Dr Steph Nitschke

Dr Steph Nitschke

Adjunct Associate Lecturer

BSc BBus, BSc (Hons), PhD (UTS)

Science
School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences

Current research projects include characterising microbes, such as bacteria, in temperate and tropical reef organisms including fish guts, turf algae and corals to identify changes that are likely to occur under a changing climate. Steph's background in physiology and biochemistry involved looking at a sulphur compound naturally produced by corals, to understand how they can use this to protect themselves against coral bleaching under stressors including thermal stress and hyposaline conditions. 

Centre for Marine Science and Innovation (CMSI)

Evolution & Ecology Research Centre

Phone
+61 2 9065 3811
Location
Level 4 East Biological Sciences North (E26) UNSW, Kensington 2052
  • Book Chapters | 2022
    Nitschke MR; Rosset SL; Oakley CA; Gardner SG; Camp EF; Suggett DJ; Davy SK, 2022, 'The diversity and ecology of Symbiodiniaceae: A traits-based review', in Advances in Marine Biology, pp. 55 - 127, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/bs.amb.2022.07.001
  • Journal articles | 2024
    Masdeu-Navarro M; Mangot JF; Xue L; Cabrera-Brufau M; Kieber DJ; Rodríguez-Ros P; Gardner SG; Bergauer K; Herndl GJ; Marrasé C; Simó R, 2024, 'Diel variation of seawater volatile organic compounds, DMSP-related compounds, and microbial plankton inside and outside a tropical coral reef ecosystem', Frontiers in Marine Science, 11, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2024.1341619
    Journal articles | 2023
    Gardner SG; Leggat W; Ainsworth TD, 2023, 'The microbiome of the endosymbiotic Symbiodiniaceae in corals exposed to thermal stress', Hydrobiologia, 850, pp. 3685 - 3704, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10750-023-05221-7
    Journal articles | 2022
    Gardner SG; Nitschke MR; O’Brien J; Motti CA; Seymour JR; Ralph PJ; Petrou K; Raina JB, 2022, 'Increased DMSP availability during thermal stress influences DMSP-degrading bacteria in coral mucus', Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.912862
    Journal articles | 2022
    Lewis RE; Davy SK; Gardner SG; Rongo T; Suggett DJ; Nitschke MR, 2022, 'Colony self-shading facilitates Symbiodiniaceae cohabitation in a South Pacific coral community', Coral Reefs, 41, pp. 1433 - 1447, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00338-022-02292-1
    Journal articles | 2022
    Masdeu-Navarro M; Mangot JF; Xue L; Cabrera-Brufau M; Gardner SG; Kieber DJ; González JM; Simó R, 2022, 'Spatial and diel patterns of volatile organic compounds, DMSP-derived compounds, and planktonic microorganisms around a tropical scleractinian coral colony', Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.944141
    Journal articles | 2022
    Xue L; Kieber DJ; Masdeu-Navarro M; Cabrera-Brufau M; Rodríguez-Ros P; Gardner SG; Marrasé C; Simó R, 2022, 'Concentrations, sources, and biological consumption of acrylate and DMSP in the tropical Pacific and coral reef ecosystem in Mo’orea, French Polynesia', Frontiers in Marine Science, 9, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.911522
    Journal articles | 2021
    Fujise L; Suggett DJ; Stat M; Kahlke T; Bunce M; Gardner SG; Goyen S; Woodcock S; Ralph PJ; Seymour JR; Siboni N; Nitschke MR, 2021, 'Unlocking the phylogenetic diversity, primary habitats, and abundances of free-living Symbiodiniaceae on a coral reef', Molecular Ecology, 30, pp. 343 - 360, http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/mec.15719
    Journal articles | 2020
    Camp EF; Suggett DJ; Pogoreutz C; Nitschke MR; Houlbreque F; Hume BCC; Gardner SG; Zampighi M; Rodolfo-Metalpa R; Voolstra CR, 2020, 'Corals exhibit distinct patterns of microbial reorganisation to thrive in an extreme inshore environment', Coral Reefs, 39, pp. 701 - 716, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00338-019-01889-3
    Journal articles | 2019
    Gardner SG; Camp EF; Smith DJ; Kahlke T; Osman EO; Gendron G; Hume BCC; Pogoreutz C; Voolstra CR; Suggett DJ, 2019, 'Coral microbiome diversity reflects mass coral bleaching susceptibility during the 2016 El Niño heat wave', Ecology and Evolution, 9, pp. 938 - 956, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4662
    Journal articles | 2019
    Leggat WP; Camp EF; Suggett DJ; Heron SF; Fordyce AJ; Gardner S; Deakin L; Turner M; Beeching LJ; Kuzhiumparambil U; Eakin CM; Ainsworth TD, 2019, 'Rapid Coral Decay Is Associated with Marine Heatwave Mortality Events on Reefs', Current Biology, 29, pp. 2723 - 2730.e4, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2019.06.077
    Journal articles | 2018
    Nitschke MR; Gardner SG; Goyen S; Fujise L; Camp EF; Ralph PJ; Suggett DJ, 2018, 'Utility of photochemical traits as diagnostics of thermal tolerance amongst great barrier reef corals', Frontiers in Marine Science, 5, http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2018.00045
    Journal articles | 2017
    Camp EF; Nitschke MR; Rodolfo-Metalpa R; Houlbreque F; Gardner SG; Smith DJ; Zampighi M; Suggett DJ, 2017, 'Reef-building corals thrive within hot-acidified and deoxygenated waters', Scientific Reports, 7, http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02383-y
    Journal articles | 2017
    Gardner SG; Raina JB; Nitschke MR; Nielsen DA; Stat M; Motti CA; Ralph PJ; Petrou K, 2017, 'A multi-trait systems approach reveals a response cascade to bleaching in corals', BMC biology, 15, pp. 117, http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12915-017-0459-2
    Journal articles | 2017
    Gardner SG; Raina JB; Ralph PJ; Petrou K, 2017, 'Reactive oxygen species (ROS) and dimethylated sulphur compounds in coral explants under acute thermal stress', Journal of Experimental Biology, 220, pp. 1787 - 1791, http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.153049
    Journal articles | 2016
    Gardner SG; Nielsen DA; Laczka O; Shimmon R; Beltran VH; Ralph PJ; Petrou K, 2016, 'Dimethylsulfoniopropionate, superoxide dismutase and glutathione as stress response indicators in three corals under short-term hyposalinity stress', Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283, http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.2418
    Journal articles | 2015
    Gardner SG; Nielsen DA; Petrou K; Larkum AWD; Ralph PJ, 2015, 'Characterisation of coral explants: a model organism for cnidarian–dinoflagellate studies', Coral Reefs, 34, pp. 133 - 142, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00338-014-1240-4

My Research Supervision

Zuhairah Dindar (UNSW) 2020-2021 - Honours thesis titled "Understanding the unnoticed: the rise of ascidians in the Anthropocene and their contribution to greenhouse gas emissions"