Professor Gareth Williams
Darllenydd
Contact info
Room: 303 Craig Mair Phone: +44(0)1248 382588
E-mail: g.j.williams@bangor.ac.uk Twitter
I graduated in Marine Biology (University of Liverpool) in 2004 and completed an MSc in Marine Environmental Protection (Bangor University) in 2006. I began a PhD in Marine Biology (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand) in 2007 in coral disease ecology, combining macroecology, experimental ecology, and histopathology to identify disease baselines and drivers of disease prevalence on Pacific coral reefs. A focus study site of mine was Palmyra Atoll, an uninhabited atoll in the Northern Line Islands. After obtaining my PhD in 2011, I was awarded a post-doctoral scholarship at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego (UCSD) where I continued to work on the macroecology of Pacific coral reefs. This role at Scripps transitioned into an Assistant Project Scientist position within the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation in 2013. I left Scripps in late 2015 to return to the UK and take up my full-time role within the School of Ocean Sciences at Bangor University.
I am a marine ecologist specialising in coral reef ecology. My work focuses on the interaction of organisms with their environment, often taking a macroecological approach. I am particularly interested in how human activities and natural biophysical gradients interact to drive community patterns across multiple trophic levels (microbes to sharks) and scales (individual reefs to entire ocean basins). Much of my work incorporates remote coral reefs free from direct human impact, providing key replication at the unimpacted end of an intact-to-degraded ecosystem spectrum. By surveying across extensive geographical areas we address broad questions pertaining to: 1. the human, climatic and oceanographic drivers of coral reef ecosystem structure and function, 2. climate change impacts to coral reef ecosystems, 3. the spatial ecology of coral reefs, and 4. disease dynamics on coral reefs.
Research Areas
- Cyhoeddwyd
Disease dynamics of Porites bleaching with tissue loss: prevalence, virulence, transmission, and environmental drivers
Sudek, M., Williams, G. J., Runyon, C., Aeby, G. S. & Davy, S. K., 10 Chwef 2015, Yn: Diseases of Aquatic Organisms. 113, 1, t. 59-68Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Influence of upwelling on coral reef benthic communities: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Spring, D. & Williams, G. J., 29 Maw 2023, Yn: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 290, 1995, t. 20230023 1 t.Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Co-occurrence of herbivorous fish functional groups correlates with enhanced coral reef benthic state
Sheppard, C., Williams, G. J., Exton, D. & Keith, S., Maw 2023, Yn: Global Ecology and Biogeography. 32, 3, t. 435-449 15 t.Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Variation in farming damselfish behaviour creates a competitive landscape of risk on coral reefs
Sheppard, C., Bostrom-Einarsson, L., Williams, G. J., Exton, D. & Keith, S., 29 Mai 2024, Yn: Biology Letters. 20, 5Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Modelling the linkage between coral assemblage structure and pattern of environmental forcing
Sandin, S. A., Eynaud, Y., Williams, G. J., Edwards, C. & McNamara, D., 14 Hyd 2020, Yn: Royal Society Open Science. 7, 10, 200565.Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
High frequency temperature variability reduces the risk of coral bleaching
Safaie, A., Silbiger, N. J., McClanahan, T. R., Pawlak, G., Barshis, D. J., Hench, J. L., Rogers, J. S., Williams, G. & Davis, K. A., 2018, Yn: Nature Communications. 9, 1671.Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Linking variation in planktonic primary production to coral reef fish growth and condition
Roche, R., Heenan, A., Taylor, B. M., Schwarz, J. N., Fox, M. D., Southworth, L., Williams, G. & Turner, J., 31 Awst 2022, Yn: Royal Society Open Science. 9, 8, t. 201012 201012.Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Towards Developing a Mechanistic Understanding of Coral Reef Resilience to Thermal Stress Across Multiple Scales
Roche, R., Williams, G. & Turner, J., Maw 2018, Yn: Current Climate Change Reports. 4, 1, t. 51-64 D 87.Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Local human impacts disrupt depth-dependent zonation of tropical reef fish communities
Richardson, L., Heenan, A., Delargy, A., Neubauer, P., Lecky, J., Gove, J. M., Green, M., Kindinger, T., Ingeman, K. & Williams, G. J., Tach 2023, Yn: Nature Ecology and Evolution. 7, 11, t. 1844-1855 12 t.Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
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Environmental Factors Affecting Large-Bodied Coral Reef Fish Assemblages in the Mariana Archipelago
Richards, B. L., Williams, I. D., Vetter, O. J. & Williams, G. J., 27 Chwef 2012, Yn: PLoS ONE. 7, 2, e31374.Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
A robust operational model for predicting where tropical cyclone waves damage coral reefs
Puotinen, M., Maynard, J. A., Beeden, R., Radford, B. & Williams, G., Mai 2017, Yn: Scientific Reports. 6, 26009.Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Guiding coral reef futures in the Anthropocene
Norstrom, A. V., Nystrom, M., Jouffray, J.-B., Folke, C., Graham, N. A. J., Moberg, F., Olsson, P. & Williams, G., 1 Tach 2016, Yn: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Possible control of acute outbreaks of a marine fungal pathogen by nominally herbivorous tropical reef fish
Neal, B., Honisch, B., Warrender, T., Williams, G. J., Work, T. & Price, N., 12 Gorff 2020, Yn: Oecologia. 193, 3, t. 603-617Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Positive and Negative Effects of a Threatened Parrotfish on Reef Ecosystems
McCauley, D. J., Young, H. S., Guevara, R., Williams, G. J., Power, E. A., Dunbar, R. B., Bird, D. W., Durham, W. H. & Micheli, F., 26 Gorff 2014, Yn: Conservation Biology. 28, 5, t. 1312-1321Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Assessing relative resilience potential of coral reefs to inform management
Maynard, J. A., McKagan, S., Raymundo, L., Johnson, S., Ahmadia, G. N., Johnston, L., Houk, P., Williams, G., Kendall, M., Heron, S. F., van Hooidonk, R., Mcleod, E., Tracey, D. & Planes, S., 1 Rhag 2015, Yn: Biological Conservation. 192, December, t. 109-119Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Projections of climate conditions that increase coral disease susceptibility and pathogen abundance and virulence
Maynard, J., van Hooidonk, R., Eakin, C. M., Puotinen, M., Garren, M., Williams, G. J., Heron, S. F., Lamb, J., Weil, E., Willis, B. & Hervell, C. D., 4 Mai 2015, Yn: Nature Climate Change. 5, t. 688-694Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Improving marine disease surveillance through sea temperature monitoring, outlooks and projections
Maynard, J., van Hooidonk, R., Harvell, C. D., Eakin, C. M., Liu, G., Willis, B. L., Williams, G., Groner, M. L., Dobson, A., Heron, S. F., Glenn, R., Reardon, K. & Shields, J. D., 5 Maw 2016, Yn: Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 371, 1689Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Spatial and temporal scales of coral reef fish ecological research and management: a systematic map protocol
Lawrence, A., Heenan, A., Levine, A., Haddaway, N., Powell, F., Wedding, L., Roche, R., Lawrence, P., Szostek, C., Ford, H., Southworth, L., Sannassy Pilly, J., Richardson, L. & Williams, G. J., 25 Ion 2021, Yn: Environmental Evidence. 10, 3.Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Artificial shorelines lack natural structural complexity across scales
Lawrence, P., D'Urban Jackson, T., Jenkins, S., Williams, G. J. & Davies, A., 26 Mai 2021, Yn: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 288, 1951, t. 20210329 rspb.2021.0329.Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Influence of local environmental variables on the viral consortia associated with the coral Montipora capitata from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, USA
Lawrence, S. A., Wilkinson, S. P., Davy, J. E., Arlidge, W. N., Williams, G. J., Wilson, W. H., Aeby, G. S. & Davy, S. K., 24 Maw 2015, Yn: Aquatic Microbial Ecology. 74, t. 251-262Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Environmental and ecological controls of coral community metabolism on Palmyra Atoll
Koweek, D., Dunbar , R. B., Rogers, J. S., Williams, G., Price, N., Mucciarone, D. & Teneva , L., Maw 2015, Yn: Coral Reefs. 34, 1, t. 339-351Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
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Restriction of sponges to an atoll lagoon as a result of reduced environmental quality
Knapp, I. S. S., Williams, G. J., Luis Carballo, J., Antonio Cruz-Barraza, J., Gardner, J. P. A. & Bell, J. J., 15 Ion 2013, Yn: Marine Pollution Bulletin. 66, 1-2, t. 209-220Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
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Temporal dynamics and persistence of sponge assemblages in a Central Pacific atoll lagoon
Knapp, I. S. S., Williams, G. & Bell, J. J., Hyd 2016, Yn: Marine Ecology. 37, 5, t. 1147-1153Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
- Cyhoeddwyd
Cryptic species obscure introduction pathway of the blue Caribbean sponge (Haliclona (Soestella) caerulea), (order: Haplosclerida) to Palmyra Atoll, Central Pacific
Knapp, I. S., Forsman, Z. H., Williams, G. J., Toonen, R. J. & Bell, J. J., 6 Awst 2015, Yn: PeerJ. 3Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid
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Black reefs: iron-induced phase shifts on coral reefs
Kelly, L. W., Barott, K. L., Dinsdale, E., Friedlander, A. M., Nosrat, B., Obura, D., Sala, E., Sandin, S. A., Smith, J. E., Vermeij, M. J. A., Williams, G. J., Willner, D. & Rohwer, F., Maw 2012, Yn: The ISME Journal. 6, 3, t. 638-649Allbwn ymchwil: Cyfraniad at gyfnodolyn › Erthygl › adolygiad gan gymheiriaid