University of New South Wales - BEES Home

My research focuses on the ecology and evolution of interactions among marine organisms, in particular benthic invertebrates and algae.

The ecology and evolution of marine herbivory

Marine herbivores can have profound effects on the abundance and composition of algae in marine habitats. Understanding the factors that govern feeding choices is essential for predicting the impacts of herbivores on plants, the evolution of feeding behaviour, and the evolution of algal defences.

Current and recent research projects include:

How marine herbivores are able to tolerate algal secondary metabolites (with Jennifer Forbey and Erik Sotka)
The impact of small grazers on temperate algal beds (Working group funded by ARC-NZ Research Network for Vegetation Function; Poore et al. 2009).
Phylogenetic constraints on host breadth and composition in herbivorous amphipods (with Erik Sotka; Poore et al., 2008).
Evolution of host specialisation in marine amphipods (Poore and Hill, 2006).
How the spatial distribution of palatable and unpalatable algae interact to constrain host choice in marine amphipods (Poore 2004, 2005; Poore and Hill 2005).
How algal secondary metabolites interact with urchin herbivory to determine algal community structure (Hill et al. 2003; Wright et al. 2005).
The evolution of chemical defences in a red alga (Wright et al. 2004).

The disturbance ecology of mobile epifauna

Sessile marine organisms (macroalgae, invertebrates) support a very diverse fauna of small, mobile invertebrates whose ecology is poorly known in contrast to sessile and larger invertebrates. I am interested on the factors that govern the abundance and composition of these invertebrates as well as how this fauna is affected by anthropogenic disturbances (habitat change, heavy metal pollution and stormwater). Emma Johnston (UNSW) and I are examining how mobile epifauna are affected by pollutants, both directly via changes to water quality, and indirectly via changes to their habitat.

Current and recent research projects include:

The evolution of tolerance to heavy metal pollution.
The effect of copper contamination of macroalgae on epifauna (Roberts et al. 2006; 2008)
The specificity of associations between mobile and sessile invertebrates.
The role of invasive, habitat forming invertebrates on hard substrates.
The effects of habitat fragmentation on mobile epifauna (Roberts and Poore 2006).
Direct and indirect effects of copper pollution on mobile invertebrates associated with fouling assemblages (Perrett et al., 2006)
Storm water impacts on mobile epifauna in Sydney Harbour (Roberts et al. 2007;2008)

Evolution in modular organisms

Modular organisms whose growth involves repeated addition of component parts (e.g., plants, corals) differ fundamentally from unitary organisms with a predetermined body plan (e.g., mammals, insects). Aspects of the biology of modular organisms challenge our concept of the individual in biology and the notion that sexual reproduction is required for adaptive evolution in multicellular organisms.

Current and recent research projects include:

The potential for selection on cell-lineages within an individual (Monro and Poore 2009)
Theoretical investigations of how intraclonal variation affects organism fitness (Poore and Fagerström 2001; Pineda-Krch and Poore 2004)
Quantifying intraclonal variation in macroalgae (Poore and Fagerström 2000; Monro and Poore 2004)
The evolution of phenotypic plasticity in macroalgae (Monro and Poore 2005, Monro et al, 2007)
The importance of morphological traits in determining fragment success for the invasive green alga Caulerpa taxifolia (with Jeffrey Wright, University of Wollongong).

Grants received

UNSW Faculty Research Support Program to Poore, AGB. 2009. Evolution of feeding specialisation in marine herbivores.
UNSW Faculty Research Support Program to Poore, AGB. 2008. Host specificity of mobile marine invertebrates on native and invasive hosts.
ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities, 2008 to Simpson et al. Video analysis suite for the integrative analysis of resource acquisition behaviour in animals
SeaWorld Research and Rescue Foundation to Hellyer and Poore. 2008. Managing shark nets to benefit seahorses in Sydney Harbour.
ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities, 2006 to Suthers et al. Sydney Institute of Marine Sciences (SIMS) aquarium facility.
ARC Discovery project, 2005-2007 to Poore, AGB. Factors controlling marine food webs: consumer vs nutrient control of mobile invertebrates and algae.
ARC Discovery project, 2002-2004. Poore, AGB. Host plant choice by marine herbivores: ecological, genetic and historical constraints.
Faculty Research Grants Program, 2004. Poore, AGB and EL Johnston. Responses of mobile epifauna associated with macroalgae to point sources of pollution.
University Research Support Program, 2001. Poore, AGB et al. Evolutionary processes in modular organisms: testing for intraclonal variation in macroalgae.