People

Dr Trotter’s research is focused on understanding environmental changes and processes in the marine system occurring on both modern and geological timescales. Her research utilises innovative geochemical proxies extracted from biogenic skeletons that record changes in seawater chemistry and interactive processes within the ocean-climate system.

Dr Trotter has held research appointments at the University of Western Australia (since 2009) in Earth Sciences and the Oceans Institute, including an ARC Australian Postdoctoral Fellowship (APD), Senior Research Fellow, and an ARC Future Fellowship (FF, awarded 2016). Her current Future Fellowship focuses on determining changes in the ocean-climate system within deep waters by utilising long-lived (10’s to 1000’s years) deep-sea coral archives from Southern Ocean water masses (Perth Canyon, Tasman seamounts, Antarctica). Tracking changes in ocean temperature and pH in particular, recorded by both modern and fossil corals, can help reveal Earth’s responses to anthropogenic CO₂ emissions and global warming during the industrial era, as well as pre-industrial natural variations within the system. This work utilises UWA’s state-of-the-art geochemical and mass spectrometry facilities, the Advanced Geochemical Facility for Indian Ocean Research, which Dr Trotter helped establish and co-manages.

Dr Trotter holds a PhD in geochemistry (Australian National University) and an MSc in palaeontology (Macquarie University) and has a diverse background in marine geochemistry and the earth sciences. Before joining UWA, Dr Trotter held a research position at the ANU to work on various geochemical proxy studies using modern Scleractinian corals, and her earlier PhD research determined climate records and associated bio-events for key periods in Earth history (i.e. ‘deep time’) from apatite microfossils. Other prior appointments include Project Leader at the CSIRO, Division of Petroleum Resources, where she managed large-scale geochemistry projects commissioned by industry clients to reconstruct basin architecture; and Executive Officer to the Energy Group, a high-end administrative role that supported CSIRO Executives and external stakeholders (including government), which focused on energy strategies and collaborations within the sector. During her early career, she worked as a palaeontologist at the University of Sydney and Macquarie University.

Successful Proposals & Funding Received

ARC Future Fellowship FT160100259 (2016). Dr J Trotter. Deep‐sea coral ocean‐climate records of the last glacial and recent eras. $776,000

Schmidt Ocean Institute (2013). Prof Malcolm McCulloch, Dr Ron Thresher, Prof Carlos Duarte, Prof Charitha Pattiaratchi, Ass/Prof Jim Falter, Ass/Prof Julie Trotter, Dr Paolo Montagna, Dr Jane Fromont, Prof Susana Agusti-Requena. ROV exploration the Perth Canyon and assessing the vulnerability of deep-sea corals to climate change and ocean acidification. SOI provides their fully equipped Ocean Research Vessel R/V Falkor & resources including a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). Approx. value $1,000,000

CSIRO Flagship Collaboration Fund (2010). Prof M McCulloch, Asst Prof J Falter, Assoc Prof R Lowe, Asst Prof J Trotter. Project Title: Ocean acidification and environmental change across a widening tropical-subtropical gradient. $200,000

ARC Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment and Facilities Project LE100100203 (2010). Prof M McCulloch, Prof P Cawood, Prof M Lynch, Prof R Wasson, Prof P Lavery, A/Prof A Waite, Ass/Prof R Lowe, Dr M Kilburn, Dr J Trotter, A/Prof Clode, Dr J Falter, Prof N McNaughton, Dr K-H Wyroll, A/Prof L Collins. Project Title: Advanced Geochemical Facility for Climate and Environmental Change Research: a west Australian−Indian Ocean focus. $700,000

ARC Discovery Project DP1096252 (2010). Dr JA Trotter; Dr IS Williams, Em/Prof CR Barnes, Prof DJ Beerling, Dr CH Wellman, Project Title: Global Climate Change, Carbon Dioxide (CO2), and the Evolution of Life in the Palaeozoic and Early Mesozoic. $355,000

ARC Discovery Project DP0986505 (2009). Prof MT McCulloch, Dr JA Trotter, Prof RB Dunbar. Project Title: Ocean acidification in a Rapidly Increasing CO2 World. $670,000

ARC Linkage Project LP0883812 (2008). Prof PA Cawood, Prof K Grice, Mr R Hocking, Prof JL Kirschvink, Dr P Montgomery, Dr PE Playford, Mr T Playton, Mr N Thompson, Dr JA Trotter, Prof P Ward. Project Title: Chronostratigraphic Framework for the Devonian Canning Basin – A Multidisciplinary Record of Environmental Change. $580,000

Publications

Refereed Journal Articles

1. McCulloch, M., D’Olivo, J-P., Falter, J., Holcomb, M., Trotter, J. 2017. Coral calcification in a changing World and the interactive dynamics of pH and DIC up-regulation. Nature Communications. Paper #NCOMMS-16-24330B.
2. Le Houedec, S., McCulloch, M., Trotter, J., Rankenburg, K. 2017. Conodont apatite δ88/86Sr and δ44/40Ca compositions and implications for the evolution of Palaeozoic to early Mesozoic seawater. Chemical Geology 453, 55–65.
3. Saqab, M.M., Bourget, J., Trotter, J., Keep, M. 2017. New constraints on the timing of flexural deformation along the northern Australian margin: Implications for arc-continent collision and the development of the Timor Trough. Tectonophysics 696–697, 14–36.
4. Raddatz, J., Liebetrau, V., Trotter, J., Rüggeberg, A., Flögel, S., Dullo, W-C., Eisenhauer, A., Voigt, S., McCulloch, M. 2016. Environmental constraints on Holocene cold-water coral reef growth off Norway: Insights from a multiproxy approach. Paleoceanography, 1350-1367. 10.1002/2016PA002974.
5. Trotter, J.A., Barnes C.R., McCracken, A.D. 2016. Rare earth elements in conodont apatite: Seawater or pore-water signatures? Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 462, 92–100. doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.09.007.
6. Trotter, J.A., Williams, I.S., Barnes, C.R., Männik, P., Simpson, A. (2016) New conodont 18O records of Silurian climate change: implications for environmental and biological events. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 443, 34-48. DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.11.011.
7. Trotter, J.A., Williams, I.S., Nicora, A., Mazza, M., Rigo, M. (2015) Long-term cycles of Triassic climate change: a new δ18O record from conodont apatite. Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 415, 165–174.
8. Johns, M.J., Trotter, J.A., Bonnett, C.J.M., Barnes, C.R. (2015) Neogene strontium isotope stratigraphy, foraminifer biostratigraphy, and lithostratigraphy from offshore wells, Queen Charlotte Basin, British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. Can. J. Earth Sci. 52: 1–28. doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2014-0159.
9. Georgiou, L., Falter, J., Trotter, J., Kline, D., Holcolmb, M., Dove, S., Hoegh-Guldberg, O., McCulloch, M. (2015) pH homeostasis during coral calcification in a Free Ocean CO2 Enrichment (FOCE) experiment, Heron Island reef flat, Great Barrier Reef. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 112 (43) 13219-13224. doi:10.1073/pnas.1505586112.
10. D’Olivo, J.P., McCulloch, M. T., Eggins, S. M., Trotter, J.A. (2015) Coral record of reef-water pH across the central Great Barrier Reef, Australia: assessing the influence of river runoff on inshore reefs. Biogeosciences. 12, 1223–1236.
11. Hendriks, I.E., Duarte, C.M., Olsen, Y.S., Steckbauer, A., Ramajo, L., Moore, T.S., Trotter, J.A., McCulloch, M. (2015) Biological mechanisms supporting adaptation to ocean acidification in coastal ecosystems. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 152 A1-A8.
12. McCulloch, M.T., Holcomb, M., Rankenburg, K., Trotter, J.A. (2014) Rapid, high‐precision measurements of boron isotopic compositions in marine carbonates. Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry 28 (24), 2704-2712.
13. Wu, G., Ji, Z., Trotter, J.A., Yao, J., Wang, C., Zhou, L., Liu, J., Liu, D. (2014) Conodont Biostratigraphy of a New Permo-Triassic boundary section at Wenbudangsang, north Tibet. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 411, 188–207.
14. Holcomb, M., Venn, A., Tambutté, E., Tambutté, S., Allemand, D., Trotter, J., McCulloch, M. (2014) Coral calcifying fluid pH dictates response to ocean acidification. Nature Scientific Reports. 4: 5207, DOI: 10.1038/srep05207.
15. Montagna, P., McCulloch, M., Douville, E., López Correa, M., Trotter, J., Rodolfo-Metalpa, R., Dissard, D., Ferrier-Pagès, C., Frank, N., Freiwald, A., Goldstein, S., Mazzoli, C., Reynaud, S., Rüggeberg, A., Russo, S., Taviani, M. (2014) Li/Mg Systematics in Scleractinian Corals: Calibration of the Thermometer. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 132, 288–310.
16. Lécuyer, C., Amiot, R., Touzeau, A., Trotter, J. (2013) Calibration of the phosphate δ18O thermometer with carbonate-water oxygen isotope fractionation equations. Chemical Geology. 347: 217–226.
17. Duarte, C.M., Hendriks, I.E., Moore, T.S., Olsen, Y.S., Steckbauer, A., Ramajo, L., Carstensen, J., Trotter, J.A., McCulloch, M. (2013) Is Ocean Acidification an Open-Ocean Syndrome? Understanding Anthropogenic Impacts on Seawater pH. Estuaries and Coasts DOI 10.1007/s12237-013-9594-3.
18. Johns, M.J., Trotter, J.A., Barnes, C.R., Narayan, Y.R. (2012) Biostratigraphic, strontium isotopic, and geologic constraints on the landward movement and fragmentation of terranes within the Tofino Basin, British Columbia Can. J. Earth Sci. 49: 1–39.
19. McCulloch, M., Trotter, J., Montagna, P., Falter, J., Dunbar, R., Freiwald, A., Försterra, G., López Correa, M., Maier, M., Rüggeberg, A., Taviani, M. (2012) Resilience of cold-water scleractinian corals to ocean acidification: Boron isotopic systematics of pH and saturation state up-regulation. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta, 87, 21-34. org/10.1016/j.gca.2012.03.027.
20. Rigo, M., Trotter, J.A., Preto, N., Williams, I.S. (2012) Oxygen isotopic evidence for Late Triassic monsoonal upwelling in the northwestern Tethys. Geology. doi:10.1130/G32792.1
21. McCulloch, M., Falter, J., Trotter, J., Montagna, P. (2012) Coral resilience to ocean acidification and global warming through pH up-regulation. Nature Climate Change, 2, 623-627. DOI: 10.1038/ NCLIMATE1473.
22. Gulson, B., Wong, H., Korsch, M., Gomez, L., Casey, P., McCall, M., McCulloch, M., Trotter, J., Stauber, J., Greenoak, G. (2012) Comparison of dermal absorption of zinc from different sunscreen formulations and differing UV exposure based on stable isotope tracing. Science of the Total Environment, doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.12.046.
23. Trotter, J.A., Montagna, P., McCulloch M.T., Silenzi S., Reynaud, S., Mortimer, G.E., Martin, S., Ferrier-Pagès, C., Gattuso, J-P., Rodolfo-Metalpa, R. (2011) Quantifying the pH ‘vital effect’ in the temperate zooxanthellate coral Cladocora caespitosa: validation of the boron seawater pH proxy. Earth & Planetary Science Letters, 303, 163-173.
24. Gulson, B., McCall, M., Korsch, M., Gomez, L, Casey, P., Oytam, Y., Taylor, A., McCulloch, M., Trotter, J., Kinsley, L., Greenoak, G. (2010) Small amounts of zinc from zinc oxide particles in sunscreens applied outdoors are absorbed through human skin. Toxicological Sciences, 118 (1), 140–149.
25. Montagna, P., McCulloch, M., Taviani, M., Trotter, J., Silenzi, S., Mazzoli, C., (2009) An improved sampling method for P/Ca as a nutrient proxy. Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 25, 1888-1947.
26. Trotter, J.A., Williams, I.S., Barnes, C.R., Lécuyer, C., Nicoll, R.S. (2008) Did cooling oceans trigger Ordovician Biodiversification? Evidence from conodont thermometry. Science, 321, 550-554.
27. Trotter, J.A., Fitz Gerald, J.D., Kokkonen, H., Barnes, C.R. (2007) New insights into the ultrastructure, permeability, and integrity of conodont apatite determined by Transmission Electron Microscopy. Lethaia, 40, 97-110.
28. Jeppsson L, Talent J A, Mawson R, Simpson A J, Andrew A S, Calner, M., Whitford D J, Trotter J A., Sandström O, Caldron H–J (2007) High-resolution Late Silurian correlations between Gotland, Sweden, and the Broken River region, NE Australia: lithologies, conodonts and isotopes. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 245: p115-137.
29. Trotter, J.A., Eggins, S.M. (2006) Chemical Systematics of Conodont Apatite Determined by Laser-Ablation ICPMS. Chemical Geology 233, 196-216.
30. Trotter J.A., Talent J.A. (2005) Early Devonian (mid-Lochkovian) brachiopod, coral, and conodont faunas from Manildra, New South Wales, Australia. Palaeontographica, 273. Stuttgart.
31. Allan, T.A., Robertson, A.H.F., Sharp, T.R., Trotter, J.A. (2001) Data Report: Whole-rock 87Sr/86Sr composition and apparent strontium isotopic age of limestones from lithostratigraphic Unit IV, Site 1118, Woodlark Rift Basin, SW Pacific: Leg 180. Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Project, Scientific Results, 180: College Station TX (Ocean Drilling Program).
32. Graham, I.J., Morgans, H.E.G., Waghorn, D.B., Trotter, J.A., Whitford, D.J. (2000) Strontium isotope stratigraphy of the Oligocene-Miocene Otekaike Limestone (Trig Z section) in southern New Zealand: age of the Duntroonian/Waitakian Stage boundary. New Zealand Journal of Geology & Geophysics, 43: p.335-347.
33. Talent, J.A., Gaetani, M., Mawson, R., Molloy, P., Conaghan, P., Lehnert, O., Trotter, J.A. (1999) Early Ordovician and Devonian conodonts from the western Karakoram and Hindu Kush, northernmost Pakistan. Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 105 (2): 201-230.
34. Trotter, J.A., Korsch, M.J., Nicoll, R.S., Whitford, D.J. (1999) Sr isotopic variation in single conodont elements: implications for defining the Sr seawater curve. Bolletino della Societa Paleontologica Italiana, 37 (2-3): 507-514.
35. Sloan, T.R., Talent, J.A., Mawson, R., Simpson, J.A., Brock, G.A., Engelbretsen, M.J., Jell, J.S., Aung, A.K., Pfaffenritter, C., Trotter, J., Withnall, I. (1995) Conodont data from Silurian-Middle Devonian carbonate fans, debris flows, allochthonous blocks and adjacent autochthonous platform margins: Broken River and Camel Creek areas, north Queensland, Australia. Cour. Forsch.-Institut Senckenberg, 182. Frankfurt a. M.
36. Trotter, J.A., Webby, B.D. (1994) Upper Ordovician conodonts from the Malongulli Formation, Cleifden Caves area, central New South Wales. AGSO Jnl of Aust. Geol. & Geophy. 15 (4): 475-499.
37. Webby, B.D., Trotter, J. (1993) Ordovician Sponge Spicules from New South Wales, Australia. Journal of Paleontology, 67 (1): 28-41.
38. Webby, B.D., Trotter, J.A. (1992) New Ordovician alga from central New South Wales. Alcheringa, 16: 87-91.
39. Mawson R., Talent, J.A., Bear, V.C., Benson, D.S., Brock, G.A., Farrell, J.R., Hyland, K.A., Pyemont, B.D., Sloan, T.R., Sorentino, L., Stewart, M.I., Trotter, J.A., Wilson, G.A., Simpson, A.J. (1988) Conodont data in relation to resolution of stage and zonal boundaries for the Devonian of Australia. In: N J McMillan, A F Embry & D J Glass (Eds) Devonian of the World: Canadian Soc. Petrol. Geol. Mem., 14: 485-527; Calgary.

Book Chapter

McCulloch, M., D’Olivo, J-P., Falter, J., Georgiou, L., Holcomb, M., Montagna, P., Trotter, J. In Press. Boron Isotopic Systematics in Scleractinian Corals and the Role of pH Up-regulation. In: Boron Isotopes – The Fifth Element, Advances in Isotope Geochemistry Series.

Technical Reports & Materials

CSIRO technical reports: x69 internal confidential reports on the strontium isotope chronostratigraphy of limestones across Papua New Guinea and Southeast Asia in conjunction for petroleum industry clients (from 1993 to 2006).

Trotter, J.A., Johnstone, J. and Davies, J. (1994) Classification for Senior Secondary Biology. CSIRO Division of Entomology, Canberra. (Audio Visual Kit).