Contact details

Mr Jez Roff
Centre for Marine Studies
The University of Queensland
Gehrmann Laboratories (#60)
St Lucia QLD 4072 Australia

(tel) +61 (0) 733654333
(fax) +61 (0) 733654755
(email) g.roffuq.edu.au
(www) http://www.climateshifts.org

Connections

Collaborators
Dr Sophie Dove
Dr Simon Dunn
Dr Guillermo Diaz-Pulido
Mr Juan Carlos Ortiz

People > Jez Roff

Position: Honorary lab member
Last update: 02-Apr-2009		Supervisors: Prof. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Prof. John Pandolfi, Prof. Jian-xin Zhao

Research

Historical ecology of the inshore Great Barrier Reef

Trajectories of decline have been observed in coral reefs throughout the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific region from the present day, attributable to the synergistic effects of human induced disturbances. Whilst direct and indirect evidence suggests that inshore reefs from the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) are showing signs of regional decline following European settlement in the mid 18th century, it has proven difficult to ascertain the link between anthropogenic disturbance and coral degradation at a regional scale. This project aims to identify changes to coral communities across decadal, centennial and millennial scales in order to identify the effect of European settlement on inshore reefs of the GBR. Specifically, this research aims to:

1) Identify short-term (decadal) patterns of large-scale (regional) changes in coral reef communities from the Great Barrier Reef.

2 a) Establish long-term (millennial) records of local scale (reef) changes in coral communities from inshore reefs in the central Great Barrier Reef region to determine changes following European settlement.

2 b) Determine regional scale trends of ecological change of coral communities following European settlement within the Palm Islands region, central Great Barrier Reef.


Keywords: bleaching, climate change, coral disease, coral physiology, ecology, palaeoecology, taxonomy

Education

BSc(Hons) Ecology of 'white syndrome', a coral disease on the southern Great Barrier Reef - University of Queensland - First Class (2004)
BSc Tropical Marine Science / Marine Ecology - University of Queensland (2003)

Awards

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority “Science for Management” Award (2008), Mia J Tegner Memorial Fellowship (2008), University of Queensland Biological and Chemical Faculty Travel Award (2008), Australian Coral Reef Society Student Research Fellowship (2008), Australian Coral Reef Society Travel Fellowship (2008), Australian Research Council Coral Reef Centre of Excellence Travel Award (2008), International Society for Reef Studies / The Ocean Conservancy Fellowship (2007), Australian Coral Reef Society Conference, Perth: Student Presentation Award (2007), Australian Research Council Coral Reef Centre of Excellence best paper award (2007), Endeavour International Post-Graduate Research Scholarship (2006), University of Queensland International Living allowance Scholarship (2006)

Publications

Roff G, Dove S, Dunn SR (2009) Mesenterial filaments make a clean sweep of substrates for coral growth. CORAL REEFS 28: 79-79

Kvennefors ECE, Roff G (2009) Evidence of cyanobacteria-like endosymbionts in Acroporid corals from the Great Barrier Reef. CORAL REEFS 28: 547-547

Diaz-Pulido GA, Mccook LJ, Dove S, Berkelmans R, Roff G, Kline DI, Weeks SJ, Evans RD, Williamson DH, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2009) Doom and Boom on a Resilient Reef: Climate Change, Algal Overgrowth and Coral Recovery. PLoS One 4: 5239--1

Jupiter S, Roff G, Marion G, Henderson M, Schrameyer V, McCulloch MT, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2008) Linkages between coral assemblages and coral proxies of terrestrial exposure along a cross-shelf gradient on the southern Great Barrier Reef. CORAL REEFS 27: 887-903

Roff G, Ulstrup KE, Fine M, Ralph PJ, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2008) Spatial heterogeneity of photosynthetic activity within diseased corals from the great barrier reef. JOURNAL OF PHYCOLOGY 44: 526-538

Roff G, Kvennefors ECE, Ulstrup KE, Fine M, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2008) Coral disease physiology: the impact of Acroporid white syndrome on Symbiodinium. CORAL REEFS 27: 373-377

Ainsworth TD, Fine M, Roff G, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2008) Bacteria are not the primary cause of bleaching in the Mediterranean coral Oculina patagonica. ISME JOURNAL 2: 67-73

Yarden O, Ainsworth TD, Roff G, Leggat W, Fine M, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2007) Increased prevalence of ubiquitous ascomycetes in an acropoid coral (Acropora formosa) exhibiting symptoms of brown band syndrome and skeletal eroding band disease. APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY 73: 2755-2757

Fine M, Roff G, Ainsworth TD, Hoegh-Guldberg O (2006) Phototrophic microendoliths bloom during coral "white syndrome". CORAL REEFS 25: 577-581

Roff G, Hoegh-Guldberg O, Fine M (2006) Intra-colonial response to Acroporid "White syndrome" lesions in tabular Acropora spp. (Scleractinia). CORAL REEFS 25: 255-264