Peter L. Harrison
{{Short description|Australian professor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2022}}
Peter L. Harrison is an Australian marine biologist, ecologist, and a Professor at Southern Cross University, Australia, as well as the founding director of the Marine Ecology Research Centre.{{Cite web |title=Marine Ecology Research Centre - Southern Cross University |url=https://www.scu.edu.au/marine-ecology-research-centre/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220428020359/https://www.scu.edu.au/marine-ecology-research-centre/ |archive-date=2022-04-28 |access-date=2022-04-27 |website=www.scu.edu.au}} His specialty is coral reproduction ecology and larval restoration.
Coral spawning research
In 1981, while conducting his PhD at James Cook University in Townsville, Harrison and a small group of other researchers discovered Mass Coral Spawning{{Cite web |title=Peter Harrison |url=https://www.moua.com.au/peter-harrison |access-date=2022-04-28 |website=Museum of Underwater Art (MOUA) |language=en-US}} through intensive monitoring and diving around Magnetic Island. In 1984, Harrison and the team published their first paper on the occurrence,{{Cite journal |last1=Harrison |first1=Peter L. |last2=Babcock |first2=Russell C. |last3=Bull |first3=Gordon D. |last4=Oliver |first4=James K. |last5=Wallace |first5=Carden C. |last6=Willis |first6=Bette L. |date=1984-03-16 |title=Mass Spawning in Tropical Reef Corals |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.223.4641.1186 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=223 |issue=4641 |pages=1186–1189 |bibcode=1984Sci...223.1186H |doi=10.1126/science.223.4641.1186 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=17742935 |s2cid=31244527}}which had not previously been documented. One of his primary research focuses on coral and reef restoration{{Cite web |title=Research Portal |url=https://researchportal.scu.edu.au/esploro/profile/peter_harrison/overview |access-date=2024-06-12 |website=researchportal.scu.edu.au}} and development of larger-scale coral larval restoration projects. This work aims to use millions of coral larvae to restore damaged reefs in the Philippines and on the Great Barrier Reef.{{Cite web |title=Peter Harrison |url=https://gbrrestoration.org/leadership-team/peter-harrison/ |access-date=2022-08-24 |website=Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program |language=en-AU}}{{Cite web |title=2019 - Millions of coral babies 'turbo-charged' in floating nurseries to restore damaged parts of the Great Barrier Reef - Southern Cross University |url=https://www.scu.edu.au/engage/news/latest-news/2019/millions-of-coral-babies-turbo-charged-in-floating-nurseries-to-restore-damaged-parts-of-the-great-barrier-reef-.php |access-date=2023-03-29 |website=www.scu.edu.au}}
Recognition
Harrison and the team were awarded the Eureka Prize for Environmental Research in 1992 for their discovery of mass coral spawning on the Great Barrier Reef.{{Citation |title=Distinguished Professor Peter L. Harrison |publisher=Southern Cross University |url=https://www.scu.edu.au/marine-ecology-research-centre/people/professor-peter-l-harrison/#:~:text=Peter%20was%20a%20leading%20member,Environmental%20Research%20for%20this%20discovery |access-date=2022-05-05}} Harrison led a United Nations funded mission to assess the impacts of the first Gulf War on the coral reefs of Kuwait, and has a new coral species discovered in the Arabian Gulf named after him (Porites Harrisoni). Peter was appointed to the Australian Government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee, on which he served from 2005 to 2015.{{Cite web |date=August 2021 |title=Distinguished Professorship: Professor Peter Harrison |url=https://www.scu.edu.au/media/scu-dep/news/images/2021/Distinguished-Professorship-Peter-Harrison-of-Southern-Cross-University.pdf |access-date=June 12, 2024 |website=Southern Cross University}} A sculpture of Peter Harrison was created by Jason deCaires Taylor for the Museum of Underwater Art[https://www.moua.com.au/peter-harrison Prof Peter Harrison] at the Museum of Underwater Art as part of the Ocean Sentinels above the surface exhibition in 2022 for his contributions.{{Cite web |last=Museum of Tropical Queensland |date=2022 |title=Ocean Sentinels above the surface |url=https://mtq.qm.qld.gov.au/Events+and+Exhibitions/Exhibitions/2022/03/Ocean+Sentinels |access-date=2022-04-27 |website=mtq.qm.qld.gov.au}}
Teaching
Peter Harrison is the unit assessor for the Coral Reefs on the Edge teaching unit, which is the capstone unit for Marine Science and Management degree. This unit is an intensive delivery teaching unit that is based at Heron Island on the Southern Great Barrier Reef each year, with lectures and hands-on training directly on the reef.
Publications
Harrison has published over 200 scientific research papers, reports and books.{{Cite web |title=Professor Peter L. Harrison - Southern Cross University |url=https://www.scu.edu.au/marine-ecology-research-centre/people/professor-peter-l-harrison/ |access-date=2022-04-27 |website=www.scu.edu.au}} His work has been cited over 16,000 times.{{cite web |title=Peter Harrison |url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=ETI8b80AAAAJ |access-date=25 September 2024 |website=Google Scholar Citations: Peter Harrison}}
References
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External links
- {{google scholar id|f6GUPSUAAAAJ}}
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Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Academic staff of Southern Cross University
Category:James Cook University alumni
Category:Australian ecologists