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 Science and Management (0502)
• Ecology (0602)
• Ecological Applications (0501)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• Climate and Climate Change (9603)
• Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity (9608)
• Environmental Policy, Legislation and Standards (9607)

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

• Cinner J, Adger W, Allison E, Barnes M, Brown K, Cohen P, Gelcich S, Hicks C, Hughes T, Lau J, Marshall N and Morrison T (2018) Building adaptive capacity to climate change in tropical coastal communities. Nature Climate Change, 8 (2). pp. 117-123
• Hughes T, Anderson K, Connolly S, Heron S, Kerry J, Lough J, Baird A, Baum J, Berumen M, Bridge T, Claar D, Eakin C, Gilmour J, Graham N, Harrison H, Hobbs J, Hoey A, Hoogenboom M, Lowe R, McCulloch M, Pandolfi J, Pratchett M, Schoepf V, Torda G and Wilson S (2018) Spatial and temporal patterns of mass bleaching of corals in the Anthropocene. Science, 359 (6371). pp. 80-83
• Hughes T, Kerry J, Baird A, Connolly S, Dietzel A, Eakin C, Heron S, Hoey A, Hoogenboom M, Liu G, McWilliam M, Pears R, Pratchett M, Skirving W, Stella J and Torda G (2018) Global warming transforms coral reef assemblages. Nature, 556 (7702). pp. 492-496
• Connolly S, Hughes T and Bellwood D (2017) A unified model explains commonness and rarity on coral reefs. Ecology Letters, 20 (4). pp. 477-486
• Hughes T, Barnes M, Bellwood D, Cinner J, Cumming G, Jackson J, Kleypas J, van de Leemput I, Lough J, Morrison T, Palumbi S, van Nes E and Scheffer M (2017) Coral reefs in the Anthropocene. Nature, 546 (7656). pp. 82-90
• Hughes T, Kerry J, Álvarez-Noriega M, Alvarez-Romero J, Anderson K, Baird A, Babcock R, Beger M, Bellwood D, Berkelmans R, Bridge T, Butler I, Byrne M, Cantin N, Comeau S, Connolly S, Cumming G, Dalton S, Diaz-Pulido G, Eakin C, Figueira W, Gilmour J, Harrison H, Heron S, Hoey A, Hobbs J, Hoogenboom M, Kennedy E, Kuo C, Lough J, Lowe R, Liu G, McCulloch M, Malcolm H, McWilliam M, Pandolfi J, Pears R, Pratchett M, Schoepf V, Simpson T, Skirving W, Sommer B, Torda G, Wachenfeld D, Willis B and Wilson S (2017) Global warming and recurrent mass bleaching of corals. Nature, 543 (7645). pp. 373-377
• Morrison T, Adger W, Brown K, Lemos M, Huitema D and Hughes T (2017) Mitigation and adaptation in polycentric systems: sources of power in the pursuit of collective goals. WIREs Climate Change, 8 (5). pp. 1-16
• Cumming G, Morrison T and Hughes T (2016) New directions for understanding the spatial resilience of social–ecological systems. Ecosystems, 20 (4). pp. 649-664
• Mouillot D, Parravicini V, Bellwood D, Leprieur F, Huang D, Cowman P, Albouy C, Hughes T, Thuiller W and Guilhaumon F (2016) Global marine protected areas do not secure the evolutionary history of tropical corals and fishes. Nature Communications, 7. pp. 1-8
• van de Leemput I, Hughes T, van nes E and Scheffer M (2016) Multiple feedbacks and the prevalence of alternate stable states on coral reefs. Coral Reefs, 35 (3). pp. 857-865
• Zhang K, Dearing J, Tong S and Hughes T (2016) China's degraded environment enters a new normal. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 31 (3). pp. 175-177
• Fischer J, Gardner T, Bennett E, Balvanera P, Biggs R, Carpenter S, Daw T, Folke C, Hill R, Hughes T, Luthe T, Maass M, Meacham M, Norström A, Peterson G, Queiroz C, Seppelt R, Spierenburg M and Tenhunen J (2015) Advancing sustainability through mainstreaming a social–ecological systems perspective. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 14. pp. 144-149

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ResearchOnline@JCU stores 139+ 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.

Current

• Ecological Drivers of Community Stability in Space and Time (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM)
• Primary Habitat Requirements of Key Herbivorous Fish and Stress-Tolerant Coral Species in the Great Barrier Reef: Which Ecological Factors Govern their Distribution and How to Draw Lessons for Coral Reef. (PhD , Primary Advisor/AM)

Completed

• Population regulation and diversity-stability relationships in ecological time-series (2015, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Adaptive strategies in reef-building corals (2017, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• Inter- and intra- specific variation in bleaching susceptibility among scleractinian corals (2014, PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• The functional diversity and redundancy of corals (2019, PhD , Primary Advisor/AM)

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.

• 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.