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23
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Introduction
I am a marine ecologist with broad interests in community ecology, connectivity and biogeography. Specifically I enjoy the study of coral reef fishes, ecological monitoring ,mesophotic coral ecosystems, seamounts, hydrodynamics and technology that allows those of us restricted by diving regulations to study deep reefs beyond the limits of SCUBA. I also like riding bikes.
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March 2025 - present
Publications
Publications (23)
Tropical seagrass meadows are important global marine ecosystems that provide critical ecosystem goods and services. The extent of global seagrass meadows is mostly mapped from shallow coastal regions and not well known or sampled from deeper offshore locations. Seagrasses can, however, form deep‐water meadows, which likely significantly increase t...
Coral reefs are complex habitats that support a diversity of fish species, some of which live in specialised relationships with particular coral taxa. The ecology and social organisation of these habitat specialists can be shaped by characteristics of their host coral. Here, we quantified the distribution, density, size, dispersion and health of th...
The Coral Sea is a critically important and significant ecosystem, which (like coral reefs globally) is increasingly threatened by changing environmental conditions, particularly ocean warming. Previous surveys (2020-2022) of shallow reef habitats across the Coral Sea Marine Park (CSMP) documented widespread and severe bleaching of corals in 2020 a...
Ashmore and Boot Reefs in the far north of the Coral Sea Marine Park (CSMP)have been identified through recent research as ‘bright spots’ within the CSMP, supporting higher cover and diversity of corals, and greater fish diversity and biomass than other CSMP reefs, and are considered the ‘jewel’ among TorresStrait reefs. Together with their potenti...
Seamounts and remote oceanic islands serve as valuable natural laboratories in which to study patterns and processes in marine biodiversity. A central hypothesis arising from studies of these systems is the ecological function of seamounts as stepping-stones for dispersal and population connectivity. Evidence of this mechanism exists for a range of...
Addressing anthropogenic threats compromising the persistence of tropical marine ecosystems requires an understanding of the fundamental ecological functions these organisms fulfil. Habitat provision is a major function of corals in tropical marine ecosystems, although most research in this area has concentrated on scleractinians (hard corals). Her...
Hydrodynamic processes are important in all marine environments and on coral reefs drive patterns of habitat zonation, community structure, and biodiversity. Abrupt geomorphological features like pinnacles and seamounts often possess distinct localized currents and these habitats are also often characterized by high abundance and biomass of fishes....
Seamounts and remote oceanic islands provide valuable natural laboratories in which to study patterns and processes in marine biodiversity. A central hypothesis arising from studies of these systems is the ecological function of seamounts as stepping stones for dispersal and population connectivity. Evidence of this mechanism exists for a range of...
Predation is a key ecological process regulating the structure and diversity of biological communities, yet predators do not exist homogeneously in nature. Coral reefs possess diverse assemblages of predatory fishes, the distribution and abundance of which is well documented for coastal and emergent reefs. However, for remote, isolated and submerge...
Gorgonians are a diverse and conspicuous component of coral reef ecosystems, providing habitat structure that supports unique assemblages of fishes and invertebrates. Evaluating their overall importance as ecological engineers requires an understanding of their spatial patterns of distribution, abundance and assemblage composition, and the biophysi...
Herbivorous fishes play important functional roles in coral reef ecosystems, and their influence on mediating competitive dynamics between corals and macroalgae is well studied. Nonetheless, direct interactions between herbivorous fishes and corals may also be relevant, although these are less studied. Here, we describe a series of observations of...
Coral reefs are losing the capacity to sustain their biological functions¹. In addition to other well-known stressors, such as climatic change and overfishing¹, plastic pollution is an emerging threat to coral reefs, spreading throughout reef food webs², and increasing disease transmission and structural damage to reef organisms³. Although recogniz...
In responding to a tender from Parks Australia, a team of researchers representing the College of Science and Engineering at James Cook University (JCU) completed surveys of eleven reefs in the Coral Sea Marine Park.
The Coral Sea is a critically important and significant ecosystem, which (like coral reefs globally) is increasingly threatened by c...
Temporal patterns in spawning and juvenile recruitment can have major effects on population size and the demographic structure of coral reef fishes. For harvested species, these patterns are crucial in determining stock size and optimizing management strategies such as seasonal closures. For the commercially important coral grouper (Plectropomus sp...
The Coral Sea is a critically important and significant ecosystem, which (like coral reefs globally) is increasingly threatened by changing environmental conditions, particularly ocean warming. To date, the majority of research and monitoring in the Coral Sea Marine Park (CSMP) has focused on shallow (<20m) reef habitats, with limited research into...
Hydrodynamics on coral reefs vary with depth, reef morphology and seascape position. Differences in hydrodynamic regimes strongly influence the structure and function of coral reef ecosystems. Submerged coral reefs on steep-sided, conical bathymetric features like seamounts experience enhanced water circulation as a result of interactions between c...
The Coral Sea is a critically important and significant ecosystem, which (like coral reefs globally) is increasingly threatened by changing environmental conditions, particularly ocean warming. Previous surveys conducted in 2020 and 2021 showed shallow reef habitats across the Coral Sea Marine Park (CSMP)experienced severe and widespread bleaching...
Coral reefs exhibit consistent patterns in biodiversity across multiple spatial scales, from local to global clines in species richness, abundance and community structure. Knowledge of fundamental processes driving these patterns is largely derived from studies of shallow, emergent and nearshore reefs. Although research efforts are expanding to dee...
Report on reef health surveys 2021. Report prepared for Parks Australia.
Montserrat is a small jewel of an island in the eastern Caribbean. After a major volcanic eruption in 1995, two-Thirds of the island became uninhabitable, and today Montserrat is off the beaten track for most tourists. The island is easily accessible, however, and a range of habitats support a variety of interesting native biodiversity.Three hill r...
