coral Sea for Undersea Explorer, as a research assistant at James Cook University, as a benthic ecologist for the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Western Australia (Scott Reef, Ningaloo Reef and Kimberley Region), as a translator and interpreter (Portuguese, Spanish), as a scientific commercial diver and for coral health and fecundity monitoring projects as a consultant in Western Australia.. In 2011 Chico joined ARC Laureate Prof. Peter Mumby at the University of Queensland, for a PhD to explore the ecology and dynamics of macroalgae and provide insights for conservation measures to boost coral reef resilience. He also dedicates spare time to the Australian Coral Reef Society (www.australiancoralreefsociety.org)
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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