James Webley
Contact
Details
Australian
Rivers Institute – Coasts and Estuaries
Gold Coast Campus
Griffith University,
e-mail: [email protected]
Ph: 0405 015 972 or for international callers +61 405 015 972
Education
PhD,
Supervised by Assoc Prof Connolly
Bachelor of
Science (Advanced) (Honours 1st Class),
Supervised by Prof Underwood, Dr Scandol and Dr Dye
Bachelor of
Commerce,
Research Interests
Science, all of it excites me. Having said that though, I spend most of my time investigating how the structure and function of the estuarine assemblage responds to disturbance. Responses can include resilience, switching to alternative states and changes to the assemblage and the vigour of its processes. How scavenging vigour (rate of carrion consumption) responds to anthropogenic disturbance has been the focus of my recent work.
Urbanisation around many estuaries is rapidly increasing. It tends to bring with it disturbance through changes in flow, nutrient input and an increase in fishing pressure. Understanding how disturbance affects the structure and function of the estuarine assemblage is important; predicting the response is vital for the good management of estuarine ecosystems and the services they provide.
Publications
Webley JAC, Connolly RM (2007) Vertical
movement of mud crab megalopae (Scylla serrata) in response
to light: doing it differently down under. Journal of Experimental Marine
Biology and Ecology 341: 196–203
Webley, J (2005). Fisheries Long Term Monitoring
Program – Addressing the Department of the Environment and Heritage’s recommendations
for monitoring
Leis, JM, Carson-Ewart, BM, Webley, J (2002) Settlement behaviour
of coral-reef fish larvae at subsurface artificial-reef moorings. Marine and
Freshwater Research 53: 319–327
Conference and Workshop Presentations
New Zealand Marine Sciences Society 2007 – Scavenging pressure: A measurable ecosystem process correlated with estuarine health. Awarded Prize for "Creativity in Science - Thinking outside the Square"
Australian Marine Sciences Association 2007 – Scavenging pressure: A measurable ecosystem process correlated with estuarine health.
2007 National Mud Crab Fishery Research Strategy Workshop - The preferred habitat of juvenile mud crabs (Scylla serrata).
Ecological
Society of
Honours Thesis and Undergraduate reports
Webley, J (2002) Artificial habitats:
Their effect on the abundance and distribution of organisms. Centre for
Research on Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities,
Webley, J (2001) Rocky shores of NSW
national parks are more natural than reference areas. Centre for Research on
Ecological Impacts of Coastal Cities,
Teaching
Lecturer for the course
2007 Coastal Environments
(2nd year undergraduate course)
2006 Coastal Environments
2002 Coastal Ecology at
Guest Lecturer
2007 Marine Vertebrates (3rd year undergraduate course)
2006 Marine Vertebrates
Laboratory demonstrating
2007 Estuarine Ecology, Coastal Environments, Marine Vertebrates (3rd year undergraduate course)
2006 Estuarine Ecology, Coastal Environments, Marine
Vertebrates, Marine Biology
2005 Estuarine Ecology, Coastal Environments,
Marine Biology, Marine Vertebrates, Zoology and Botany (1st year
undergraduate course), Heron Island Research Station Field Trip for Griffith
University Environmental Students Society
2004 Estuarine Ecology, Marine Biology, Marine
Vertebrates
2002 Heron Island Research Station Field trip for Sydney University Biology Society
Awards
Deans List 2001 and admitted to the Talented Student Program
Deans List 2000 and admitted to the Talented Student Program