Previous Positions

Research Fellow – ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies / Australian Institute of Marine Science (2013 – 2016)
Research Fellow – ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (2012 -2013)

Biography

Tom is originally from Sydney, Australia, and completed an honours degree in Marine Science at the University of Sydney in 2005. After a working in the tourism industry on the Great Barrier Reef, he moved to Townsville in 2007 to begin his PhD in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, JCU. His PhD research focussed on the benthic ecology of mesophotic coral ecosystems on the Great Barrier Reef. Tom has a broad interest in the biodiversity and biogeography of corals reefs, and his current research is focussed on understanding coral reef biodiversity in deeper waters beyond SCUBA diving depth, the relationship between deep and shallow reef habitats and utilising new technologies to better understand marine ecosystems. Tom is currently Senior Curator of Corals at the Queensland Museum Network, co-appointed with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at JCU.

Research Interests

Coral reef ecology, biogeography and conservation; mesophotic coral reefs ecosystems, depth-diversity patterns in coral reefs, remote imaging of marine environments, 3D mapping

CV

Publications online

Selected Publications

• Hughes T, Kerry J, Alvarez-Noriega M, Alvarez-Romero J, Anderson K, Baird A, Babcock R, Beger M, Bellwood D, Berkelmans R, Bridge T et al. (2017) Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals. Nature 543: 373–377.
• Scheffers B, De Meester L, Bridge T, Hoffman A, Pandolfi J et al. (2016) The broad footprint of climate change from genes to biomes to people. Science 354(6313): aaf7671.
• Bridge T, Luiz O, Coleman R, Kane C, Kosaki R (2016) Ecological and morphological traits predict depth-generalist fishes on coral reefs. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 283: 20152332.
• Bridge T, Grech A, Pressey R (2016) Factors influencing incidental representation of previously unknown features in Marine Protected Areas. Conservation Biology. 30 (1), 154-165.
• Ferrari R, Bryson M, Bridge T, Hustache J, Williams SB, Byrne M, Figueira W (2015) Quantifying the response of structural complexity and community composition to environmental change in marine communities. Global Change Biology. 22: 1965-1975.
• Hill N, Tobin A, Reside A, Pepperell J, Bridge T (2015) Dynamic habitat suitability modelling reveals rapid poleward distribution shift in a mobile apex predator. Global Change Biology. 22(3): 1365-2486
• Thomas C*, Bridge T*, Figueiredo J, Deleersnidjer E, Hanert E (*co-lead authors) (2015) Connectivity between submerged and near-sea surface coral reefs: can submerged reef populations act as refuges? Diversity and Distributions. 21: 1254-1266
• Ainsworth T, Krause L, Bridge T, Torda G, Raina J-B, Gates R, et al. (2015) The coral core microbiome identifies rare bacterial taxa as ubiquitous endosymbionts. ISME Journal. 9: 2261-2274.
• Muir P, Wallace C, Bridge T, Bongaerts P (2015) Diverse staghorn coral fauna on the mesophotic reefs of north-east Australia. PLoS One 10(2): e0117933.
  Roberts T, Moloney J, Sweatman H, Bridge T (2015) Benthic community composition on submerged reefs in the central Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs. 34: 569-580.
• Bridge T, Ferrari R, Bryson M, Hovey R, Figueira W, Williams S, Pizarro O, Harborne A, Byrne M (2014) Variable response of benthic communities to anomalously warm sea temperatures on a high-latitude coral reef. PLoS One. 9(11): e113079.
• Bridge T, Hughes T, Guinotte J, Bongaerts P (2013) Call to protect all coral reefs. Nature Climate Change. 3: 527-530.
• Harris P, Bridge T, Beaman R, Webster J, Nichol S, Brooke B (2013) Submerged banks in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, greatly increase available coral reef habitat. ICES Journal of Marine Science. 70: 284-293.
• Bridge T, Beaman R, Done T, Webster J (2012) Predicting the location and spatial extent of submerged coral reef habitat in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area, Australia. PLoS One. 7(10): e48203.
• Bridge T, Scott A, Steinberg D (2012) Abundance and diversity of anemonefishes and their host sea anemones at two mesophotic sites on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Coral Reefs. 31: 1057-1062.
• Bridge T, Fabricius K, Bongaerts P, Wallace C, Muir P, Done T, Webster J (2012). Diversity of Scleractinia and Octocorallia in the mesophotic zone of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Coral Reefs. 31: 179-189.
• Bridge T, Done T, Friedman A, Beaman R, Williams S, Pizarro O, Webster J (2011) Variability in mesophotic coral reef communities along the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 428: 63-75
• Bridge T, Done T, Beaman R, Friedman A, Williams S, Pizarro O, Webster J (2011) Topography, substratum and benthic macrofaunal relationships on a tropical mesophotic shelf margin, central Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs. 30: 143-153.

Current Students

Ed Roberts  – PhD candidate

Chancey Macdonland – PhD candidate

Danielle Asson-Batzel – PhD candidate