Response of the coral Plesiastrea versipora to simulated marine heatwaves (Honours 2017)
Increasing severity of recent marine heatwaves has driven marine systems towards irreversible ecological transformations. As such, my research aims to assess the vulnerabilities of high latitude corals from coastal waters off southwestern Australia to extreme short-term temperature anomalies. By applying a series of simulated marine heatwaves of varied intensities I hope to 1) establish the upper thermal limits of high latitude corals and 2) increase our understanding of the physiological response of high latitude coral assemblages to temperature extremes. Understanding the capacity of high latitude coral species to survive and recover from extreme thermal disturbances will provide important insights into the future persistence and range dynamics of corals in the Great Southern Reef. Read the abstract here.
Supervisors: Chenae Tuckett, Thomas Wernberg
Achievements and awards
- Winner: The Ernest Hodgkin Memorial Prize in Marine Science for 2017 for the highest mark in a marine science honours research project.
Wernberg Lab 