Originally from New Zealand, Rohan obtained his Ph.D. in Marine Biology from James Cook University, Queensland, and subsequently completed postdocs in the USA, Canada, and most recently at Deakin University in Victoria. He is a marine and behavioural ecologist interested in understanding how fishes and other aquatic animals sense and interact with their environment and in particular, how the behaviour of animals is affected by human activities. 

Presentation:

Working together: the ecology and evolution of reef fish mutualisms

Mutualisms are a special type of symbiotic relationship where species live in close proximity for mutual benefit. Coral reefs are home to many amazing and iconic mutualisms and, in fact, are the product of these relationships, with hard corals reliant on the symbiotic zooxanthellae algae within their cells. Many coral reef fishes also rely on mutualistic relationships, with both other fishes and invertebrates, and these provide fascinating models to examine the ecology and evolution of mutualisms more broadly. In this talk, I will discuss some of our recent work on these relationships, including fishes that live with anemones, a damselfish that farms shrimp, and cleaner wrasse. I will look into the ecological pressures that cause these relationships to evolve, the important role that they play on coral reefs, and the effects of climate change and other human impacts on them. In addition, I will discuss some of the many challenges we faced and had to overcome in order to make these projects happen.