JCU > Research Portfolio > Dr Nick Graham

About

Dr Nick Graham tackles large-scale ecological and social-ecological coral reef issues under the overarching themes of climate change, human use and resilience.

He has worked extensively on the ecological ramifications of fishing and closed area management. He assessed the long-term impacts of climate induced coral bleaching on coral reef fish assemblages, fisheries and ecosystem stability.

He studies the patterns and processes by which degraded coral reefs recover, and how this can be incorporated into, or influenced by, management action. Increasingly, he works with social scientists and economists to assess methods of linking social-ecological systems for natural resource assessment and management.

Interests

Research

Impacts of climate change on reef systems
Predator prey dynamics
Predicting recovery patterns in disturbed reef systems
Linking social-ecological data
Impacts of humans on fish behaviour

Research Disciplines

Socio-Economic Objectives

Publications

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

Angeler D, Allen C, Barichievy C, Eason T, Garmestani A, Graham N, Granholm D, Gunderson L, Knutson M, Nash K, Nelson R, Nystrom M, Spanbauer T, Stow C and Sundstrom S (2016) Management applications of discontinuity theory. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53. pp. 688-698
Cinner J, Huchery C, MacNeil M, Graham N, McClanahan T, Maina J, Maire E, Kittinger J, Hicks C, Mora C, Allison E, D'Agata S, Hoey A, Feary D, Crowder L, Williams I, Kulbicki M, Vigliola L, Wantiez L, Edgar G, Stuart-Smith R, Sandin S, Green A, Hardt M, Beger M, Friedlander A, Campbell S, Holmes K, Wilson S, Brokovich E, Brooks A, Cruz-Motta J, Booth D, Chabanet P, Gough C, Tupper M, Ferse S, Sumaila U and Mouillot D (2016) Bright spots among the world's coral reefs. Nature, 535 (7612). pp. 416-419
D'agata S, Vigliola L, Graham N, Wantiez L, Parravicini V, Villéger S, Mou-Tham G, Frolla P, Friedlander A, Kulbicki M and Mouillot D (2016) Unexpected high vulnerability of functions in wilderness areas: evidence from coral reef fishes. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences, 283 (1844). pp. 1-10
Hicks C, Crowder L, Graham N, Kittinger J and Le Cornu E (2016) Social drivers forewarn of marine regime shifts. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 14 (5). pp. 252-260
Kok J, Graham N and Hoogenboom M (2016) Climate-driven coral reorganisation influences aggressive behaviour in juvenile coral-reef fishes. Coral Reefs, 35 (2). pp. 473-483
McClanahan T, Maina J, Graham N and Jones K (2016) Modeling reef fish biomass, recovery potential, and management priorities in the Western Indian Ocean. PLoS One, 11 (5). pp. 1-21
Mora C, Graham N and Nyström M (2016) Ecological limitations to the resilience of coral reefs. Coral Reefs, 35 (4). pp. 1271-1280
Nash K and Graham N (2016) Ecological indicators for coral reef fisheries management. Fish and Fisheries, 17 (4). pp. 1029-1054
Nash K, Abesamis R, Graham N, McClure E and Moland E (2016) Drivers of herbivory on coral reefs: species, habitat and management effects. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 554. pp. 129-140
Nash K, Graham N, Jennings S, Wilson S and Bellwood D (2016) Herbivore cross-scale redundancy supports response diversity and promotes coral reef resilience. Journal of Applied Ecology, 53. pp. 646-655
Nash K, Bijoux J, Robinson J, Wilson S and Graham N (2016) Harnessing fishery-independent indicators to aid management of data-poor fisheries: weighing habitat and fishing effects. Ecosphere, 7 (7). pp. 1-18
Norström A, Nyström M, Jouffray J, Folke C, Graham N, Mohberg F, Olsson P and Williams G (2016) Guiding coral reef futures in the Anthropocene. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, 14 (9). pp. 490-498

More: ResearchOnline@JCU stores 127+ research outputs authored by Dr Nick Graham from 2003 onwards.

Current Funding

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

Australian Research Council - Centres of Excellence

ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies

Indicative Funding: $28,000,000 over 7 years
Summary: The overarching aim of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrated Coral Reef Studies is to provide the scientific knowledge necessary for sustaining ecosystem goods and services of the world's coral reefs, which support the livelihoods and food security of millions of people in the tropics. The Centre will enhance Australia's global leadership in coral reef science through three ambitious research programs addressing the future of coral reefs and their ability to adapt to change. A key outcome of the research will be providing tangible benefits to all Australians by bui8lding bridges between the natural and social sciences, strengthening capacity, and informing and supporting transformative changes in coral reef governance and management.
Investigators: Terry Hughes, Ove Hoegh-Guldberg, Malcolm McCulloch, Peter Mumby, Sean Connolly, John Pandolfi, Bob Pressey, Bette Willis, Andrew Baird, David Bellwood, Joshua Cinner, Sophie Dove, Sylvain Foret, Nick Graham, Mia Hoogenboom, Geoff Jones, Mike Kingsford, Ryan Lowe, Mark McCormick, David Miller, Philip Munday, Morgan Pratchett and Garry Russ in collaboration with Neil Andrew, Jeremy Jackson, Janice Lough, Laurence McCook, Stephen Palumbi, Serge Planes and Madeleine van Oppen (ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, The University of Queensland, The University of Western Australia, College of Science & Engineering, Australian National University, College of Public Health, Medical & Vet Sciences, WorldFish, International Union for Conservation of Nature, Australian Institute of Marine Science, Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Stanford University and Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)
Keywords: coral reef ecosystems; Climate Change Adaptation; ecological resilience; biodiversity goods and services; social-ecological dynamics

Australian Research Council - Discovery Early Career Researcher Award

Ecology of Novel Coral Reef Ecosystems

Indicative Funding: $375,000 over 3 years
Summary: Differential vulnerability of species to drivers of ecosystem change is leading to novel ecosystem configurations. The predictable susceptibility of different species of coral to climate change enables novel coral compositions to be anticipated. This study will use experimental manipulations, large-scale ecology and simulation modelling to predict novel coral reef ecosystem configurations, including corals, mobile invertebrates and fish. Further, it will seek to understand how management may influence the continued delivery of ecosystem goods and services from these novel ecosystems. This pragmatic investigation of the future of Australia?s coral reefs will provide the information necessary for resource managers to plan for future change.
Investigators: Nick Graham (ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies)
Keywords: Coral Reef Ecology; Biodiversity; Marine protected areas

Supervision

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

Using fisheries dependent data and socio-economic indicators to develop ecosystem based fisheries management tools (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
Variation in Structure and Function of Reef Fish Assemblages Among Different Coral Habitats. (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
Coral Reef Mesopredator Trophodynamics in Response to Reef Condition. (PhD , Primary Advisor)
Tropic Pathways Between Primary Production and Biomass Accumulation on Tropical Reefs. (PhD , Secondary Advisor)

Completed

Ecological structure and processes on disturbed coral reefs (2014, PhD , Primary Advisor)
Fear of Fishers: Anti-Predator Behaviour of Coral Reef Fish and its Relevance to Fisheries Management and Conservation. (2013, PhD , Primary Advisor)
Assessment of scale dependent function in reef fish, and application to the evaluation of coral reef resilience (2014, PhD , Primary Advisor)
Multiple stressor effects on coral reefs (2014, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
The importance of live coral habitat for reef fishes and its role in key ecological processes (2012, PhD , Associate Advisor)
Vulnerability to fishing in reef fishes that aggregate (2016, PhD , Primary Advisor)
Relationships among depth distributions, habitat specialisation and demography in coral reef fish communities (2015, PhD , Secondary Advisor)

Data

These are the most recent metadata records associated with this researcher. To see a detailed description of all dataset records, visit the JCU Research Data Catalogue.

Robinson, J. (2016) Expert interview data for a risk assessment of spawning aggregation fisheries . James Cook University
Robinson, J. (2016) Rabbitfish fishery and spawning aggregation surveys in the Seychelles. James Cook University
Robinson, J. (2016) Multi-species grouper spawning aggregation fishery study in Papua New Guinea. James Cook University
Robinson, J. (2015) The role of fisher knowledge on the susceptibility of spawning aggregations to fishing: interview data from Papua New Guinea. James Cook University
Graham, N. (2012) Coral reef benthic and fish surveys in the Chagos Archipelago. James Cook University
Graham, N. (2012) Coral reef benthic and fish surveys in the Inner Seychelles. James Cook University
Graham, N. (2012) Coral reef benthic and fish surveys in Papua New Guinea. James Cook University

Collaboration

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.