Catherine’s career has had a strong focus on the sustainable management of tropical marine resources. She has worked on the assessment and monitoring of fisheries resources and the design and implementation of research and monitoring programs for the management of tropical marine habitats, particularly seagrasses. 

Her recent project experience includes the development of seagrass health indicators for the Gladstone Healthy Harbour Partnership Report Card; investigations of seed bank dynamics for the Gladstone Ecosystem Research and Monitoring Program; development of light thresholds and sub-lethal indicators to manage impacts to seagrass during dredging; and a broad suite of marine habitat monitoring and assessment programs tied to coastal development. She is also working on a range of projects to determine the carbon sequestration and storage capacities of tropical seagrass ecosystems. 

Interests

Research

• Developing stress indicators and thresholds to manage impacts of coastal development on tropical seagrasses;
• Establishing the carbon sequestration and storage capacities of tropical seagrass ecosystems;
• Developing seagrass health indicators and identifying appropriate scales of monitoring to inform sustainable management;
• Investigating seagrass seed bank dynamics and the implications for resilience against future disturbance;

Experience

• 2013 to present - Research Officer, Seagrass Ecology Group, Centre for Tropical Water and Ecosystem Research (TropWATER), James Cook University (Cairns, Australia)
• 2010 to 2012 - Fisheries Biologist, Marine Ecology Group, Queensland Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) (Cairns, Australia)
• 2007 to 2010 - Fisheries Biologist, Fisheries Long Term Monitoring and Assessment, Queensland Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) (Cairns, Australia)
• 2006 to 2007 - Red List Officer - Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) (Newbury, UK)
• 2005 to 2007 - Fisheries Resource Officer, Fisheries Assessment and Sustainability Reporting, Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries (DPI&F) (Brisbane, Australia)
• 2005 - Research Assistant, Univeristy of Queensland, Fish Form and Function Laboratory (Brisbane, Australia)

Research Disciplines

• Environmental Science and Management (0502)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Ecosystem Assessment and Management (9605)
• Physical and Chemical Conditions of Water (9611)

Awards

• 2007 - Recipient of the DPI&F Peter Finglas Bursary for Professional Development
• 2005 - Awarded First Class Honours for research thesis - "Fisheries dependent assessment of by-catch and catch composition in the Queensland Coral Reef Fin Fish Fishery"
• 2004 - Dean's commendation for high achievement
• 2003 - Dean's commendation for high achievement

Memberships

• 2016 - World Seagrass Association
• 2016 - Australian Marine Science Association
• 2012 to 2014 - Dredge Technical Review Panel and Science Subcommittee (Gladstone Western Basin Dredging and Disposal Project)

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

• Chartrand K, Bryant C, Carter A, Ralph P and Rasheed M (2016) Light thresholds to prevent dredging impacts on the Great Barrier Reef seagrass, Zostera muelleri ssp. capricorni. Frontiers in Marine Science, 3.
• Coles R, Rasheed M, McKenzie L, Grech A, York P, Sheaves M, McKenna S and Bryant C (2015) The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area seagrasses: managing this iconic Australian ecosystem resource for the future. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science , 153. pp. A1-A12
• Ricart A, York P, Rasheed M, Pérez M, Romero J, Bryant C and Macreadie P (2015) Variability of sedimentary organic carbon in patchy seagrass landscapes. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 100 (1). pp. 476-482
• Schliep M, Pernice M, Sinutok S, Bryant C, York P, Rasheed M and Ralph P (2015) Evaluation of reference genes for RT-QPCR studies in the seagrass Zostera muelleri exposed to light limitation. Scientific Reports, 5. pp. 1-11
• Petrou K, Jimenez-Denness I, Chartrand K, McCormack C, Rasheed M and Ralph P (2013) Seasonal heterogeneity in the photophysiological response to air exposure in two tropical intertidal seagrass species. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 482. pp. 93-106

Conference Papers

• Carter A, Davies J, Jarvis J, McCormack C and Rasheed M (2017) Development of a condition report card for variable and diverse seagrass meadows in ports. Proceedings of the Australasian Coasts & Ports 2017 Conference. In: Australasian Coasts & Ports 2017 Conference: working with nature, 21-23 June 2017, Cairns, QLD, Australia

Other research outputs

• Wells J, Bryant C and Rasheed M (2016) Gladstone Western Basin BPAR Monitoring Update: May - August 2016. [monograph]
• Davies J, Shepherd L, Bryant C and Rasheed M (2016) Gladstone Western Basin BPAR Monitoring Update: February - May 2016. [monograph]
• Bryant C, Davies J and Rasheed M (2016) Gladstone Western Basin BPAR Monitoring: November 2015 - February 2016. [monograph]
• Davies J, Bryant C and Rasheed M (2016) Gladstone Western Basin BPAR Monitoring: August - November 2015. [monograph]
• Bryant C, Carter A, Jarvis J and Rasheed M (2016) Port Curtis seagrass seed bank density and viability studies: year 2 report. [monograph]
• Carter A, Bryant C, Davies J and Rasheed M (2016) Gladstone Healthy Harbour Partnership 2016 Report Card: ISP011: seagrass. [monograph]

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 89+ research outputs authored by Mrs Catherine Bryant from 2000 onwards.

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

The map shows research collaborations by institution from the past 7 years.
Note: Map points are indicative of the countries or states that institutions are associated with.