Masterclass: Amazing aquatic athletes in a changing world
The most pervasive threat to marine ecosystems today is global climate change. Greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere from human-related sources are warming and acidifying the oceans at staggering rates.
Fish, including sharks and rays, make up over half of all vertebrate species on the planet today and they occupy every body of water. They include some of the extremes when it comes to development, “athletic performance”, and physiological tolerance. But these fish but are facing unprecedented changes in their habitats. Cutting-edge research examines “athletic performance” across species and habitats under various climate change stressors so that humans can predict future scenarios for marine ecosystems.
Marine ecosystems are in a battle with climate change. Research here in Australia is helping us fight it.
Video: 19 minutes 15 seconds
About the academic presenter
Dr Jodie Rummer, Associate Professor of Marine Biology, James Cook University
Dr. Jodie Rummer is an Associate Professor of Marine Biology in the College of Science and Engineering at James Cook University (JCU) and an Australian Research Council (ARC) Super Science Fellow within the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies.
Jodie’s research relates to ecological, evolutionary, and conservation physiology with an emphasis on contemporary issues that affect fish populations.
She is specifically interested in physiological performance indicators of stress and acclimation strategies of fishes, environmental adaptations related to O2, CO2 exchange, acid-base balance, and ion regulation, as well as the evolution of life history traits, distribution patterns and biogeography.
Jodie’s academic training started in the USA (BSc with honours and MSc, University of West Florida), took her to Canada (PhD, University of British Columbia, 2010), and then to Hong Kong (post-doctoral fellowship). Jodie also held an ARC Early Career Discovery Fellowship from 2015 to 2017.
Jodie has published 93 peer-reviewed journal articles, 11 peer-reviewed book chapters, 8 conference proceedings, and 16 editorial commentaries.
