James Cook University

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.

Blogs in tourism: Changing approaches to information exchange:

Abstract: The continuing rise of the internet as a communications tool for travel and tourism presents challenges for destination marketing organizations and tourism enterprises. Previous research has suggested that the internet contributes to five key functions — promotion, product distribution, communication, management and research. This paper examines how Web 2.0 applications, and specifically the increasing number of travel blogs, might influence these functions. The research reviewed the published literature and real-life examples of destination marketing organizations and tourism enterprises using blogs as part of their business strategy. Some interesting examples were found for each of the functions, which may point the way to more effective use of user generated content by the tourism industry, while also revealing challenges to achieving this.

Agriculture at a Crossroads

Abstract: The present path of agricultural development will not achieve development goals according to a recent assessment, but a solid foundation for improvements exists.

Smelling home can prevent dispersal of reef fish larvae

Abstract: Many marine fish and invertebrates show a dual life history where settled adults produce dispersing larvae. The planktonic nature of the early larval stages suggests a passive dispersal model where ocean currents would quickly cause panmixis over large spatial scales and prevent isolation of populations, a prerequisite for speciation. However, high biodiversity and species abundance in coral reefs contradict this panmixis hypothesis. Although ocean currents are a major force in larval dispersal, recent studies show far greater retention than predicted by advection models. We investigated the role of animal behavior in retention and homing of coral reef fish larvae resulting in two important discoveries: (i) Settling larvae are capable of olfactory discrimination and prefer the odor of their home reef, thereby demonstrating to us that nearby reefs smell different. (ii) Whereas one species showed panmixis as predicted from our advection model, another species showed significant genetic population substructure suggestive of strong homing. Thus, the smell of reefs could allow larvae to choose currents that return them to reefs in general and natal reefs in particular. As a consequence, reef populations can develop genetic differences that might lead to reproductive isolation.