Institution
James Cook University
Education•Townsville, Queensland, Australia•
About: James Cook University is a education organization based out in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Coral reef. The organization has 9101 authors who have published 27750 publications receiving 1032608 citations. The organization is also known as: JCU.
Topics: Population, Coral reef, Reef, Coral, Coral reef fish
Papers published on a yearly basis
Papers
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James Cook University1, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration2, Australian Institute of Marine Science3, University of Victoria4, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology5, Queensland Museum6, Lancaster University7, Curtin University8, University of Western Australia9, University of Queensland10
TL;DR: Coral reefs in the present day have less time than in earlier periods to recover from bleaching events, and Tropical reef systems are transitioning to a new era in which the interval between recurrent bouts of coral bleaching is too short for a full recovery of mature assemblages.
Abstract: Tropical reef systems are transitioning to a new era in which the interval between recurrent bouts of coral bleaching is too short for a full recovery of mature assemblages. We analyzed bleaching records at 100 globally distributed reef locations from 1980 to 2016. The median return time between pairs of severe bleaching events has diminished steadily since 1980 and is now only 6 years. As global warming has progressed, tropical sea surface temperatures are warmer now during current La Nina conditions than they were during El Nino events three decades ago. Consequently, as we transition to the Anthropocene, coral bleaching is occurring more frequently in all El Nino–Southern Oscillation phases, increasing the likelihood of annual bleaching in the coming decades.
1,341 citations
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TL;DR: Empirical evidence is synthesized and a theoretical framework, based on species positions in a functional space, as a tool to reveal the complex nature of change in disturbed ecosystems is presented.
Abstract: Understanding the processes shaping biological communities under multiple disturbances is a core challenge in ecology and conservation science. Traditionally, ecologists have explored linkages between the severity and type of disturbance and the taxonomic structure of communities. Recent advances in the application of species traits, to assess the functional structure of communities, have provided an alternative approach that responds rapidly and consistently across taxa and ecosystems to multiple disturbances. Importantly, trait-based metrics may provide advanced warning of disturbance to ecosystems because they do not need species loss to be reactive. Here, we synthesize empirical evidence and present a theoretical framework, based on species positions in a functional space, as a tool to reveal the complex nature of change in disturbed ecosystems.
1,307 citations
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TL;DR: This work describes how the wMel Wolbachia infection, introduced into the dengue vector Aedes aegypti from Drosophila melanogaster, successfully invaded two natural A. aagypti populations in Australia, reaching near-fixation in a few months following releases of wMel-infected A.A. ae Egyptian adults.
Abstract: Genetic manipulations of insect populations for pest control have been advocated for some time, but there are few cases where manipulated individuals have been released in the field and no cases where they have successfully invaded target populations. Population transformation using the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia is particularly attractive because this maternally-inherited agent provides a powerful mechanism to invade natural populations through cytoplasmic incompatibility. When Wolbachia are introduced into mosquitoes, they interfere with pathogen transmission and influence key life history traits such as lifespan. Here we describe how the wMel Wolbachia infection, introduced into the dengue vector Aedes aegypti from Drosophila melanogaster, successfully invaded two natural A. aegypti populations in Australia, reaching near-fixation in a few months following releases of wMel-infected A. aegypti adults. Models with plausible parameter values indicate that Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes suffered relatively small fitness costs, leading to an unstable equilibrium frequency <30% that must be exceeded for invasion. These findings demonstrate that Wolbachia-based strategies can be deployed as a practical approach to dengue suppression with potential for area-wide implementation.
1,290 citations
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International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources1, Indonesian Institute of Sciences2, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration3, Brown University4, University of Costa Rica5, University of Hawaii at Manoa6, University of Tasmania7, Newcastle University8, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute9, National Museum of Natural History10, De La Salle University11, University of the South Pacific12, National Marine Fisheries Service13, Silliman University14, James Cook University15, Zoological Society of London16, University of Warwick17, Conservation International18, Museum of Tropical Queensland19, University of Puerto Rico20, Marine Conservation Society21
TL;DR: The Caribbean has the largest proportion of corals in high extinction risk categories, whereas the Coral Triangle has the highest proportion of species in all categories of elevated extinction risk.
Abstract: The conservation status of 845 zooxanthellate reef-building coral species was assessed by using International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List Criteria. Of the 704 species that could be assigned conservation status, 32.8% are in categories with elevated risk of extinction. Declines in abundance are associated with bleaching and diseases driven by elevated sea surface temperatures, with extinction risk further exacerbated by local-scale anthropogenic disturbances. The proportion of corals threatened with extinction has increased dramatically in recent decades and exceeds that of most terrestrial groups. The Caribbean has the largest proportion of corals in high extinction risk categories, whereas the Coral Triangle (western Pacific) has the highest proportion of species in all categories of elevated extinction risk. Our results emphasize the widespread plight of coral reefs and the urgent need to enact conservation measures.
1,272 citations
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors draw on the insights from a diverse set of case studies from around the world in which members of the Resilience Alliance have observed or engaged with sustainability problems at regional scales.
Abstract: The sustainability of regional development can be usefully explored through several different lenses. In situations in which uncertainties and change are key features of the ecological landscape and social organization, critical factors for sustainability are resilience, the capacity to cope and adapt, and the conservation of sources of innovation and renewal. However, interventions in social-ecological systems with the aim of altering resilience immediately confront issues of governance. Who decides what should be made resilient to what? For whom is resilience to be managed, and for what purpose? In this paper we draw on the insights from a diverse set of case studies from around the world in which members of the Resilience Alliance have observed or engaged with sustainability problems at regional scales. Our central question is: How do certain attributes of governance function in society to enhance the capacity to manage resilience? Three specific propositions were explored: (1) participation builds trust, and deliberation leads to the shared understanding needed to mobilize and self-organize; (2) polycentric and multilayered institutions improve the fit between knowledge, action, and social-ecological contexts in ways that allow societies to respond more adaptively at appropriate levels; and (3) accountable authorities that also pursue just distributions of benefits and involuntary risks enhance the adaptive capacity of vulnerable groups and society as a whole. Some support was found for parts of all three propositions. In exploring the sustainability of regional social-ecological systems, we are usually faced with a set of ecosystem goods and services that interact with a collection of users with different technologies, interests, and levels of power. In this situation in our roles as analysts, facilitators, change agents, or stakeholders, we not only need to ask: The resilience of what, to what? We must also ask: For whom?
1,265 citations
Authors
Showing all 9184 results
Name | H-index | Papers | Citations |
---|---|---|---|
Christopher J L Murray | 209 | 754 | 310329 |
Hui-Ming Cheng | 147 | 880 | 111921 |
Joseph T. Hupp | 141 | 731 | 82647 |
Graeme J. Hankey | 137 | 844 | 143373 |
Bryan R. Cullen | 121 | 371 | 50901 |
Thomas J. Meyer | 120 | 1078 | 68519 |
William F. Laurance | 118 | 470 | 56464 |
Staffan Kjelleberg | 114 | 425 | 44414 |
Mike Clarke | 113 | 1037 | 164328 |
Gao Qing Lu | 108 | 546 | 53914 |
David J. Williams | 107 | 2060 | 62440 |
Tim J Peters | 106 | 1037 | 47394 |
Michael E. Goddard | 106 | 424 | 67681 |
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg | 106 | 425 | 63750 |
John C. Avise | 105 | 413 | 53088 |