Researchers
Students
Alumni
ManagementAlfonso Ruiz Moreno
PhD candidate
James Cook University
alfonso.ruizmoreno@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)
Alfonso was born in Huelva, in the southwest of Spain. Since he was a child, he was fascinated with the marine realm and moved to Australia in 2014 to study a Bachelor of Science majoring in marine biology at JCU. During his studies, he became fascinated with biodiversity patterns. He did an honours project looking at the ecological processes behind patterns of abundance of species under the supervision of Sean Connolly and Tobin Northfield. He is currently doing his PhD at JCU under the supervision of Sean Connolly, David Bellwood, Hugh Sweatman and Mike Emslie, looking at the spatial and temporal biodiversity patterns of reef fishes from an ecological and phylogenetic perspective. In his project, he aims to compare community ecological and phylogenetic measures of biodiversity, and to evaluate which processes are driving these biodiversity patterns.
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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