Marine Biology & Aquaculture

Tom Lloyd

Tom Lloyd

Alys Young

Alys Young

William Arlidge

William Arlidge

Anna Wilson

Anna Wilson

Kelly Condon

Kelly Condon

Graeme Cumming

Graeme Cumming

Takahiro Shimada

Takahiro Shimada

Peter Doll

Peter Doll

Michela Mitchell

Michela Mitchell

Jan Strugnell

Jan Strugnell

COTS Monitoring Design: sample design for science and management decisions (Old ID 27510)
Morgan Pratchett
01 Jan 2022 - 30 Jun 2023
This project uses a combination of desktop and fieldwork to characterise and measure the detection errors associated with various COTS survey tools (e.g. manta tow, glider, eDNA, scooter, cull dives) and will calibrate density estimates across these tools to enable integration of data from multiple sources and programs into COTS Control Program decision-making.
Bio-molecular studies for improved diagnosis and management of Australian children with fish allergy (Old ID 21592)
Ludwig Lopata
01 Jan 2015 - 30 Sep 2019
Allergy to fish among children is emerging as a significant healthcare issue in Australia and worldwide, with prevalence rates among children with food allergy as high as 16% in Australia. Our strong clinical-laboratory interface, bringing together a highly experienced senior team in the areas of molecular and immunological allergen characterization with leading clinicians in paediatric allergy, will significantly improve the management of fish-allergic children in Australia.
Lost at sea? Understanding adaptation and dispersal in spiny lobsters (Old ID 23173)
Jan Strugnell
17 Feb 2015 - 31 Dec 2018
Continual recruitment of young is fundamental to the replenishment of populations, especially when a stock is fished. Existing theory suggests that species with very long planktonic larval stages disperse widely, ensuring their genes are well mixed. However recently identified genetic differences between populations of rock l;obster challenge this paradigm and demonstrate that despite larvae mixing in the ocean for years, local recruitment and/or adaptation are at play. Recent developments in genomics and bioinformatics will allow this project to understand the ecological processes underpinning these genetic signatures and determine their evolutionary implications. Such findings would direct targeted rebuilding of depleted fisheries stocks.1/1/5
What can locally managed marine areas do for you? (Old ID 27303)
Patrick Smallhorn-West
04 Aug 2021 - 31 Dec 2022
Locally-managed marine areas (LMMA) regulate when, how, and by whom harvesting of resources occurs and are the dominant local marine resource management approach in the Pacific. Recently, a new wave of lessons have emerged on the efficacy of LMMAs that has yet to be interpreted and critiqued amongst resource managers, NGOs, and government actors. This project will involve hosting two workshops and co-developing communication products (infographic, pamphlet, and short video) in various Pacific languages on the current state of knowledge on LMMAs as a fisheries management tools. This work will provide an up to date synthesis of the contexts under which they can be successful, the trade-offs that may result when managing for multiple objectives, and the realistic impacts that can be expected from their use.
Adverse reactions to seafood: Molecular and immunological approaches in managing an Australasian epidemic (Old ID 19354)
Ludwig Lopata
01 Apr 2012 - 31 Dec 2016
Over 4 million Australians suffer from allergies with a financial burden in excess of $7 billion. Seafood is an increasingly important food allergy worldwide and is typically life-long, affecting about 5% of children and 2% of adults in Australia. This research will characterise allergenic proteins from crustacean and molluscs, leading to the design of recombinant proteins. Allergenicity of modified food allergens through heating will be studied using state-of-the-art in-vivo and in-vitro systems. This fellowship will considerably advance our knowledge on the influence of structure and chemical modifications on the immunoreactivity of seafood allergen, thus providing platform knowledge for better diagnostics and future therapeutics.
Protein and energy requirements of grass emperor (Old ID 28953)
Leo Nankervis
01 Apr 2023 - 01 Dec 2023
This contributes to the DAFF project developing grass emperor as a new aquaculture species. Being new to aquaculture, we lack a fundamental understanding of appropriate feeds. This project will address the protein and energy requirements of grass emperor to gain baseline understanding of appropriate feed macronutrient levels.
Detection of scalloped hammerhead sharks in Apra Harbor and adjacent waters, Guam using Environmental DNA (Old ID 23578)
Jan Strugnell
28 Nov 2017 - 21 Aug 2020
Scalloped hammerhead sharks (Sphyrna lewini) are anecdotally reported in Apra Harbor, Guam, but their spatial and temporal patterns of occurrence are not well understood. Lack of knowledge of population abundance, distribution, and habitat use also extends across the geographic range of the Indo-West Pacific subpopulation. All S. lewini are nationally protected under the Endangered Species Act, and their occurrence within Apra Harbor is of concern to management and conservation strategies and mission-essential operations of the U.S. Department of Navy. This project will determine the temporal and spatial distribution and habitat use of the scalloped hammerhead shark within Apra Harbor and Orote Peninsula nearshore waters.
Improved productivity and efficiency of the culture based fishery for giant freshwater prawn in Sri Lankan reservoirs. (Old ID 26163)
Clive Jones
18 Mar 2020 - 30 Nov 2025
Productivity of the fisheries resources of Sri Lankan reservoirs has been improved through application of culture based fishery (CFB) practices. In addition to a variety of finfish that serve to provide protein to local communities, the addition of stocked giant freshwater prawn (GFP)-Macrobrachium rosenbergii, has added significant value, due to high market price, 10 times higher than that of finfish. Currently, the GFP are captured as a bycatch to finfish and the stocking practices are ad-hoc, resulting in very low yield per seed prawn stocked. The fishery is managed as a single multi-species fishery, and although the project will focus on research of GFP, some aspects of the research will involve the entire fishery, particularly modelling of stocking and yields. This will provide benefits for production of all species, with an emphasis on enhancement of GFP production through specific research of stocking practices, production dynamics, harvest and socio-economic aspects 0of the fishery and the supply chain.
Mapping of tidal flats and salt marshes in the NOWPAP region. (Old ID 27039)
Nicholas Murray
21 Sep 2020 - 01 Aug 2021
The main objective of this activity is to map the distribution of tidal flats/salt marshes in the NOWPAP region with their historical change in the past decades. To map tidal flats/salt marshes in the NOWPAP region, mapping tool developed by Murray et al. (2019), namely Global Intertidal Change (hereinafter referred to as “GIC”) is used. GIC is the only available tool for regional mapping of tidal flats. However, GIC is developed for the global mapping and there are some limitation for the detection of tidal flats when used at regional scale. Therefore, this project will develop a bespoke regional model of the distribution of tidal flats/salt marshes in the NOWPAP region.
The impact of conservation NGO interventions on small-scale fishers (Old ID 27518)
Patrick Smallhorn-West
01 Feb 2022 - 31 Dec 2024
The objective of this post-doctoral position is to conduct a systematic review of NGO interventions to support Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF) and to apply these findings to WCS’ programs. The position will be co-hosted between James Cook University, WorldFish, and the WCS Global Marine Conservation division.
Title: JCU reef scientist goes global after plumbing the depths, Townsville Bulletin
Reseracher: Gemma Galbraith (AIMS@JCU Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Reef Connectivity)
Start Date: 10 Nov 2024
Title: Deep dive: How I use robots to survey coral reefs, Nature
Reseracher: Gemma Galbraith (AIMS@JCU Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Reef Connectivity)
Start Date: 31 Mar 2025
Title: Wet Tropics Management Authority - Scientific Advisory Committee
Reseracher: Nathan Waltham (Associate Professor, Blue Carbon)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2024
Title: Aquaculture without Frontiers (AwF), Australia
Reseracher: Simon Das (Research Fellow - Grouper Nutrition)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2024
End Date: 01 Jan 2027
Title: Australian Coral Reef Society
Reseracher: Morgan Pratchett (Professor, Marine Biology & Aquaculture)
Title: International Coral Reef Society
Reseracher: Morgan Pratchett (Professor, Marine Biology & Aquaculture)
Title: BSc Ecology, University of Cape Town
Reseracher: Mark Cyrus (Senior Lecturer Aquaculture Macroalgae)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2004
End Date: 01 Jan 2006
Title: BSc Honours, University of Cape Town
Reseracher: Mark Cyrus (Senior Lecturer Aquaculture Macroalgae)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2007
End Date: 01 Jan 2007
Title: PhD, James Cook University
Reseracher: Leo Nankervis (Associate Professor, Aquaculture)
Start Date: 01 Jan 2002
End Date: 01 Jan 2005
Title: BSc(Hons), James Cook University
Reseracher: Leo Nankervis (Associate Professor, Aquaculture)
Start Date: 01 Jan 1996
End Date: 01 Jan 1999