Griffith University

Griffith School of Environment
Research Member, Australian Rivers Institute

Contact details for Professor Rod Connolly

Research expertise

• Estuarine and marine ecology
• Estuarine water quality and ecosystem health
• Ecology of Marine Protected Areas
  
• Ecology of fish and prawns in estuarine and marine habitats (e.g. seagrass, mangrove and saltmarsh)
• Movement and dispersal of fish, including pipefish and seadragons

Current projects

Projects summaries

Griffith University research on Brisbane River flood impact in Moreton Bay - ABC TV Catalyst

Selected publications

• Full publication list (PDF 64k)
• Olds AD, Connolly RM, Pitt KA, Maxwell PS (2012) Habitat connectivity improves reserve performance. Conservation Letters 5:56-63
  
• Macreadie PI, Hindell JS, Keough MJ, Jenkins GP, Connolly RM (2010) Resource distribution influences positive edge effects in a seagrass fish.  Ecology 91:2013-2021.
• Haig JA, Connolly RM, Hughes JM (2010) Little shrimp left on the shelf: the roles that sea level change, ocean currents and continental shelf width play in the genetic connectivity of a seagrass-associated species. Journal of Biogeography 37:1570-1583.
  
• Oakes JM, Connolly RM, Revill AT (2010) Isotope enrichment in mangrove forests separates microphytobenthos and detritus as carbon sources for animals. Limnology and Oceanography 55:393-402.
• Smith TM, Hindell JS, Jenkins GP, Connolly RM (2010) Seagrass patch size affects fish responses to edges. Journal of Animal Ecology 79:275-281.
• Connolly RM (2009) Fish on Australian saltmarshes. In: Saintilan N. Australian saltmarsh ecology. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
• Macreadie PI, Hindell JS, Jenkins GP, Connolly RM, Keough MJ (2009) Fish responses to experimental fragmentation of seagrass habitat. Conservation Biology 23:644-652.
• Connolly RM, Schlacher TA, Gaston TF (2009) Stable isotope evidence for trophic subsidy of coastal benthic fisheries by river discharge plumes off small estuaries. Marine Biology Research 5:164-171.
• Connolly RM (2009) Seagrass. In: Report card of marine climate change for Australia (Eds. ES Poloczanska, AJ Hobday, AJ Richardson), NCCARF Publication 05/09. ISBN: 978-1-921609-03-9
• Bouillon S, Connolly RM (2009) Carbon exchange between tropical coastal ecosystems, In: Nagelkerken I. Ecological interactions among tropical coastal ecosystems, Springer, pp45-70
  
• Bouillon S, Connolly RM, Lee SY (2008) Organic matter exchange and cycling in mangrove ecosystems: recent insights from stable isotope studies.  Journal of Sea Research 59:44-58.
  
• Connolly RM, Lee SY (2007) Mangroves and saltmarsh. In: Connell, SD, Gillanders, BM. Marine Ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford
• Connolly RM, Hindell JS (2006) Review of nekton patterns and ecological processes in seagrass landscapes. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 68:433-444.
• Connolly RM, Gorman D, Guest MA (2005) Movement of carbon among estuarine habitats and its assimilation by invertebrates. Oecologia 144:684-691.
• Connolly RM, Hindell JS, Gorman D (2005) Seagrass and epiphytic algae support the nutrition of a fisheries species, Sillago schomburgkii, in adjacent intertidal habitats. Marine Ecology Progress Series 286:69-79.
  
• Connolly RM, Guest MA, Melville AJ, Oakes JM (2004). Sulfur stable isotopes separate producers in marine food-web analysis. Oecologia 138:161-167.
• Connolly RM, Melville AJ, Preston KM  (2002) Patterns of movement and habitat use by leafy seadragons tracked ultrasonically. Journal of Fish Biology 61:684-695.

Current supervised PhD projects:

• Andrew Olds - Ecological connectivity and MPA function in western pacific back-reef systems
• Paul Maxwell - Modelling the influence of Marine Protected Areas on ecosystem resilience
• Joanne Browne - Gelatinous plankton and their symbionts in Eastern Australia
• Chris Beattie - Patterns of movement by mud crabs in marine reserves
• Melissa Duggan -Characterising the impact of seasonal freshwater flow on a benthic estuarine community in tropical Australia
• Ariella Chelsky Budarf - Ecological and biogeochemical consequences of decomposing jellyfish blooms
• Jean Davis - Trophic connectivity among tropical coastal habitats and implications for MPA design.

Past PhD students:

Past PhD students of Professor Rod Connolly (PDF 14K)