Virginia Chadwick Award: Mechanisms underpinning coral growth at high-latitude- Dr. Claire Ross
Biography: Dr Claire Ross is a Research Scientist in the Marine Science Program at the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions in Western Australia. She completed her PhD in 2018 at the University of Western Australia under the supervision of Professor Malcolm McCulloch, Dr Thomas DeCarlo and Dr Verena Schoepf. Claire’s research combines isotopic and trace element geochemical methods to investigate the response of coral growth mechanisms to changing environmental conditions, and the use of coral skeletons as paleo-thermometers to reconstruct past temperature. She is currently investigating the broad-scale responses of coral reefs to environmental change, with a particular focus on the long-term monitoring of WA’s coral communities.