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ManagementRuth Thurstan
Former Research Fellow
University of Queensland
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)
Former Research Fellow
University of Queensland
I grew up in the Peak District in the UK, many miles from the sea. I graduated from Liverpool University with a BSc (Hons) in Marine Biology in 2004, and completed an MSc in Marine Environmental Management at York University in 2007. I continued at York to complete her PhD on shifting baselines and the impact of industrial fishing on the UK marine environment in June 2011. I have recently started my post doctoral fellowship at the University of Queensland and plans to investigate the history of exploitation of Australian fisheries and marine mega-fauna.
My research focuses upon changes to the marine environment during the last 150 years as a result of human drivers. Data sources used include archival information such as newspaper articles, government reports and catch data and oral histories to gather resource-users perceptions of changes to catch rates, locations fished and species abundance over time. My research is currently centred along the Queensland coast, with a particular emphasis upon commercially targeted species such as pink snapper (Pagrus auratus). I hope to improve resource-users and governments knowledge of long-term patterns over time, in order to reduce uncertainty for future management. I am a member of Prof John Pandolfi’s Lab.
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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