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)
PhD Candidate
MSc James Cook University, BSc University Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris)
Genetics Society of AustralAsia Inc.,
Australian Marine Science Association,
Centre for Tropical Bioinformatics and Molecular Biology,
Australian Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Society of Australia
James Cook University, Townsville
Originally from France, Lauriane developed an interest for marine ecosystems and biodiversity from an early age, spending much of her childhood chasing ornate wrasses and dusky groupers along the Mediterranean coastline. Her journey into understanding species evolution and patterns of diversification started at University Pierre and Marie Curie (Paris) where she completed a BSc in Science of Life and Technologies. Highly diverse coral reefs quickly stood out as particularly interesting study systems, which led her to move to Australia to pursue a MSc in Marine Biology and Ecology at James Cook University. Here, she met her current thesis supervisors, Dr. Peter Cowman and Prof. Morgan Pratchett, and began to explore the evolution, ancestral biogeography and ecology of marine angelfishes as part of her minor project. In 2021, she started her PhD at ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies whereby she continues to explore the evolutionary history of marine angelfishes using novel genomic approaches and bioinformatics. Her thesis aims to explore (1) the phylogenomics and patterns of trait variation for the family using ultra-conserved elements of the genome, (2) the effects of alternate periods of separation and gene flow in recently diverged clades and, the differences in genomic structures and signatures between (3) small and large, and (4) hybridizing pomacanthid species by conducting whole genome sequencing, annotations and genomic comparisons. Lauriane hopes that this research will provide high quality genomic resources (e.g. reference genomes), efficient bioinformatics pipelines and will help to enhance our understanding of reef fish evolution.
Personal Profiles
Personal website https://laurianebaraf.wixsite.com/evoeco
ResearchGate https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lauriane-Baraf-2
Google scholar https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=fr&user=re4xgEgAAAAJ
Research Interests
Phylogenetics/Phylogenomics
Next-generation sequencing
Coral reef ecology
Macroevolution
Bioinformatics
Speciation
Genomics
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
Researchers
Students
Alumni
Management