April is a post-doctoral research fellow; her research activities explore fundamental concepts of coral reef fish ecology, with a particular focus on marine parks management and conservation of coral reef fish communities. April’s current research activities are focussed around evaluating the value of conservation park (yellow) zones to biodiversity conservation in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. April holds an Advance Queensland Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship, and works in collaboration with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, as well as the Reef and Ocean Ecology Laboratory. April’s PhD research focused on the importance of predatory fishes on reefs, and the trophic impacts of predator removals on coral reef fish communities. This project provided valuable information on how fishing of predators affects trophic dynamics on the Great Barrier Reef, and demonstrated the utility of no-take marine reserves in protecting ecosystem processes on reefs. Other research projects include investigation of the demographics, reproduction and habitat associations of nemipterid fishes, as well as collaborative projects examining spatial and temporal trends in coral trout abundance in the Capricorn Bunkers. April has co-supervised a masters student, and has held several roles as a course demonstrator in the College of Marine and Environmental Sciences.

Interests

Research

• Fisheries
• Marine reserve networks
• Conservation and management
• Coral reef predators
• Trophic dynamics

Research Disciplines

• Ecology (0602)
• Zoology (0608)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity (9608)
• Ecosystem Assessment and Management (9605)

Awards

• 2017 to 2020 - Advance Queensland Early Career Research Fellowship

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Hall A and Kingsford M (2016) Predators exacerbate competitive interactions and dominance hierarchies between two coral reef fishes. PLoS ONE, 11. pp. 1-20
• Hall A and Kingsford M (2016) Variation in the population demographics of Scolopsis bilineatus in response to predators. Coral Reefs, 35 (4). pp. 1173-1185
• Hall A and Clark T (2016) Seeing is believing: metabolism provides insight into threat perception for a prey species of coral reef fish. Animal Behaviour, 115. pp. 117-126
• Boaden A and Kingsford M (2015) Predators drive community structure in coral reef fish assemblages. Ecosphere, 6 (4). pp. 1-33
• Boaden A and Kingsford M (2013) Distributions and habitat associations of the bridled monocle bream Scolopsis bilineatus (Nemipteridae): a demographic approach. Journal of Fish Biology, 83 (3). pp. 618-641
• Boaden A and Kingsford M (2012) Diel behaviour and trophic ecology of Scolopsis bilineatus (Nemipteridae). Coral Reefs, 31 (3). pp. 871-883

Current and recent Research Funding to JCU is shown by funding source and project.