Professor Bette L. Willis

Research Interests

• Biology and Ecology of Reef Corals

• Life Histories of Modular Organisms

• Evolutionary Biology/Molecular Ecology of Corals

My research activities focus on questions concerning the biology and ecology of scleractinian corals, particularly as relates to early life history stages. Most recently my research has concentrated on the evolutionary implications of mating systems and hybridisation in mass spawning corals. My current research explores species relationships within the coral genus Acropora through breeding experiments, long-term grow-out programs, morphometric and ecological studies. In conjunction with molecular studies, my research aims to provide insights into evolutionary processes within the order.

Other research areas in which I have published include: Breeding synchrony and comparative gametogenic studies of corals; Geographic patterns in mass spawning; Proximate factors involved in synchronising mass spawning; Larval dispersal of mass spawning corals; Latitudinal gradients in coral recruitment; Separating genotypic and phenotypic components of morphological variation; Histocompatibility responses and intra-specific competition in corals; Growth strategies leading to morphological variation in corals.

Recent and Currently Supervised PhD Topics

• Reassessing the status of coral species using breeding, morphometric and molecular studies

• The behaviour and ecology of coral larvae

• Reproductive senescence in corals

• Upper thermal limits and acclimation in corals

• Impact of bleaching on coral reproduction

• Impact of bleaching on soft coral assemblages

• Effects of nutrients on the early life history stages of corals

• The role of particulate feeding in the energy budgets of corals

• Tissue thickness as an indicator of coral health

• Chemical ecology of the soft coral-zooxanthellae relationship

Future PhD Directions

• Exploring species boundaries in corals using breeding, morphometric and molecular studies

• Recovery of coral assemblages following bleaching

• Effects of temperature and photoperiod on reproduction in mass spawning corals

• Biology and ecology of reef corals

• Life histories of modular organisms

Teaching

MB3210

Life History and Evolution of Reef Corals

MB3219

Life History and Evolution of Reef Corals (Advanced)

MB5350

Current Issues in Coral Reef Ecology

Selected Publications

Little AF, van Oppen MJH, Willis BL (2004) Flexibility in algal endosymbiosis shapes growth in reef corals. Science 304: 1492-1494 | Link to Abstract | Link to Full Text |

MacKenzie JB, Munday PL, Willis BL, Miller DJ, van Oppen MJH. (2004) Unexpected patterns of genetic structuring among locations but not colour morphs in Acropora nasuta (Cnidaria: Scleractinia). Molecular Ecology 13:9-20

Leuzinger S, Anthony KRN, Willis BL (2003) Reproductive energy investment in corals: scaling with module size. Oecologia 135:524-531

Babcock RC, Baird AH, Piromvaragorn S, Thomson D, Willis BL. (2003) The identification of scleractinian coral recruits from Indo-Pacific reefs. Zoological Studies 42:211-226.

Anthony KRN, Connolly S, Willis BL (2002) Comparative analysis of energy allocation to tissue and skeletal growth in corals. Limnology and Oceanography 47:1417-1429

Van Oppen MJH, Willis BL, van Rheede T, Miller DJ (2002) Spawning times, reproductive compatibilities and genetic structuring in the Acropora aspera group: evidence for natural hybridization and semi-permeable species boundaries in corals. Molecular Ecology 11:1363-1376.

Marquez LM, van Oppen MJH, Willis BL, Miller DJ (2002) Sympatric populations of the highly cross-fertile coral species A ropora hyacinthusand A. cytherea are genetically distinct. Proc. R Soc Lond B 269:1289-1294.

Marquez LM, van Oppen MJH, Willis BL, Reyes A, Miller DJ. (2002) The highly cross-fertile coral species, Acropora hyacinthus and A. cytherea, constitute statistically distinguishable lineages. Molecular Ecology 11:1339-1349

Hughes T, Baird A, Dinsdale E, Harriott V, Moltschaniwskyj N, Pratchett M, Tanner J, Willis BL. (2002) Detecting regional variation using meta-analysis and large-scale sampling: Latitudinal patterns in larval recruitment. Ecology 83:436-451.

van Oppen MJH, McDonald BJ, Willis BL, Miller DJ. (2001) The evolutionary history of the coral genus Acropora (Scleractinia, Cnidaria) based on a mitochondrial and a nuclear marker: Reticulation, incomplete lineage sorting or morphological convergence? Mol Bio Evol 18:1315-29

Michalek-Wagner K, Willis BL (2001) Impacts of bleaching on the soft coral Lobophytum compactum. I. Fecundity, fertilisation and offspring viability. Coral Reefs 19:231-239.

Michalek-Wagner K, Willis BL. (2001) Impacts of bleaching on the soft coral Lobophytum compactum. II. Biochemical changes in adults and their eggs. Coral Reefs 19: 240-246.

van Oppen MJH, Willis BL, vanVugt H, Miller DJM. (2000) Examination of species boundaries in the Acropora cervicornis group (Scleractinia, Cnidaria) using nuclear DNA sequence analysis. Molecular Ecology 9:1363-1373.

Hughes T, Baird A, Dinsdale E, Moltschaniwskyj N, Pratchett M, Tanner J, Willis BL. (2000) Supply-side ecology works both ways: the link between benthic adults, fecundity and larval recruits. Ecology 81: 2241-2249.

Berkelmans R, Willis BL. (1999) Seasonal and local spatial variation in the upper thermal limits of corals in the central Great Barrier Reef. Coral Reefs 18:219-228.

Hughes T, Baird A, Dinsdale E, Moltschaniwskyj M, Pratchett M, Tanner J, Willis BL. (1999) Patterns of recruitment and abundance of corals along the GBR. Nature 397:59-63

van Oppen MJH, Willis BL, Miller DJ. (1998) Atypically low rate of cytochrome b evolution in the scleractinian coral genus Acropora. Proc R Soc Lond B 265: 1-5.

Willis BL, Babcock R, Harrison P, Wallace C. (1997) Experimental hybridization and breeding incompatibilities within the mating systems of mass spawning corals. Coral Reefs 16: S53-65

Wallace CC, Willis BL. The systematics of Acropora: The effect of new biological findings on species concepts. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 25:237-62.

Babcock RC, Willis BL, Simpson CJ. Mass spawning of corals on a high latitude coral reef. Coral Reefs 13:161-169.

Oliver JK, King BA, Willis BL, Babcock RC, Wolanski E. Dispersal of coral larvae from a lagoonal reef: II. Comparisons between model predictions and observed concentrations. Continental Shelf Research 12:873-890.

Willis BL, Oliver JK. Direct tracking of coral larvae: Implications for the dispersal of planktonic larvae in topographically complex environments. Ophelia 32:145-162.

Willis BL. Species concepts in extant scleractinian corals: Considerations based on reproductive biology and genotypic population structures. Systematic Botany 15:136-149.

Willis BL, Oliver JK. Inter-reef dispersal of coral larvae following the annual mass spawning on the Great Barrier Reef. Proc. Sixth Int. Coral Reef Symp., Townsville, 2:853-859.

Ayre DJ, Willis BL. Population structure in the coral Pavona cactus: clonal genotypes show little phenotypic plasticity. Marine Biology 99:495-505.

Oliver JK, Willis BL. Coral-spawn slicks in the Great Barrier Reef: preliminary observations. Marine Biology 94: 521-529.

Babcock RC, Bull GD, Harrison PL, Heyward AJ, Oliver JK, Wallace CC, Willis BL. Mass spawning of 105 scleractinian coral species on the Great Barrier Reef. Mar Biol 90: 379-394.

Willis BL, Babcock RC, Harrison PL, Oliver JK, Wallace CC. Patterns in the mass spawning of corals on the Great Barrier Reef. Proc. Fifth Int. Coral Reef Symp., Tahiti 4: 343-348.

Willis BL, Ayre DJ. Asexual reproduction and genetic determination of growth form in the coral Pavona cactus: Biochemical genetic and immunogenic evidence. Oecologia 65: 516-525.

Willis BL. Phenotypic plasticity versus phenotypic stability in the reef corals Turbinaria mesenterina and Pavona cactus. Proc. Fifth Int. Coral Reef Symp., Tahiti 4: 107-112.

Stoddart JA, Ayre DJ, Willis BL, Heyward AJ. Self-recognition in sponges and corals? Evolution 39:461-463.

Harrison PL, Babcock RC, Bull GD, Oliver JK, Wallace CC, Willis BL. Mass spawning in tropical reef corals. Science 223: 1186-1189.

Book Chapters

Willis BL, Page CA, Dinsdale EA (2004) Coral disease on the Great Barrier Reef. In E Rosenberg, Y Loya (eds) Coral Health and Disease, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 69-104

Contact Details

Dr Bette Willis

Campus: Townsville

Phone: +61 7 4781 5349

Fax: +61 7 4725 1570

Email: Bette.Willis@jcu.edu.au