Dr David Abrego
Dr David Abrego is a marine ecologist and Co-Director of the Lizard Island Research Station. Dr Abrego is a joint appointment with the Australian Museum and Southern Cross University.
Dr Abrego has over a decade of leadership experience spanning research, tertiary education, academic administration, science outreach and service roles. During his time as Associate Professor at Zayed University in Abu Dhabi (2013-2017), Dr Abrego developed a three-year research program focused on coral reef restoration in the United Arab Emirates. This involved collaboration between Zayed University and the Government Environment Agency, Abu Dhabi. Recently, Dr Abrego has taught and designed units within the National Marine Science Centre at Southern Cross University (SCU) and was the Coordinator for the Bachelor of Science Course (including four Specialisations and 3 Majors) at SCU.
Dr Abrego’s current research focus is investigating how coral-microalgal symbioses can boost recovery in impacted reefs, strategies to enhance symbioses establishment, and characterizing corals living in marginal environments to provide insights into adaptation to climate change. Dr Abrego has led and collaborated on research covering individual responses to corals across the Indo-Pacific, including studies in Japan, Australia and the Persian Gulf.
Dr Abrego is also a Science Lead within the Coral Aquaculture and Deployment and Enhanced Corals and Treatments Subprograms of the Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program (RRAP). Currently, Dr Abrego is leading research projects involving coral symbiosis and environmental stressors. Dr Abrego’s research has contributed essential knowledge for sound conservation and restoration decisions. Dr Abrego conducts field and lab studies using genetics, photo-physiology, chemistry, husbandry and selective breeding tools.
Dr David Abrego is joint Director with Dr Emily Howells, and together they have a combined 27 years of experience as coral reef researchers and educators.
Qualifications
- BSc, Aquatic Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara, 1998
- MAppSci, Marine Biology, James Cook University, 2005
- PhD, Marine Biology, James Cook University, 2009
Affiliations
- Senior Lecturer, National Marine Science Centre, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University.
- Member of International Coral Reef Society, Australian Coral Reef Society.
- Editorial Board Member, Scientific Reports.
Publications
Dr Abrego has published 37 peer-reviewed publications to date. More information can be found at the Google Scholar and ORCID ID links.
