Dr Mark Meekan - CV - Australian Institute of Marine Science

Role

Principal Research Scientist - fish biology

Background

As a fish biologist, my research interests fall within the broad topics of the ecology of larval reef fishes and elasmobranchs. I was awarded a PhD from Griffith University in 1992, which followed with a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Laval University, Quebec, Canada from 1992-96. When AIMS set up a new out-station at Karratha in Western Australia, I was offered a research scientist position as the fish ecologist. I was relocated to Darwin in 2001 and was appointed Scientist in Charge of the Darwin office in 2004. With the change in focus for the Darwin office, I moved back to Western Australia in 2009.

Education

1992: PhD School of Environmental Sciences, Griffith University
1986: MSc Department of Biological Sciences, Auckland University (admitted to the degree of Master of Sciences with Honours)

Current Research Activities

I currently lead three major projects. The first examines the ecology of larval fish with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies. This research looks at the sensory ecology and behaviour of reef fish during the larval and juvenile stages. The second quantifies the effects of fishing on sharks in northern Australian waters; and the third, based at Ningaloo Reef, examines the ecology and migration patterns of elasmobranchs and reef fishes. This last project is a large, multi-agency collaboration and involves numerous post-graduate students.

Expert Committees and Boards

Save Our Seas Foundation: member of the Conservation and Science Advisory Panel
Australian Government Department of the Environment, Heritage, Water and the Arts - National Shark Recovery Group

¿Scientific Advisory Committee Member for the Australian Animal Tracking and Monitoring System

Publications

Despite a significant administrative role in recent years, I have produced 72 publications (70 journal articles and 2 book chapters) in the last five years alone. This is an average of 1.2 publications per month. Since 2007 my work has been cited a total of 2,261 times with a lifetime average number of citations of 25.24 per paper and an h-index of 34. I have an I10 index of 69 and have been cited 491 times to date in 2012. (for complete citation statistics see: http://scholar.google.com.au/citationshl=en&user=TYfi4wsAAAAJ&pagesize=100&view_op=list_works&cstart=100)

Recent publications

1. SEQUEIRA A, MELLIN C, DELEAN S, MEEKAN MG, BRADSHAW CJA (in press) Spatial and temporal predictions of inter-decadal trends in Indian Ocean whale sharks Marine Ecology Progress Series

2. SEQUEIRA A, MELLIN C, MEEKAN MG, SIMS DW, BRADSHAW CJA (in press) Inferred global connectivity of whale shark populations Journal of Fish Biology

3. DAVIES TK, STEVENS G, MEEKAN MG, STRUVE J, ROWCLIFFE M (in press) Can citizen science monitor whale shark aggregations? Investigating bias in mark-recapture modelling using identification photographs sourced from the public. Wildlife Research

4. FITZPATRICK R, THUMS M, BELL I, MEEKAN MG, STEVENS JD, BARNETT A. (in press) A comparison of the seasonal movements of tiger sharks and green turtles provides insight into their predator-prey relationship PLoS One

5. TILLETT BJ, FIELD IC, JOHNSON G, BUCKWORTH RC, MEEKAN MG, BRADSHAW CJA, OVENDEN JR (in press) Accuracy of species identification by fisheries observers in a north Australian shark fishery. Fish and Fisheries

6. MUNDAY PI, MCCORMICK MI, MEEKAN MG, DIXSON DL, WATSON SA, FERRARI MCO, CHIVERS D. (in press) Selective mortality associated with variation in CO2 tolerance in a marine fish. Ocean Acidification

7. TILLETT BJ, MEEKAN MG, FIELD IC THORBURN DC, OVENDEN JR. (in press). Which way to the nursery ¿ the first account of reproductive philopatry in the bull shark, Carcharhinus leucas. Journal of Fish Biology

8. LÖNNSTEDT O, MCCORMICK MI, MEEKAN MG, CHIVERS DP, FERRARI MCO (in press). Learn and live: the role of predator experience and feeding history in influencing prey behaviour and survival. Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

9. THUMS M, MEEKAN MG, STEVENS J, WILSON SD, POLOVINA J (2013) Evidence for behavioural thermoregulation by the world¿s largest fish. Journal of the Royal Society Interface doi: 10.1098/rsif.2012.0477