Collection

Special Issue: Functional studies on coral reefs: insights from a changing world

Submission status
Closed
This issue will focus on the study of ecosystem functions (i.e. the movement or storage of energy or material) on coral reefs. The study of functions/processes on coral reefs provides a language that transcends time and space, allowing us to understand and compare reefs over evolutionary timescales, across biogeographic realms, and among taxonomic groups. Indeed, in a world that is changing fast, one of the primary challenges for coral reef scientists and managers is to sustain the functions that support these diverse ecosystems. While functions demonstrably matter, the questions remain: what are the key functions? how are they ecologically relevant? how have we altered them? and how can they be maintained in a changing world? In this special issue we welcome submissions that explore these questions regardless of the taxonomic group to which they apply. The goal is to highlight the value of functional studies as they apply to coral reefs incorporating everything from evolutionary origins, through functional morphology, functional biogeography and, finally, to functional ecology. Emphasis, however, will be placed on the direct study and quantification of functions, i.e. dynamic processes rather than the description of static patterns.

Editors

  • David R. Bellwood David R. Bellwood , 

    David R. Bellwood

    David Bellwood is a Distinguished Professor at James Cook University (JCU), Australia, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. In 2019 he was awarded an Australian Laureate Fellowship to assess how coral reefs function. Currently, he leads the Research Hub for Coral Reef Ecosystem Functions at JCU. This team of emerging post-doctoral researchers and post-graduate students are studying coral reef functions through time and space, incorporating biogeography, palaeontology, evolution, and ecology to comprehensively understand today’s coral reefs and how they may change in the future.

  • Robert P. Streit Robert P. Streit , 

    Robert P. Streit

    Dr Robert P Streit received a PhD in marine biology and ecology from James Cook University Australia in 2020. He since works as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Research Hub for Coral Reef Ecosystem Functions at JCU. His research focusses on the spatial ecology of coral reef fishes, essentially asking - what drives where and when fishes deliver their ecosystem functions. His recent work relates to the role of functional traits in understanding and predicting ecology and how these concepts may be refined to maximize utility for ecological insights.

  • Simon J. Brandl Simon J. Brandl , 

    Simon J. Brandl

    Simon is a marine ecologist who received his PhD from James Cook University in 2016. After completing postdoctoral fellowships in the US, Canada, and France, he is now an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute. His research revolves around the diversity and functional roles of coastal marine fishes, with a particular emphasis on the ecology and evolution of coral reef fishes and their contributions to coral reef ecosystem functioning.

  • Mike McWilliam Mike McWilliam , 

    Mike McWilliam

    Mike is a Levehulme Postdoctoral Fellow in the UK studying biodiversity change across seafloor ecosystems. He was previously a postdoc at the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology and a PhD student at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies in Australia. His work focuses on biodiversity, physiology, demography, ecosystem function, and resilience.

  • Helen F. Yan Helen F. Yan  &

    Helen F. Yan

    Helen Yan studies the productivity of global fish communities, with a focus on the ecological and socioeconomic drivers of marine ecosystem functioning. She received her B.Sc. with Honours from Simon Fraser University, Canada and has worked for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group as a research associate. She is currently a PhD Candidate in the Research Hub for Coral Reef Ecosystem Functions and the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, Australia.

  • Sterling B. Tebbett Sterling B. Tebbett

    Sterling B. Tebbett

    Sterling Tebbett received his PhD from James Cook University (JCU), Australia, in 2022. Currently, he is working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Research Hub for Coral Reef Ecosystem Functions at JCU. In this position he undertakes a diverse array of research that covers multiple taxonomic groups and spatial scales, however, it all shares one common theme: a focus on understanding how coral reefs function.

Articles

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