Contributions by role
Contributions by subject area
Zoe T Richards
Summary
Zoe is a coral taxonomist who’s research revolves around coral biodiversity and how best to monitor and protect it. Working in the areas of systematics, phylogenetics, population genetics, ecology, geoscience and conservation biology, Zoe has conducted research on coral reefs across the globe for over 10 years. Active areas of current research include examining the biodiversity and ecology of coral communities in the Kimberley region of Australia, examining the resilience of coral reef communities to disturbance events and examining the traits that underpin thermo-tolerance in corals living in climate refuges. Zoe is also actively involved in numerous population genetic and phylogenomic projects that aim to explore ecological connectivity, genetic diversity and species divergence. One of Zoe’s globally significant research projects involved documenting the resilience of coral biodiversity at Bikini Atoll 50 years after the cessation of nuclear testing. She is a member of the IUCN Coral Specialist Group and was a member of the team who conducted the first global marine species assessment of the threatened status of shallow-water hermatypic corals. Zoe actively collaborates with researchers from numerous Australian Universities and state and federal agencies.