James White
PhD candidate
James Cook University
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)
James first started snorkeling in various locations around the Caribbean at the tender age of 5, eagerly pointing out every fish he saw to anybody that would listen to his garbled shouts of excitement emitting from his snorkel. He got scuba certified as early as possible at the age of 12 and continued to explore more of the marine environment in the Caribbean, Mexico and California. An early mentorship under Chuck Norris inspired him give up his job as a crime-fighting sidekick to chase his dream of combining his love of science and diving. This prompted him to complete his BSc in Marine Biology at the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2006. Afterwards, (much like a super hero) he felt the world needed him elsewhere, and worked on a coral recruitment study for two years off the west coast of the Big Island, in Hawaii. Inspired by a strong showing of JCU researchers at the 2008 International Coral Reef Symposium, he enrolled in the MAppSci program at JCU in 2009. He’s since upgraded to the PhD program, where he studies under the vigilant eyes of Prof. Mark McCormick (JCU) and Dr. Mark Meekan (AIMS). His research examines the role of boldness and other personality traits in the fitness and other life history tradeoffs of juvenile marine fishes. http://www.jamesryanwhite.com
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