Carden Wallace facts for kids

Carden Crea Wallace is an Australian scientist. She is famous for her amazing work studying corals. From 1987 to 2003, she was the director of the Museum of Tropical Queensland. Dr. Wallace is especially known for her research on a type of coral called Acropora, also known as staghorn corals. She was also part of a team that made a huge discovery about how corals reproduce.

Early Life and Education

Carden Wallace earned a top degree in Science from the University of Queensland in 1970. She continued her studies and received her Ph.D. in 1979 from the same university.

After finishing her studies, Dr. Wallace worked as a curator at the Queensland Museum from 1970 to 1976. A curator is someone who manages and looks after collections, like animals or artifacts, in a museum. She then spent some time researching at the Australian Institute of Marine Science. Later, in 1980, she became a fellow at the James Cook University of North Queensland, where she focused on Marine Biology.

Discovering Coral Reproduction

Mass Spawning of Corals

In 1984, Dr. Wallace and six other scientists made an incredible discovery. They were observing the Great Barrier Reef in Australia during October and November. They saw that corals were releasing their eggs and sperm all at the same time! This event is called mass spawning. It was the first time anyone had reported corals reproducing in such a synchronized way.

This discovery was very important because it helped scientists understand how coral reefs grow and stay healthy. Since then, mass spawning has been observed in corals in other parts of the world, though it happens at different times of the year depending on the location.

Award-Winning Research

Because of their groundbreaking discovery, the team from James Cook University received the Eureka Prize for Environmental Research in 1992. This award recognized their important contribution to understanding marine life. The news about corals synchronizing their reproduction spread widely, exciting scientists around the globe.

Leading the Museum of Tropical Queensland

Becoming Director

In 1987, Carden Wallace became the 'Curator-in-Charge' of the North Queensland Branch of the Queensland Museum. This branch later became known as the Museum of Tropical Queensland. While working at the museum, she continued her research on corals. She was the first to describe several new types of corals, including Acropora hoeksemai and Acropora batunai, in 1997.

Dr. Wallace was named the Director of the Museum of Tropical Queensland in 1997. A new building for the museum was officially opened in June 2000.

Important Coral Book

In 1999, Dr. Wallace published a very important book about corals. It was called "Staghorn Corals of the World: A Revision of the Genus Acropora." This book was the first detailed study of the Acropora coral group in over a hundred years. It included full descriptions of many different types of staghorn corals. This book became a key resource for other coral scientists.

Later Work and Recognition

Sally Lewis took over as director of the Queensland Tropical Museum in 2003. Even after leaving the museum, Dr. Wallace continued her research. In 2008, she and other scientists reported on how marine life was recovering after the atomic explosions at Bikini Atoll. They found that some life had returned, but 28 types of coral were still missing.

In 2014, she described several more new coral species, including Acropora macrocalyx. Carden Wallace is also a member of the board of OceanNEnvironment, an organization that cares for the ocean. Her contributions to marine science have been recognized in many ways. For example, when the Ocean Geographic Society held a photography competition in 2014, the award for seascapes was named the Carden Wallace Award.

See also

In Spanish: Carden Wallace para niños