Professor Terry Hughes is Director of the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, which is headquartered at James Cook University, Australia. His research focuses on the linkages between the ecology of reefs and their importance for societies and economies. He has worked extensively in Australia, the Coral Triangle Region, and in the Caribbean. An important aspect of his research is understanding the dynamics and resilience of coral reefs, and translating this knowledge into innovative and practical solutions for improved reef management.

Interests

Research

• In the past five years, my research has increasingly evolved in a new direction, moving from an ecological focus to a broader evaluation of the linkages between coral reef ecosystems and people. This new program focuses on solutions for managing resilience and for coping with change and uncertainty in complex social-ecological systems. The ARC Centre is developing further research capacity in this area by strategic recruitment of social scientists, creating a unique multi-disciplinary team of the highest calibre. My recent work has focussed on market drivers of ecological change, missing institutions, identifying safe planetary boundaries for human development, avoiding social traps, and transformative governance of the sea in Australia, Chile, China, the Galapagos Islands, Gulf of Maine and the Coral Triangle. My future research will focus on the linkages between coral reef ecosystems, the goods and services they provide to people, and the welfare of human societies. The objective is to improve the governance and management of natural systems and enhance their capacity to sustain human and natural capital. The overarching goal is to integrate the science of coral reef resilience with decision-making and management.

Research Disciplines

• Environmental management (4104)
• Ecology (3103)
• Climate change impacts and adaptation (4101)

Awards

• 2014 - Einstein Professorship
• 2008 - The Darwin Medal
• 2007 - Eureka Sherman Prize for Environmental Science

Fellowships

• 2012 to 2017 - ARC Laureate Fellow
• 2007 to 2012 - Federation Fellow
• 2002 to 2007 - Federation Fellow

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

• Dietzel A, Bode M, Connolly S and Hughes T (2020) Long-term shifts in the colony size structure of coral populations along the Great Barrier Reef. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences, 287 (1936), DOI:10.1098/rspb.2020.1432.
• Duarte C, Agusti S, Barbier E, Britten G, Carlos Castilla J, Gattuso J, Fulweiler R, Hughes T, Knowlton N, Lovelock C, Lotze H, Predragovic M, Poloczanska E, Roberts C and Worm B (2020) Rebuilding marine life. Nature, 580 (7801), pp. 39-51, DOI:10.1038/s41586-020-2146-7.
• McWilliam M, Pratchett M, Hoogenboom M and Hughes T (2020) Deficits in functional trait diversity following recovery on coral reefs. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B, Biological Sciences, 287, Article: 20192628, DOI:10.1098/rspb.2019.2628.
• Morrison T, Adger W, Brown K, Hettiarachchi M, Huchery C, Lemos M and Hughes T (2020) Political dynamics and governance of World Heritage ecosystems. Nature Sustainability, , DOI:10.1038/s41893-020-0568-8.
• Morrison T, Adger N, Barnett J, Brown K, Possingham H and Hughes T (2020) Advancing coral reef governance into the Anthropocene. One Earth, 2 (1), pp. 64-74, DOI:10.1016/j.oneear.2019.12.014.
• Polasky S, Crepin A, Biggs R, Carpenter S, Folke C, Peterson G, Scheffer M, Barrett S, Daily G, Ehrlich P, Howarth R, Hughes T, Levin S, Shogren J, Troell M, Walker B and Xepapadeas A (2020) Corridors of clarity: four principles to overcome uncertainty paralysis in the Anthropocene. BioScience, 70 (12), pp. 1139-1144, DOI:10.1093/biosci/biaa115.
• Turner M, Calder W, Cumming G, Hughes T, Jentsch A, LaDeau S, Lenton T, Shuman B, Turetsky M, Ratajczak Z, Williams J, Williams A and Carpenter S (2020) Climate change, ecosystems and abrupt change: science priorities. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 375 (1794), Article: 20190105, DOI:10.1098/rstb.2019.0105.
• Bellwood D, Pratchett M, Morrison T, Gurney G, Hughes T, Álvarez-Romero J, Day J, Grantham R, Grech A, Hoey A, Jones G, Pandolfi J, Tebbett S, Techera E, Weeks R and Cumming G (2019) Coral reef conservation in the Anthropocene: confronting spatial mismatches and prioritizing functions. Biological Conservation, 236, pp. 604-615, DOI:10.1016/j.biocon.2019.05.056.
• Cohen P, Allison E, Andrew N, Cinner J, Evans L, Fabinyi M, Garces L, Hall S, Hicks C, Hughes T, Jentoft S, Mills D, Masu R, Mbaru E and Ratner B (2019) Securing a just space for small-scale fisheries in the blue economy. Frontiers in Marine Science, 6, Article: 171, DOI:10.3389/fmars.2019.00171.
• Harrison H, Álvarez-Noriega M, Baird A, Heron S, Macdonald C and Hughes T (2019) Back-to-back coral bleaching events on isolated atolls in the Coral Sea. Coral Reefs, 38 (4), pp. 713-719, DOI:10.1007/s00338-018-01749-6.
• Hughes T, Kerry J, Baird A, Connolly S, Chase T, Dietzel A, Hill T, Hoey A, Hoogenboom M, Jacobson M, Kerswell A, Madin J, Mieog A, Paley A, Pratchett M, Torda G and Woods R (2019) Global warming impairs stock-recruitment dynamics of corals. Nature, 568 (7752), pp. 387-401, DOI:10.1038/s41586-019-1081-y.
• Hughes T, Kerry J, Connolly S, Baird A, Eakin C, Heron S, Hoey A, Hoogenboom M, Jacobson M, Liu G, Pratchett M, Skirving W and Torda G (2019) Ecological memory modifies the cumulative impact of recurrent climate extremes. Nature Climate Change, 9 (1), pp. 40-44, DOI:10.1038/s41558-018-0351-2.

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ResearchOnline@JCU stores 158+ research outputs authored by Prof Terry Hughes from 1980 onwards.

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

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.

Completed

• Applying ecological coexistence theory to improve management (2020, PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• Adaptive strategies in reef-building corals (2017, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• The functional diversity and redundancy of corals (2019, PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)
• The viability of coral populations in the Anthropocene (2020, PhD , Primary Advisor/AM/Adv)

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

• Hughes, T. (2019) Global warming impairs stock-recruitment dynamics of corals. James Cook University
• Hughes, T. (2018) Ecological memory modifies the cumulative impact of recurrent climate extremes. James Cook University
• McWilliam, M. (2018) Biogeographical disparity in the functional diversity and redundancy of corals. James Cook University
• McWilliam, M. (2018) Disturbance, recovery and the depletion of functional diversity on coral reefs. James Cook University
• McWilliam, M. (2018) Neighbour diversity regulates the productivity of coral assemblages. James Cook University
• Hughes, T. (2018) Global warming transforms coral reef assemblages. James Cook University
• Connolly, S. (2017) Data from: A unified model explains commonness and rarity on coral reefs. James Cook University

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.