People

Research Interests

• Biology and Ecology of Reef Corals
• Life Histories of Modular Organisms
• Evolutionary Biology/Molecular Ecology of Corals

My current research activities focus on questions concerning the capacity of corals to cope with climate change through their potential to form symbiosis with a range of Symbiodinium (zooxanthellae) clades that affect their physiological performance, specifically their thermal tolerance. A second research focus is understanding the ecological significance of coral disease on the Great Barrier Reef and the links between disease and ocean warming.

Other research areas in which I have published include: Breeding synchrony and comparative gametogenic studies of corals; Geographic patterns in mass spawning; Proximate factors involved in synchronising mass spawning; Larval dispersal of mass spawning corals; Latitudinal gradients in coral recruitment; Separating genotypic and phenotypic components of morphological variation; Histocompatibility responses and intra-specific competition in corals; Growth strategies leading to morphological variation in corals.

Recent and Currently Supervised PhD Topics

• Reassessing the status of coral species using breeding, morphometric and molecular studies
• The behaviour and ecology of coral larvae
• Reproductive senescence in corals
• Upper thermal limits and acclimation in corals
• Impact of bleaching on coral reproduction
• Impact of bleaching on soft coral assemblages
• Effects of nutrients on the early life history stages of corals
• The role of particulate feeding in the energy budgets of corals
• Tissue thickness as an indicator of coral health
• Chemical ecology of the soft coral-zooxanthellae relationship

 Future PhD Directions

• Exploring species boundaries in corals using breeding, morphometric and molecular studies
• Recovery of coral assemblages following bleaching
• Effects of temperature and photoperiod on reproduction in mass spawning corals
• Biology and ecology of reef corals
• Life histories of modular organisms

Book Chapters

Willis BL, Page CA, Dinsdale EA (2004) Coral disease on the Great Barrier Reef. In E Rosenberg, Y Loya (eds) Coral Health and Disease, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 69-104

Selected Publications

Hughes T, Kerry J, Álvarez-Noriega M, Alvarez-Romero J, Anderson K, Baird A, Babcock R, Beger M, Bellwood D, Berkelmans R, Bridge T, Butler I, Byrne M, Cantin N, Comeau S, Connolly S, Cumming G, Dalton S, Diaz-Pulido G, Eakin C, Figueira W, Gilmour J, Harrison H, Heron S, Hoey A, Hobbs J, Hoogenboom M, Kennedy E, Kuo C, Lough J, Lowe R, Liu G, McCulloch M, Malcolm H, McWilliam M, Pandolfi J, Pears R, Pratchett M, Schoepf V, Simpson T, Skirving W, Sommer B, Torda G, Wachenfeld D, Willis B and Wilson S (2017) Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals. Nature, 543 (7645). pp. 373-377

Kelly L, Heintz T, Lamb J, Ainsworth T and Willis B (2016) Ecology and pathology of novel plaque-like growth anomalies affecting a reef-building coral on the Great Barrier Reef. Frontiers in Marine Science, 3. pp. 1-12

Lamb J, Wenger A, Devlin M, Ceccarelli D, Williamson D and Willis B (2016) Reserves as tools for alleviating impacts of marine disease. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371 (1689). pp. 1-11

Maynard J, van Hooidonk R, Harvell C, Eakin C, Liu G, Willis B, Williams G, Groner M, Dobson A, Heron S, Glenn R, Reardon K and Shields J (2016) Improving marine disease surveillance through sea temperature monitoring, outlooks and projections. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 371 (1689). pp. 1-11

O’Brien P, Morrow K, Willis B and Bourne D (2016) Implications of ocean acidification for marine microorganisms from the free-living to the host-associated. Frontiers in Marine Science, 3. pp. 1-14

Wada N, Pollock F, Willis B, Ainsworth T, Mano N and Bourne D (2016) In situ visualization of bacterial populations in coral tissues: pitfalls and solutions. PeerJ, 4.

Bourne D, Ainsworth T, Pollock F and Willis B (2015) Towards a better understanding of white syndromes and their causes on Indo-Pacific coral reefs. Coral Reefs, 34 (1). pp. 233-242

Hein M, Lamb J, Scott C and Willis B (2015) Assessing baseline levels of coral health in a newly established marine protected area in a global scuba diving hotspot. Marine Environmental Research, 103. pp. 56-65

Lamb J, Williamson D, Russ G and Willis B (2015) Protected areas mitigate diseases of reef-building corals by reducing damage from fishing. Ecology, 96 (9). pp. 2555-2567

Maynard J, van Hooidonk R, Eakin C, Puotinen M, Garren M, Williams G, Heron S, Lamb J, Weil E, Willis B and Harvell C (2015) Projections of climate conditions that increase coral disease susceptibility and pathogen abundance and virulence. Nature Climate Change, 5 (7). pp. 688-695

Pollock F, Krediet C, Garren M, Stocker R, Winn K, Wilson B, Huete-Stauffer C, Willis B and Bourne D(2015) Visualization of coral host-pathogen interactions using a stable GFP-labeled Vibrio coralliilyticus strain. Coral Reefs, 34 (2). pp. 655-662

Full List of Publications