Dr. Gerard Ricardo

My research focuses on factors that disrupt marine invertebrate reproduction and impact ecosystem recovery. I completed my Masters by Research at the University of Wollongong, and PhD at the University of Western Australia, and have previously been employed at the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (ReefHQ), James Cook University, and the Australian Institute of Marine Science (Postdoc) before commencing my current position in the Marine Spatial Ecology Lab at UQ.

I draw from ecotoxicology, ecology and environmental management principles to design laboratory and field experiments with the goal of deriving pressure-response thresholds and identifying cause-effect pathways. While my focus has predominantly been on local stressors and pollutants, I am also interested in ecological questions that are useful for a more applied context, such as coral restoration. My current work aims to understand the natural limits to early coral recovery; specifically, Allee effects that occur during coral reproduction when population densities are low and degraded.

Publications:

Luter HM, Pineda MC, Ricardo GF, Francis DS, Fisher R, Jones R (2021) Assessing the risk of light reduction from natural sediment resuspension events and dredging activities in an inshore turbid reef environment. Marine Pollution Bulletin (publication).

Ricardo GF, Kiff H, Flores F (2021). Rapid regeneration of Acropora millepora coral recruits after physical damage to the primary polyp (publication). Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology.

Nordborg FM, Brinkman DL, Ricardo GF, Agustí S, Negri AP (2021) Comparative sensitivity of the coral Acropora millepora to heavy fuel oil exposure: Early life stages. Sci Total Environ (publication).

Ricardo GF, Harper C, Negri AP, Abdul Wahab M, Jones RJ (2021) Impacts of water quality on Acropora coral settlement: The relative importance of substrate quality and light. Sci Total Environ (publication).

Baird A, et al. [long author list] (2021). An Indo-Pacific coral spawning database. Scientific Data (publication)

Brunner C, Uthicke S, Ricardo G, Hoogenboom M, Negri A (2021) Climate change doubles sedimentation-induced coral recruit mortality. Sci Total Environ. (publication).

Flores F, Kaserzon S, Elisei G, Ricardo GF, Negri AP (2020). Toxicity thresholds of three insecticides and two fungicides to Acropora tenuis coral larvae. PeerJ (publication).

Fisher R, Ricardo GF, Fox D (2020). jagsNEC – No Effect Concentration. Github (R- package).

Randall CJ, Negri AP, Quigley KM, Foster T, Ricardo GF, Webster NS, Bay LK, Harrison PL, Babcock, RC, Heyward, AJ (2020) Sexual production of corals for reef restoration in the Anthropocene. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. (publication)

Jones R, Fisher R, Francis D, Klonowski W, Luter H, Negri A, Pineda M, Ricardo G, Slivkoff M (2020). Risk assessing dredging activities in shallow-water mesophotic reefs. NESP 2.1.9 Tropical Water Quality Hub. (Technical Report).

Negri A, Ricardo G, Jones R. Effects of dredging-related pressures on critical ecological processes for corals–synthesis report (2019) WAMSI Report of Theme. (Technical Report)

Abdul Wahab MA, Maldonado M, Luter HM, Jones R, Ricardo GF. Effects of sediment resuspension on the larval stage of the model sponge Carteriospongia foliascens (2019). Sci Total Environ. (publication).

Ricardo GF, Jones RJ, Clode PL, Humanes A, Giofre N, Negri AP (2018). Sediment characteristics influence the fertilisation success of the corals Acropora tenuis and Acropora millepora. Marine Pollution Bulletin (publication).

Ricardo GF, Jones RJ, Nordborg M, Negri AP (2017). Settlement patterns of the coral Acropora millepora on sediment-laden surfaces. Science of the Total Environment (publication).

Ricardo GF (2017) The impacts of dredging on the early life history stages of corals (PhD Thesis).

 Humanes A, Ricardo GF, Willis B, Fabricius K, Negri AP (2017). Cumulative effects of suspended sediments, organic nutrients and temperature stress on early life history stages of the coral Acropora tenuis. Scientific Reports (publication).

Ricardo GF, Jones RJ, Clode PL, Negri AP (2016) Mucous secretion and cilia beating defend developing coral larvae from suspended sediments. PloS One. (publication ).

Ricardo GF, Jones RJ, Negri AP, Stocker R (2016) That sinking feeling: Suspended sediments can prevent the ascent of coral egg bundles. Scientific Reports (publication ).

Ricardo GF, Jones RJ, Clode PL, Humanes A, Negri AP (2015) Suspended sediments limit coral sperm availability. Scientific Reports (publication ).

Jones RJ, Ricardo GF, Negri, AP (2015) Effects of sediments on the reproductive cycle of corals, Marine Pollution Bulletin (publication ).

Ricardo GF, Davis AR, Knott N, Minchinton T (2014) Diel and tidal cycles regulate larval dynamics in salt marshes and mangrove forests Marine Biology. 161: 769-784 (publication).