Sep 7, 2017 | Ecology, Global change, Research
Professor Mark McCormick runs the Coral Reef Ecology Laboratory at JCU. He and his students often use the facilities of the Australian Museum’s Lizard Island Research Station for their field research. One of Mark’s major areas of interest is fish/habitat... 
Sep 6, 2017 | Global change, Observation
When thinking about coral loss and recovery, it helps to have a sense of time and a sense of urgency. Time began about 13.5 billion years ago. The first organisms were formed in the sea around 3.8 billions years ago. Corals have existed for over 500 million years,... 
Jun 4, 2017 | Fellowships, Global change, Research
Scientists conducted detailed surveys of fish and coral around Lizard Island in 2011, 2015 and 2017. By counting surviving species, they quantify the impact of the major detrimental events that occurred in this period. Such detailed multi-year site-specific... 
Sep 21, 2016 | Fellowships, Global change, People, Research
2011 marked the year that New Zealand national Dr. Bridie Allan moved to Australia to begin her PhD in Marine Biology at James Cook University under the supervision of Prof. Mark McCormick and Prof. Phillip Munday. After graduating in March, Bridie’s currently... 
Mar 25, 2016 | Bleaching, Global change, Observation, Reef condition
Sea temperatures around Lizard Island and elsewhere in the northern sector of the Great Barrier Reef were one or two degrees above normal for several weeks in March 2016, but started to cool off in April. See BOM Anomaly Forecast. Coral tolerates short-term... 
Mar 15, 2016 | Ecology, Global change, Research
Recent research shows at least one small shark species will be able to cope with the level of ocean acidification predicted for the end of this century. Dr. Jodie Rummer from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (CoralCoE) at James Cook University (JCU)...