Researchers
Students
Alumni
ManagementTaylor Whitman
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)
Taylor is originally from California, United States, where she grew up fascinated by the temperate oceans and Redwood forests. After primary school, she traveled to Hawai’i to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in Marine Biology at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa.
The major focus of her degree pertained to invertebrate biology and ecology, with a major focus on coral ecology and physiology. Her passion for tropical marine research led her to James Cook University (Townsville, Australia) to complete a Masters of Science in Marine Biology and Ecology degree. During this time, she completed a minor research project in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Marine biology, investigating the role of biochemicals cues from crustose coralline algae (CCA) to induce settlement of diverse coral taxa.
She published that work as first author in the journal Scientific Reports and her results reinforced our understanding of the inductive role of CCA for acroporid corals, while demonstrating a lack of induction in several other genera, suggesting that other environmental cues may be responsible for the induction of non-acroporid coral larvae on reefs. These experiences have led her to where she is today, a PhD candidate ready to explore the biological and environmental drivers of coral recruitment.
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
Partner Research Institutions
