A5018939025- Marine and coastal plant biology
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research
- Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
- Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics
- Marine and fisheries research
- Marine Bivalve and Aquaculture Studies
- Microbial Community Ecology and Physiology
- Aquaculture disease management and microbiota
- Aquatic life and conservation
- Aquaculture Nutrition and Growth
- Physics of Superconductivity and Magnetism
- Seaweed-derived Bioactive Compounds
- Superconducting Materials and Applications
- Ocean Acidification Effects and Responses
- High-Voltage Power Transmission Systems
- Isotope Analysis in Ecology
- Climate Change Policy and Economics
- Ichthyology and Marine Biology
- Magnetic properties of thin films
- Magnetic Properties and Applications
- Coastal and Marine Management
- Echinoderm biology and ecology
- Crime, Deviance, and Social Control
- Gut microbiota and health
- Power System Optimization and Stability
University of the Sunshine Coast
2019-2024
University of Delaware
2024
University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
2024
Delaware Sea Grant
2024
University of St Andrews
2023
Unity Health Toronto
2022-2023
Health Net
2023
UNSW Sydney
2012-2022
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
2021
University of Tasmania
2020
Climate-driven changes in biotic interactions can profoundly alter ecological communities, particularly when they impact foundation species. In marine systems, herbivory and the consequent loss of dominant habitat forming species result dramatic community phase shifts, such as from coral to macroalgal dominance tropical fish decreases, algal forests ‘barrens’ temperate urchin grazing increases. Here, we propose a novel phase-shift away caused by herbivores extending their range into regions....
Significance Most studies of the impact global warming focus on direct physiological impacts climate change. However, is shifting distribution many species and leading to novel interactions between previously separated that have potential transform entire ecological communities. This study shows an increase in proportion warmwater (“tropicalization”) as oceans warm increasing fish herbivory kelp forests, contributing their decline subsequent persistence alternate “kelp-free” states. These...
Abstract Despite the importance of consumers in structuring communities, and widespread assumption that consumption is strongest at low latitudes, empirical tests for global scale patterns magnitude consumer impacts are limited. In marine systems, long tradition experimentally excluding herbivores their natural environments allows to be quantified on scales using consistent methodology. We present a quantitative synthesis 613 herbivore exclusion experiments test influence traits, producer...
Abstract Disease is emerging as an important impact of global climate change, due to the effects environmental change on host organisms and their pathogens. Climate‐mediated disease can have severe consequences in natural systems, particularly when ecosystem engineers, such habitat‐formers or top predators are affected, any impacts cascade throughout entire food webs. In temperate marine ecosystems, seaweeds dominant rocky reefs. We investigated a putative bleaching affecting Delisea pulchra...
Interactions between hosts and associated microbial communities can fundamentally shape the development ecology of 'holobionts', from humans to marine habitat-forming organisms such as seaweeds. In systems, planktonic community structure is mainly driven by geography related environmental factors, but large-scale drivers host-associated are largely unknown. Using 16S-rRNA gene sequencing, we characterized 260 seaweed-associated bacterial archaeal on kelp Ecklonia radiata three...
Host-pathogen interactions have been widely studied in humans and terrestrial plants, but are much less well explored marine systems. Here we show that a macroalga, Delisea pulchra, utilizes chemical defence - furanones to inhibit colonization infection by novel bacterial pathogen, Ruegeria sp. R11, R11 is temperature dependent. formed biofilms, invaded bleached furanone-free, not furanone-producing D. pulchra thalli, at high (24°C) low (19°C) temperatures. Bleaching commonly observed...
Abstract Rear (warm) edge populations are often considered more susceptible to warming than central (cool) because of the warmer ambient temperatures they experience, but this overlooks potential for local variation in thermal tolerances. Here we provide conceptual models illustrating how sensitivity is affected throughout a species’ geographical range locally adapted and non-adapted populations. We test these range-contracting seaweed using observations from marine heatwave 12-month...
Abstract Coral cover on reefs is declining globally due to coastal development, overfishing and climate change. Reefs isolated from direct human influence can recover natural acute disturbances, but little known about long term recovery of experiencing chronic disturbances. Here we investigate responses bleaching disturbances turbid off Singapore, at two depths over a period 27 years. declined there were marked changes in coral benthic community structure during the first decade monitoring...
Degradation of natural habitats due to urbanization is a major cause biodiversity loss. Anthropogenic impacts can drive phase shifts from productive, complex ecosystems less desirable, diverse systems that provide fewer services. Macroalgae are the dominant habitat-forming organisms on temperate coastlines, providing habitat and food entire communities. In recent decades, there has been decline in macroalgal cover along some urbanised shorelines, leading shift algal forests more simple turf...
Climate change is driving global declines of marine habitat-forming species through physiological effects and changes to ecological interactions, with projected trajectories for ocean warming acidification likely exacerbate such impacts in coming decades. Interactions between habitat-formers their microbiomes are fundamental host functioning resilience, but how relationships will future conditions largely unknown. We investigated independent interactive on a large brown seaweed, the kelp...
Abstract Incidence, or compositional, matrices are generated for a broad range of research applications in biology. Zeta diversity provides common currency and conceptual framework that links incidence‐based metrics with multiple patterns interest biology, ecology, biodiversity science. It quantifies the variation species (or OTU ) composition assemblages cases) space time, to capture contribution full suite narrow, intermediate, wide‐ranging biotic heterogeneity. Here we provide application...
Anthropogenic activities have caused profound changes globally in biodiversity, species interactions and ecosystem functions services. In terrestrial systems, restoration has emerged as a useful approach to mitigate these changes, is increasingly recognised tool fortify ecosystems against future disturbances. marine also gaining traction management tool, but it still comparatively scant underdeveloped relative environments. Key coastal habitats, such seaweed forests seagrass meadows are...
In many temperate regions, brown macroalgae fulfil essential ecosystem services such as the provision of structure, fixation nutrients and carbon, production biomass oxygen.Their populations in regions around globe have declined and/ or spatially shifted recent decades.In this review we highlight potential global regional drives these changes, describe status regionally particularly important macroalgal species, capacity interactions among abiotic biotic factors to amplify buffer...
Macroalgal surfaces support abundant and diverse microorganisms within biofilms, which are often involved in fundamental functions relating to the health defence of their seaweed hosts, including algal development, facilitation spore release chemical antifouling. Given these intimate important interactions, environmental changes have potential negatively impact macroalgae by disrupting seaweed-microbe interactions. We used disappearance dominant canopy-forming fucoid Phyllospora comosa from...
Abstract Our understanding of diseases has been transformed by the realisation that people are holobionts, comprised a host and its associated microbiome(s). Disease can also have devastating effects on populations marine organisms, including dominant habitat formers such as seaweed holobionts. However, we know very little about how interactions between microorganisms within microbiomes - humans or organisms – affect health there is no underpinning theoretical framework for exploring this....
Ecological differentiation between strains of bacterial species is shaped by genomic and metabolic variability. However, connecting genotypes to ecological niches remains a major challenge. Here, we linked geno- phenotypes contextualizing pangenomic, exometabolomic physiological evidence in twelve the marine bacterium Alteromonas macleodii, illuminating adaptive strategies carbon metabolism, microbial interactions, cellular communication iron acquisition. In A. macleodii strain MIT1002,...
Abstract Globally, critical habitats are in decline, threatening ecological, economic and social values prompting calls for ‘future proofing’ efforts that enhance resilience to climate change. Such rely on predicting how neutral adaptive genomic patterns across a species' distribution will change under future scenarios, but data is scant most species of conservation concern. Here, we use seascape genomics characterise genetic diversity, structure gene‐environmental associations dominant...
Interactions between hosts and their microbiota are vital to the functioning resilience of macro-organisms. Critically, for that play foundational roles in communities, understanding what drives host-microbiota interactions is essential informing ecosystem restoration conservation. We investigated relative influence host traits surrounding environment on microbial communities associated with seaweed Phyllospora comosa. quantified 16 morphological functional phenotypic traits, including...
1 Herbivory is particularly intense in marine environments, with a higher proportion of primary productivity removed than terrestrial habitats. Experimental manipulation large herbivores (fish, urchins) has clearly documented their grazing impacts on algal and seagrass beds. Grazing mesograzers (small invertebrates such as amphipods isopods) are, however, less understood due to the practical difficulties manipulating abundance field conditions. 2 We developed novel technique that...