James Cook University Subject Handbook - 2000

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SCHOOL OF marine biology and aquaculture

Aquaculture

The research activities in this discipline focus on the aquaculture of tropical animals, as is appropriate to the University’s location in northern Australia. There are collaborative research programs with Australian government organisations and with overseas countries in Southeast Asia and the South Pacific.

Larval Nutrition

Artificial diets for fish larvae.
Nutrition requirements of bivalve larvae.

Bivalve Mariculture

Black pearl culture in the Pacific.
Silver pearl culture in Indonesia.
Bivalve feeding and energetics.
Giant clam nutrition.
Pearl oyster spat collection and growth.
Pearl broodstock management.

Endocrinology and Growth of Fish

Amino acid nutrition of herbivorous fish.
Regulation of growth in barramundi.
Controlling reproduction in barramundi.
Stress in barramundi.
IGFs in barramundi.

Fish and Crustaceans with Potential

Enhancing survivorship of coral trout.
Redclaw crayfish aquaculture.
Culture of seahorses and eels.

Marine Biology

Present research activities are as follows.

Tropical Fisheries Biology

Fisheries science with an emphasis on studies of growth, reproduction and recruitment in tropical fishes of commercial importance.
The methods of ageing tropical fishes has a high research priority.

Coral Biology and Coral Reef Ecology

Reproductive biology, growth patterns and demography of scleractinian and soft corals.
Evolutionary biology of corals.
Special emphases on modelling of population processes in corals and the consequences of mass spawning.
Responses of corals to environmental disturbances.

Sampling and Monitoring Programs and Marine Conservation Biology

The influence of human and natural disturbance on coastal and coral reef ecosystems.
The design of sampling, experimental and long-term monitoring programs in shallow marine environments.

Tropical Ichthyology

Taxonomy, phylogeny and population biology of coral reef fishes.
Behavioural ecology of reef fishes.
The biology of herbivorous fishes.
Larval biology of fishes.
Functional biology of tropical fishes.

Invertebrate Biology

Biodiversity of invertebrates in tropical habitats.
Crustacean biology with an emphasis on functional anatomy and neurophysiology.
Phylogenetic studies on Crustacea.
Planktonic and pelagic invertebrates.
Taxonomy of marine invertebrates, especially molluscs.

Mangrove, Coastal and Estuarine Biology

Shallow water benthic organisms, especially those of soft bottoms. Tropical intertidal organisms. Mangrove and estuarine fishes and their life histories.

Ecophysiology of Fishes

Factors influencing growth and development patterns of fishes.
Responses of reef fish to physiological stress.


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