Fields of Research

Aquaculture
Fish physiology and genetics
Fisheries sciences
Fisheries management
Aquaculture and fisheries stock assessment
Animal nutrition
Post-harvest fisheries technologies (incl. transportation)
Animal structure and function
Ecological impacts of climate change and ecological adaptation
Fish pests and diseases
Ecological physiology
Zoology
Invertebrate biology
Phycology (incl. marine grasses)
Animal physiology - biophysics
Animal growth and development
Animal physiology - systems
Community ecology (excl. invasive species ecology)
Food packaging, preservation and processing
Behavioural ecology
Developmental genetics (incl. sex determination)
Environmental assessment and monitoring
Conservation and biodiversity
Natural resource management
Gene expression (incl. microarray and other genome-wide approaches)
Manufacturing processes and technologies (excl. textiles)
Oceanography
Wildlife and habitat management
Agricultural marine biotechnology

Research Objectives

Aquaculture rock lobster
Fisheries - aquaculture
Wild caught rock lobster
Aquaculture crustaceans (excl. rock lobster and prawns)
Wild caught edible molluscs
Marine biodiversity
Wild caught crustaceans (excl. rock lobster and prawns)
Effects of climate change on Australia (excl. social impacts)
Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems
Aquaculture tuna
Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
Food safety
Wild caught fin fish (excl. tuna)
Air
Fisheries - wild caught
Environmentally sustainable energy activities
Environmentally sustainable mineral resource activities
Oil and gas extraction
Wild caught tuna
Fisheries - recreational freshwater
Coal exploration
Fish product traceability and quality assurance
Expanding knowledge in the environmental sciences
Environmentally sustainable animal production

Career Best Publications

Research Publications

2015 Tasmanian Young Tall Poppy Science Award
In silico prediction of the G-protein coupled receptors expressed during the metamorphic molt of Sagmariasus verreauxi (Crustacea: Decapoda) by mining transcriptomic data: RNA-seq to repertoire; General and Comparative Endocrinology
A cross-scale framework to support a mechanistic understanding and modelling of marine climate-driven species redistribution, from individuals to communities; Ecography
A molecular approach to understanding metamorphosis in spiny lobsters; 11th international Conference and Workshop on Lobster Biology and Management
Accumulation of paralytic shellfish toxins by southern rock lobster Jasus edwardsii causes minimal impact on lobster health; Aquatic Toxicology
Analysis of Bromate in ozonated seawater in the aquaculutre industry; International Ion Chromatography Symposium
Analysis of the central nervous system transcriptome of the eastern rock lobster Sagmariasus verreauxi reveals Its putative neuropeptidome; PLoS One
Application of stable isotope analysis to evaluate the assimilation of protein sources in juvenile slipper lobsters (Thenus australiensis); Aquaculture
Applying the power of transcriptomics: understanding male sexual development in decapod Crustacea; Integrative and Comparative Biology
Assessing the impact of marine seismic surveys on southeast Australian scallop and lobster fisheries
Bioenergetics of nutrient reserves and metabolism in spiny lobster juveniles Sagmariasus verreauxi: predicting nutritional condition from hemolymph biochemistry; Physiological and Biochemical Zoology
Can larval culture vessel surfaces influence the diversity of bacterial biofilms in spiny lobster culture?; Proceedings 10th ICWL
Can metamorphosis survival during larval development in spiny lobster Sagmariasus verreauxi be improved through quantitative genetic inheritance?; BMC Genetics
Cardio-respiratory physiology and thermal tolerance during the moult cycle of Australian and Japanese spiny lobster phyllosoma larvae; World Aquaculture Conference 2014 Book of Abstracts
Cardiorespiratory ontogeny and response to environmental hypoxia of larval spiny lobster, Sagmariasus verreauxi; Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, Part A
Changes in metabolic rate of spiny lobster under predation risk; Marine Ecology Progress Series
Characteristics of spawning behaviour in cultured greenback flounder Rhombosolea tapirina; Aquaculture
Closing gaps in decapod crustacean development using an omics approach; The Crustacean Society Mid-Year Meeting
Commercial development of rock lobster culture; World Aquaculture Conference 2014
Could the packhorse lobster, Sagmariasus verreauxi, be the best spiny lobster for aquaculture?; 6th Fish and Shellfish Larviculture Symposium 2013
Crustacean larval factor shares structural characteristics with the insect-specific follicle cell protein; Scientific Reports
Crustacean metamorphosis: an omics perspective; Hydrobiologia
CrustyBase: an interactive online database for crustacean transcriptomes; BMC Genomics
CYP450s analysis across spiny lobster metamorphosis identifies a long sought missing link in crustacean development; Journal of Steroid Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Density effects on reproduction in natural populations of the staghorn damsel, Amblyglyphidodon curacao; Cybium
Development of a two-current choice flume behavioural bioassay for juvenile Panulirus ornatus response to moulting cues; Scientific Reports
Double-stranded RNA binding proteins in serum contribute to systemic RNAi across phyla - towards finding the missing link in Achelata; International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Effect of body mass and activity on the metabolic rate and ammonia-N excretion of the spiny lobster Sagmariasus verreauxi during ontogeny; Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part A: Molecular and Integrative Physiology
Effect of dietary lipid source on expression of lipid metabolism genes and tissue lipid profile in juvenile spiny lobster Sagmariasus verreauxi; Aquaculture
Effect of dietary protein on energy metabolism including protein synthesis in the spiny lobster Sagmariasus verreauxi; Scientific Reports
EFFECT OF PHOTOPERIOD ON DEVELOPMENT AND METAMORPHOSIS OF SPINY LOBSTER (SAGMARIASUS VERREAUXI); Australasian Aquaculture 2012
Effect of photperiod on the culture of early-stage phyllosoma and metamorphosis of spiny lobster (Sagmariasus verreauxi); Aquaculture
Effect of protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide on starvation, fasting and feeding oxygen consumption in juvenile spiny lobster Sagmariasus verreauxi; Journal of Comparative Physiology B
Effect of water temperature on the development and energetics of early, mid and late-stage phyllosoma larvae of spiny lobster Sagmariasus vereauxi; Aquaculture
Effects of hypoxia on oxygen consumption, swimming velocity and gut evacuation in southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii); Environmental Biology of Fishes
Effects of slow release gonadotropin releasing hormone analog on milt characteristics and plasma levels of gonadal steroids in greenback flounder, Rhombosolea tapirina; Aquaculture
Exposure to seismic air gun signals causes physiological harm and alters behavior in the scallop Pecten fumatus; Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of The United States of America
Extracting DNA from whole organism homogenates and the risk of false positives in PCR based diet studies: A case study using spiny lobster larvae; Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology
Feed Compositions and Uses Thereof
Fish oil replacement in feeds for juvenile spiny lobsters: lipid metabolism in the eastern rock lobster Sagmariasus verreauxi; World Aquaculture 2015
Fresh or formulated: a preliminary evaluation of fresh blue mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis) and formulated experimental feeds with inclusion of fresh blue mussel on the growth performance of hatchery-reared juvenile slipper lobster (Thenus australiensis); Aquaculture
Growth and biochemical composition of hatchery reared Scyllaridae lobster (Thenus australiensis) larval stages, nisto and juvenile first stage; Aquaculture
Growth and biochemistry of the spiny lobster Sagmariasus verreauxi cultured at low and high density from hatch to puerulus; Aquaculture
Habitat-related variation in reproductive endocrine condition in the coral reef damselfish Acanthochromis polyacanthus; General and Comparative Endocrinology
How are key marine species responding to climate change? Taking a physiological and behavioural approach for southern calamari; PhysioMar 2017: The Physiology of Aquatic invertebrates in a changing World
How does metabolic phenotype and social interaction affect growth disparity of spiny lobster?; 11th international Conference and Workshop on Lobster Biology and Management
Identification and characterization of androgenic gland specific insulin-like peptide-encoding transcripts in two spiny lobster species: Sagmariasus verreauxi and Jasus edwardsii; General and Comparative Endocrinology
Identification of the first sex-linked Dmrt in an invertebrate: sex determination in the decapod crustacean Sagmariasus verreauxi; The Crustacean Society Mid-Year Meeting
Impacts of sub-optimal water quality on the haemolymph biochemistry, immune status and condition of post-harvest southern rock lobsters (Jasus edwardsii); Aquaculture, Fish and Fisheries
International chairs for crab and lobster sessions; World Aquaculture Meeting 2015
Investigation of risk factors associated with sub-optimal holding survival in southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) in Australia; Preventive Veterinary Medicine
Is dietary phosphatidylcholine essential for juvenile slipper lobster (Thenus australiensis)?; Aquaculture
Is individual variation in metabolic rate related to growth of spiny lobster in culture and what is the influence of social interaction?; Aquaculture
Lobster supply chains are not at risk from paralytic shellfish toxin accumulation during wet storage; Toxins
Lobsters with pre-existing damage to their mechanosensory statocyst organs do not incur further damage from exposure to seismic air gun signals; Environmental Pollution
Mass rearing of spiny lobster larvae in recirculation systems - do some broodstock produce larvae better adapted to culture?; RAStech 2019
Metabolic plasticity improves lobster’s resilience to ocean warming but not to climate-driven novel species interactions; Scientific Reports
Metabolic scope, swimming performance and the effects of hypoxia in the mulloway, Argyrosomus japonicus (Pisces: Sciaenidae); Aquaculture
Mismatch of thermal optima between performance measures, life stages and species of spiny lobster; Scientific Reports
Monitoring and management of paralytic shellfish toxins in Southern Rock Lobster, Tasmania, Australia; 19th International Conference on Harmful Algae
Moving with the beat: heart rate and visceral temperature of free-swimming and feeding bluefin tuna; Proceedings of the Royal Society B
Multi-tissue transcriptome analysis identifies key sexual development-related genes of the ornate spiny lobster (Panulirus ornatus); Genes
Multiple measures of thermal performance of early stage eastern rock lobster in a fast-warming ocean region; Marine Ecology - Progress Series
Neural remodelling in spiny lobster larvae is characterized by broad neuropeptide suppression; General and Comparative Endocrinology
Non-invasive nutritional condition assessment in juvenile spiny lobsters Sagmariasus verreauxi; World Aquaculture 2015
Paralytic shellfish toxin uptake, tissue distribution, and depuration in the southern rock lobster Jasus edwardsii Hutton; Harmful Algae
Physiological energetics of the puerulus stage of Sagmariasus verreauxi; Recent Advances in Lobster Biology, Aquaculture and Management
Physiological impacts of seismic air gun exposure on spiny lobster (Jasus edwardsii); 11th International Conference and Workshop on Lobster Biology and Management
Physiological mechanisms linking cold acclimation and the poleward distribution limit of a range-extending marine fish; Conservation Physiology
Physiological status and nutritional condition of cultured juvenile Thenus australiensis over the moult cycle; Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part B
Postprandial metabolic increment of southern bluefin tuna Thunnus maccoyii ingesting high or low-lipid sardines Sardinops sagax; Journal of Fish Biology
Production of recombinant insulin-like androgenic gland hormones from three decapod species: In vitro testicular phosphorylation and activation of a newly identified tyrosine kinase receptor from the Eastern spiny lobster, Sagmariasus verreauxi; General and Comparative Endocrinology
Propagation of spiny lobsters(Jasus edwardsii and Sagmariasus verreauxi) in Tasmania, Australia; Recent developments and the prophylactic use of chemical disinfectants; The 9th International Conference and Workshop on Lobster Biology and Management
Protein sources influence both apparent digestibility and gastrointestinal evacuation rate in juvenile slipper lobster (Thenus australiensis); Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part A
Recent advances in the larval rearing and physiological understanding of spiny lobster Sagmariasus verreauxi; World Aquaculture Conference 2015
Recent developments in temperate spiny lobster propagation; Australasian Aquaculture 2012
Recovery periods of cultured spiny lobster, Sagmariasus verreauxi juveniles: Effects of handling, force feeding, exercising to exhaustion and anaesthesia on oxygen consumption and ammonia-N excretion rates; Aquaculture
Redefining metamorphosis in spiny lobsters: molecular analysis of the phyllosoma to puerulus transition in Sagmariasus verreauxi; Scientific Reports
Resident lobsters dominate food competition with range-shifting lobsters in an ocean warming hotspot; Marine Ecology Progress Series
Respiratory metabolism of juvenile spiny lobster (Sagmariasus verreauxi) under different feeding conditions; 18th Annual Symposium on Fish Nutrition and Feeding
Respiratory quotient and the stoichiometric approach to investigating metabolic energy substrate use in aquatic ectotherms; Reviews in Aquaculture
Respiratory quotient and the stoichiometric approach to investigating metabolic energy substrate use in aquatic ectotherms
Rock lobster Propagation Subprogram: Commercially viable production of temperate rock lobster (Jasus spp.) puerulus from eggs
Routine metabolic rate of southern bluefin tuna (Thunnus maccoyii); Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A
Searching for the molecular mechanisms underlying spiny lobsters sex determination and development; 11th international Conference and Workshop on Lobster Biology and Management
Seismic air gun exposure during early-stage embryonic development does not negatively affect spiny lobster Jasus edwardsii larvae (Decapoda:Palinuridae); Scientific Reports
Seismic air guns damage rock lobster mechanosensory organs and impair righting reflex; Royal Society of London. Proceedings B
Standard metabolic rate of spiny lobster (Sagmariasus verreauxi) pueruli determined by intermittent flow-through respirometry; Journal of Marine Biological Association of India
Temperature alters the physiological response of spiny lobsters under predation risk; Conservation Physiology
Temperature dependent growth, feeding, nutritional condition and aerobic metabolism of juvenile spiny lobster, Sagmariasus verreauxi; Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part A
The Achilles heel for spiny lobsters: the energetics of the non-feeding post-larval stage; Fish and Fisheries
The Chinese mitten crab genome provides insights into adaptive plasticity and developmental regulation; Nature Communications
The effect of conspecific interaction on survival, growth and feeding behaviour of early juvenile tropical spiny lobster Panulirus ornatus; Aquaculture
The effect of feed frequency on growth, survival and behaviour of juvenile spiny lobster (Panulirus ornatus); Animals
The effect of stocking density on growth, metabolism and ammonia-N excretion during larval ontogeny of the spiny lobster Sagmariasus verreauxi; Aquaculture
The energetic consequence of specific dynamic action in southern bluefin tuna Thunnus maccoyii; Journal of Experimental Biology
The impact of holding stressors on the immune function and haemolymph biochemistry of Southern Rock Lobsters (Jasus edwardsii); Fish and Shellfish Immunology
The impact of seismic air gun exposure on the haemolymph physiology and nutritional condition of spiny lobster, Jasus edwardsii; Marine Pollution Bulletin
The impact of seismic survey exposure on the righting reflex and moult cycle of southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) puerulus larvae and juveniles; Environmental Pollution
The influence of flesh ingredients format and krill meal on growth and feeding behaviour of juvenile tropical spiny lobster Panulirus ornatus; Aquaculture
The release and uptake of metals from potential biofilm inhibition products during spiny lobster (Sagmariasus verreauxi, H. Milne Edwards 1851) culture; Aquaculture Research
The Roles of Research Organisations in Supporting a New Sustainable Aquaculture: A Tasmanian Perspective on Rock Lobster Aquaculture; Second International Symposium on Marine and Fisheries Research
The use of stoichiometric bioenergetics to elucidate metabolic energy substrate use and specific dynamic action in cultured juvenile spiny lobsters (Sagmariasus verreauxi) of different nutritional status; Aquaculture
The why, where, and how of spiny lobster aquaculture (Panulirus ornatus); 11th international Conference and Workshop on Lobster Biology and Management
Thermal physiology of tropical rock lobster (Panulirus ornatus); defining physiological constraints to high temperature tolerance; Aquaculture
Thermal sensitivity links to cellular cardiac decline in three spiny lobsters; Scientific Reports
Thermal tolerance of the nektonic puerulus stage of spiny lobsters and implications of ocean warming; 10th International Conference and Workshop on Lobster Biology and Management
Thermal tolerance of the nektonic puerulus stage of spiny lobsters and implications of ocean warming; Marine Ecology - Progress Series
Transcriptional profiling of spiny lobster metamorphosis reveals three new additions to the nuclear receptor superfamily; BMC Genomics
Transcriptomic analysis and time to hatch visual prediction of embryo development in the ornate spiny lobster (Panulirus ornatus); Frontiers in Marine Science
Unravelling the neuropeptidome of the ornate spiny lobster Panulirus ornatus: a focus on peptide hormones and their processing enzymes expressed in the reproductive tissues; General and Comparative Endocrinology
Widely used marine seismic survey air gun operations negatively impact zooplankton; Nature Ecology & Evolution
Y-linked iDmrt1 paralogue (iDMY) in the Eastern spiny lobster, Sagmariasus verreauxi: the first invertebrate sex-linked Dmrt; Developmental Biology

Research Projects

ARC Research Hub for Sustainable Onshore Lobster Aquaculture; Australian Research Council (ARC)
Assessing the impact of marine seismic surveys on southeast Australian fisheries; Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC)
Commercial development of rock lobster culture systems: the cutting edge of aquaculture; Australian Research Council (ARC)
Examining the potential impacts of seismic surveys on octopus and larval stages of Southern Rock Lobster; Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC)
Improved risk management of paralytic shellfish toxins in Southern Rock Lobster; Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC)
Improving post-harvest survivability of southern rock lobster in a changing environment; Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC)
Improving the Southern Rock Lobster on-vessel handling practices, data collection and industry tools for lobster quality assessment; Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC)
Is oil and gas exploration causing a seismic shift in zooplankton?; University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Lose home or eat more: comparative prey choice and consumption of different rock lobster species on barren forming sea urchins; Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (HWRE)
Mechanisms and consequences of a climate-driven range extension of snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) in southeast Australia; Sea World Research and Rescue Foundation Inc (SWRRFI)
Mechanisms and consequences of a climate-driven range extension of snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) in southeast Australia; PADI Foundation (PADIF)
Mechanisms and consequences of a climate-driven range extension of snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) in southeast Australia; Australian Society of Fish Biology (ASFB)
Redefining the molecular mechanism underlying crustacean metamorphosis; Australian Research Council (ARC)
SafeFish extension - lobsters; Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC)
Understanding climate driven range shifts: using thermal performance of rock lobster to predict the outcome of competitive interactions and future population range shifts; Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment (HWRE)
Development of a Post-Harvest Handling and Processing Training Program for the Chinese Segment of the Southern Rock Lobster Supply Chain
Testing effects of rodent bait on lobster

Research Candidate Supervision

Links between Energy Metabolism, Behavious and Growth and Spiny Lobster
Physiological Responses to Different Environmental and Culture Conditions during Ontogeny of the Spiny Lobster, Sagmariasus verreauxi