Dr Morgan Pratchett
Principal Research Fellow
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ARC Australian Research Fellow (2007-2011) , ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies
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Research Interests
- Impacts of climate change on coral reef ecosystems
- Population outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish
- Population dynamics of scleractinian corals
- Ecological versatility in coral reef fishes
- Biology and ecology of butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae)
Dr Morgan Pratchett is a Principal Research Fellow in the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, based at James Cook University, Townsville. He has broad interests in population and community ecology of coral reef organisms, especially corals and fishes. His current research focuses on major disturbances that impact coral reef ecosystems, with a view to understanding differential responses and vulnerabilities among coral reef organisms. Dr Morgan Pratchett has written several papers describing direct and indirect effects of coral bleaching and outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish, considering impacts on both coral assemblages and associated assemblages of coral reef fishes. He is also an international authority on the biology and ecology of coral reef butterflyfishes and his currently writing and editing a monograph dedicated to this iconic family of coral reef fishes (Biology of Butterflyfishes, Science Publishers Inc.).
Dr Morgan Pratchett is supported by a 5-year ARC Australian Research Fellowship. His research is funded largely by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, but he also has grants from the Marine and Tropical Sciences Research Facility (MTSRF) and Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation (LIRRF). Morgan is the inaugural recipient of the Sir John and Laurine Proud Research Fellowship awarded by the LIRRF. He has also been awarded a Churchill Travel Fellowship to undertake extensive collaboration with Professor Nicholas Polunin at the University of Newcastle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Dr Morgan Pratchett will be based at the University of Newcastle from March-June, 2008.
Member of: Australian Coral Reef Society, International Coral Reef Society, Fisheries Society of the British Isles.
Graduate Students
Michael L. Berumen (PhD, 2002-2006) Influence of resources on life-histories of butterflyfishes, James Cook University
Andrew J. Cole (PhD, 2008- ) Impacts of chronic fish predation on reef-building corals James Cook University
Darren J. Coker (Mast, 2008- ) Behavioural responses of coral-dwelling damselfishes to host-coral bleaching, James Cook University
Danielle Dixon (Mast, 2008- ) The role of olfactory cues in settlement site selection by larval anemonefishes, James Cook University
Marcus A. Gregson (PhD, 2005- ) Latitudinal differences in diet and behaviour of butterflyfishes in Eastern Australia. University of Technology, Sydney
Rebecca J. Lawton (PhD, 2008- ) “Ecological specialization versus susceptibility to disturbance among coral-feeding butterflyfishes” James Cook University
Select Publications (Complete publication list)
- Pratchett MS, Munday MS, Wilson SK, Graham NAJ, Cinner JE, Bellwood DR, Jones GP, Polunin NVC, McClanahan TR (2008) Effects of climate-induced coral bleaching on coral-reef fishes: ecological and economic consequences. Oceanography and Marine Biology: An Annual Review 46: 251-296
- Berumen ML, Pratchett MS (2008) Tradeoffs associated with dietary specialisation in corallivorous butterflyfishes (Chaetodonitdae: Chaetodon). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. DOI 10.1007/s00265-007-0526-8
Link to Full Text or pdf - Hughes, TP, Rodrigues, MJ, Bellwood, DR, Ceccarelli, D, Hoegh-Guldberg, O, McCook, L, Moltschaniwskyj, N, Pratchett, MS, Steneck, RS and Willis, B (2007). Phase Shifts, Herbivory, and the Resilience of Coral Reefs to Climate Change. Current Biology 17(4): 360-365.
Link to Full Text or pdf - Berumen, ML and Pratchett, MS (2006). Recovery without resilience: persistent disturbance and long-term shifts in the structure of fish and coral communities at Tiahura Reef, Moorea. Coral Reefs V25(4): 647-653.
Link to Full Text or pdf - Wilson, SK, Graham, NAJ, Pratchett, MS, Jones, GP and Polunin, NVC (2006). Multiple disturbances and the global degradation of coral reefs: are reef fishes at risk or resilient? Global Change Biology 12(11): 2220-2234.
Link to Full Text or pdf - Pratchett, MS (2005). Dietary overlap among coral-feeding butterflyfishes (Chaetodontidae) at Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef. Marine Biology 148(2): 373-382.
Link to Full Text or pdf - Pratchett, MS (2005). Dynamics of an outbreak population of Acanthaster planci at Lizard Island, northern Great Barrier Reef (1995-1999). Coral Reefs 24(3): 453-462.
Link to Full Text or pdf - Hughes, TP, Baird, AH, Dinsdale, EA, Harriott, VJ, Moltschaniwskyj, NA, Pratchett, MS, Tanner, JE and Willis, BL (2002). Detecting regional variation using meta-analysis and large-scale sampling: Latitudinal patterns in recruitment. Ecology 83(2): 436-451.
Link to Full Text or pdf - Pratchett, MS, Gust, N, Goby, G and Klanten, SO (2001). Consumption of coral propagules represents a significant trophic link between corals and reef fish. Coral Reefs 20(1): 13-17.
Link to Full Text or pdf - Hughes, TP, Baird, AH, Dinsdale, EA, Moltschaniwskyj, NA, Pratchett, MS, Tanner, JE and Willis, BL (1999). Patterns of recruitment and abundance of corals along the Great Barrier Reef. Nature 397(6714): 59-63.
Link to Full Text or pdf
Contact Details
Dr Morgan Pratchett
Phone: +61 7 4781 5747
Fax: +61 7 4725 1570
Email: Morgan.Pratchett@jcu.edu.au
