Researchers
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ManagementRobert Streit
Research Associate
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)
Research Associate
James Cook University
Robert (Bert) grew up on the Indian Ocean coast in Kenya and after his undergraduate degree in biology in Munich, Germany, that early connection to tropical reefs washed back to the surface. In 2013 he came to JCU in Townsville to study marine biology and ecology as a postgraduate. He completed his postgraduate research on browsing herbivorous fishes in the Bellwood Reef Fish Lab in 2014. After a break making coffees, he started his PhD in 2016, supervised by David Bellwood and Graeme Cumming. In his PhD, Bert focused on movement and space use in reef fishes – basically trying to understand how fishes move around their home and how this influences ecological functions and reef resilience.
Now Bert works as a postdoctoral researcher and communications manager in the Reef Function Hub/ Bellwood Reef Fish Lab. In his research he now studies “functional traits” as a research tool and continues to work on spatial questions in reef ecology: What are functional ranges of fishes? How can we map ecologically critical behaviour? And how can we use new technology like 3D photogrammetry for ecological questions?
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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