About
13
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Introduction
I am a marine ecologist currently working as Marine Science Advisor to WCS Madagascar. My interests include assessment of marine habitat resilience and sustainable use to specifics like life history traits of corals and algae to predict ecological interactions. My experience includes monitoring, management and research into sharks, fish, corals, algae, seagrass, and socio-economics in the Indian Ocean, Indo-Pacific, Pacific and Caribbean. I worked with stakeholders with governance, scientific, industry, management and ecotourism roles. I'm fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English and have professional level French.
Current institution
Additional affiliations
February 2020 - present
Position
- Consultant
Description
- I provide ecological expertise to support the development of a national plan of action for coral reefs, provide training for capacity development in ecological monitoring and data management, reviewed the current state of knowledge for coral reefs in Mozambique, developed monitoring plans for locally managed marine areas and assist in the development of guidelines for ecological mitigation.
May 2019 - December 2020
Position
- Marine Ecologist
Description
- Marine ecologist associated with Project REGENERATE. Asseing impacts of the 2016 coral bleaching event, island management, crown-of-thorns starfish, and macroalgae on corals and reefs in North Ari Atoll
April 2019 - February 2020
Position
- Marine Ecologist
Description
- I led field surveys, data analysis and reporting on the state of three marine protected areas (MPAs) managed by WCS Madagascar. Two MPAs located in the northwest (Ankarea and Ankivonjy) and one located in the Southwest (Soariake). The focus was primarily to assess the state of coral and reef fish communities, impacts of local fisheries, reef complexity and lasting impacts of bleaching in 2016.
Publications
Publications (13)
The Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region comprises almost 6% (about 15,180 km2) of the total global area of coral reefs, and the region is a globally important hotspot for coral reef biodiversity. The WIO includes sovereign states along the eastern and southern African mainland (Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa), island states (Mauri...
In our recent review of the ecological roles
of sharks on coral reefs, we concluded
that the evidence to support hypothesised
shark-driven trophic cascades on coral
reefs was weak and equivocal. In their
response to our review, Ruppert et al.
[2] assert that a major issue with our
approach was that we primarily reviewed
evidence from correlative ob...
![Figure I. [ 2 _ T D $ D I F F ] Structure of Coral Reef Food Webs. (A)...](profile/Chico-Birrell/publication/303792100/figure/fig1/AS:369153459408896@1465024451314/2-T-D-D-I-F-F-Structure-of-Coral-Reef-Food-Webs-A-Trophic-groups-and-inferred_Q320.jpg)
![Figure I. [ 2 _ T D $ D I F F ] Structure of Coral Reef Food Webs. (A)...](profile/Chico-Birrell/publication/303792100/figure/fig2/AS:669621082394625@1536661515018/2-T-D-D-I-F-F-Structure-of-Coral-Reef-Food-Webs-A-Trophic-groups-and-inferred_Q320.jpg)
Sharks are considered the apex predator of coral reefs, but the consequencesof their global depletion are uncertain. Here we explore the ecological roles of sharks on coral reefs and, conversely, the importance of reefs for sharks. We find that most reef-associated shark species do not act as apex predators but
instead function as mesopredators alo...
Marine protected areas (MPAs) have a high capacity to protect fish and invertebrate resources, given adequate surveillance and enforcement. Ashmore Reef National Nature Reserve (Ashmore Reef) was closed to commercial fishing and harvesting of invertebrates such as trochus (Trochus niloticus) and holothurians in 1983. We evaluate population trends i...
The annual mass spawning of scleractinian corals on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia, is purported to be unprecedented in terms of the taxonomic and geographical scale of spawning synchrony. Here, we compare spawning synchrony both within and among coral species in four regions spanning 10°of latitude on the GBR and compare this with four re...
Recovery of degraded reefs is dependent on the settlement of coral larvae into habitats typically dominated by benthic algae, so that benthic algae may play pivotal roles in coral settlement and reef recovery. Here we demonstrate that waterborne influences of macroalgae could affect coral settlement before larvae contact reef substrata and that suc...
The ecological resilience of coral reefs depends critically on the capacity of coral populations to re-establish in habitats dominated by macroalgae. Coral reefs globally are under rapidly increasing pressure from human activities, especially from climate change, with serious environmental, social and economic consequences. Coral mortality is usual...
The ecological resilience of coral reefs depends critically on the capacity of coral populations to re-establish in habitats dominated by macroalgae. Coral reefs globally are under rapidly increasing pressure from human activities, especially from climate change, with serious environmental, social and economic consequences. Coral mortality is usual...
Successful settlement and recruitment of corals is critical to the resilience of coral reefs. Given that many degraded reefs are dominated by benthic algae, recovery of coral populations after bleaching and other disturbances requires successful settlement amidst benthic algae. Algal turfs often accumulate sediments, sediments are known to inhibit...
