Marine Biology & Aquaculture

Tom Lloyd

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Global Ecosystems
tom.lloyd@jcu.edu.au

Alys Young

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Global Ecosystems
alys.young@jcu.edu.au

William Arlidge

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Community-Based Fisheries Co-Management
william.arlidge@jcu.edu.au

Anna Wilson

Senior Research Worker
anna.wilson@jcu.edu.au

Kelly Condon

Senior Lecturer, Aquaculture (Aquatic Animal Health)
kelly.condon@jcu.edu.au

Graeme Cumming

Adjunct Professor
graeme.cumming@jcu.edu.au

Takahiro Shimada

Adjunct Senior Research Fellow
takahiro.shimada@jcu.edu.au

Peter Doll

Research Fellow, Coral Reef Health Assessments
peter.doll@jcu.edu.au

Michela Mitchell

Casual Research Assistant
michela.mitchell@jcu.edu.au

Jan Strugnell

Professor, Promotional Chair
jan.strugnell@jcu.edu.au

Testing established methods of early prediction of genetic merit in abalone broodstock (Old ID 24872)

Jan Strugnell

04 Jun 2018 - 31 Dec 2020

There is a need in the abalone industry to improve production animals. However, abalone are relatively slow growing animals and take several years to reach harvest size. This means that during the establishment of foundation broodstock populations it may be several years before the relative genetic merit of each of the broodstock can be determined and the first selection decisions made. Researchers at JCU have addressed this time-lag problem of obtaining accurate genetic estimated breeding values (gEBV) in other species. They have shown that broodstock gEBV can be estimated accurately from larvae as early as 18 days through the targeting of growth processes at the cellular level that predict genetic-determined long-term growth. This method is as yet untested in abalone, but if successful, has great potential in helping screen broodstock. This project will test the efficacy of this early prediction method in abalone. The impact of this early detection method would be to save costs by assisting in the selection of superior broodstock individuals which would produce faster growing offspring. Currently new broodstock animals are unevaluated with regard to their genetic merit.

Method Development Support Initiative: Feral Ungulate Management

Nathan Waltham

28 Mar 2025 - 30 Jun 2026

A research contract for Method Development Support Initiative: Feral Ungulate Management with a focus on assisting in the development of an initial draft method, including spatial and aquatic indicators and remote sensing methods, followed by stakeholder workshops and fieldwork verification.

Harnessing animal genomes to understand East Antarctic Ice Sheet melt history

Sally Lau

03 Nov 2025 - 31 Dec 2027

The East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) holds enough water to raise global sea levels by 19m, yet its sensitivity to warming is deeply uncertain. This project aims to understand whether the EAIS experienced significant melting during the unusually warm periods in the last one million years, when average temperatures reached ~0.5-5°C warmer than today, with global sea levels up to 20m higher. It does so by investigating marine animal evolutionary history restricted along the EAIS margin, which can reveal the sizes of the available seafloor habitat in the last one million years, to reconstruct the EAIS extent through time. Understanding whether the EAIS experienced mass loss during past warm periods, the sensitivity of the ice sheet to warming can be established. By providing empirical evidence pinpointing the thresholds of EAIS instability, this project will benefit the ability of policymakers to plan and mitigate against impending global sea level rise.