Scientific Publications: Dr. Simon J Pierce

I’ve added most of my “formal” (i.e. peer-reviewed) published works below. Where I can, I’ve linked to a downloadable version via the title. Otherwise, try my profile on Google Scholar; it’s very good at finding any pdfs that find their way online…

My main project at the moment is co-editing a textbook on whale sharks for Taylor & Francis with my buddy Dr. Al Dove. That should be out in August 2021.

If you’d like to stay updated with our current research and conservation work, check out our updates on Patreon!

2020

St. Helena: an important reproductive habitat for whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) in the South Central Atlantic. Perry CT, Clingham E, Webb DH, de la Parra R, Pierce SJ, Beard A, Henry L, Taylor B, Andrews K, Hobbs R, Araujo G, Dove A. Frontiers in Marine Science

Movement and habitat use of striped marlin Kajikia audax in the Western Indian Ocean. Rohner CA, Bealey R, Fulanda B, Pierce SJ. Journal of Fish Biology

No place like home? High residency and predictable seasonal movement of whale sharks off Tanzania. Rohner CA, Cochran JEM, Cagua EF, Prebble CEM, Venables SK, Berumen ML, Kuguru BL, Rubens J, Brunnschweiler JM and Pierce SJ. Frontiers in Marine Science

2019

Global spatial risk assessment of sharks under the footprint of fisheries. Queiroz N, et al. Nature

Using expert opinion to identify and determine the relative impact of threats to sea turtles in Mozambique. Williams JL, Pierce SJ, Hamann M, Fuentes MMMPB. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems

Contrasting habitat use and population dynamics of reef manta rays within the Nusa Penida Marine Protected Area, Indonesia. Germanov ES, Bejder L, Chabanne DBH, Dharmadi, Hendrawan IG, Marshall AD, Pierce SJ, Van Keulen M, Loneragan NR. Frontiers in Marine Science

Photographic identification of sharks. Pierce SJ, Holmberg JA, Kock AL, Marshall AD. In: Shark research: emerging technologies and applications for the field and laboratory. Carrier JC, Heithaus MR, Simpfendorfer CA (eds.). CRC Press

2018

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park: First comprehensive elasmobranch assessment reveals global hotspot for reef sharks. Murray R, Conales Jr S, Labaja J, Snow SJ, Pierce SJ, Songco A, Ponzo A. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity

Limited latitudinal ranging of juvenile whale sharks in the Western Indian Ocean suggests the existence of regional management units. Prebble CEM, Rohner CA, Pierce SJ, Robinson DP, Jaidah MY, Bach SS, Trueman CN. Marine Ecology Progress Series

Satellite tracking of juvenile whale sharks in the Sulu and Bohol Seas, Philippines. Araujo G, Rohner CA, Labaja J, Conales SJ, Snow SJ, Murray R, Pierce SJ, Ponzo A. PeerJ

Movements and habitat use of satellite-tagged whale sharks off western Madagascar. Diamant S, Rohner CA, Kiszka JJ, Guillemain d’Echon A, Guillemain d’Echon T, Sourisseau E, Pierce SJ. Endangered Species Research

Satellite tagging highlights the importance of productive Mozambican coastal waters to the ecology and conservation of whale sharks. Rohner CA, Richardson AJ, Jaine FRA, Bennett MB, Weeks SJ, Cliff G, Robinson DP, Reeve-Arnold KE, Pierce SJ. PeerJ

2017

iDNA at Sea: Recovery of whale shark (Rhincodon typus) mitochondrial DNA sequences from the whale shark copepod (Pandarus rhincodonicus) confirms global population structure. Meekan M, Austin CM, Tan MH, Wei NV, Miller A, Pierce SJ, Rowat D, Stevens G, Davies TK, Ponzo A, Gan HM. Frontiers in Marine Science

Undersea constellations: The global biology of an endangered marine megavertebrate further informed through citizen science. Norman BM, Holmberg JA, Arzoumanian Z, Reynolds SD, Wilson RP, Rob D, Pierce SJ, Gleiss AC, de la Parra R, Galvan B, Ramirez-Macias D, Robinson D, Fox S, Graham R, Rowat D, Potenski M, Levine M, Mckinney JA, Hoffmayer E, Dove ADM, Hueter R, Ponzo A, Araujo G, Aca E, David D, Rees R, Duncan A, Rohner CA, Prebble CEM, Hearn A, Acuna D, Berumen ML, Vazquez A, Green J, Bach SS, Schmidt JV, Beatty SJ, Morgan DL. BioScience: bix127

Some like it hot: Repeat migration and residency of whale sharks within an extreme natural environment. Robinson DP, Jaidah MY, Bach SS, Rohner CA, Jabado RW, Ormond R & Pierce SJ. PloS ONE 12: e0185360

Satellite tagging of rehabilitated green sea turtles Chelonia mydas from the United Arab Emirates, including the longest tracked journey for the species. DP, Jabado RW, Rohner CA, Pierce SJ, Hyland KP, Baverstock WR. PLoS ONE12: e0184286

Long-term assessment of whale shark population demography and connectivity using photo-identification in the Western Atlantic Ocean. McKinney JA, Hoffmayer ER, Holmberg J, Graham RT, Driggers WB III, de la Parra-Venegas R, Galvan-Pastoriza BE, Fox S, Pierce SJ, Dove ADM. PLoS ONE

Oceanic adults, coastal juveniles: tracking the habitat use of whale sharks off the Pacific coast of Mexico. Ramirez-Macias D, Queiroz N, Pierce SJ, Humphries NE, Sims DW, Brunnschweiler JM. PeerJ

Spatial distribution and residency of green and loggerhead sea turtles using coastal reef habitats in southern Mozambique. Williams JL, Pierce SJ, Rohner CA, Fuentes MM & M Hamann. Frontiers in Marine Science

2016

The ecological connectivity of whale shark aggregations in the Indian Ocean: A photo-identification approach. Andrzejaczek S, Meeuwig J, Rowat D, Pierce S, Davies T, Fisher R & M Meekan. Royal Society Open Science

Population structure, abundance and movement of whale sharks in the Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman. Robinson DP, Jaidah MY, Bach S, Lee K, Jabado RW, Rohner CA, March A, Caprodossi S, Henderson AC, Mair JM, Ormond R & SJ Pierce. PLoS ONE.

2015

Laser photogrammetry improves size and demographic estimates for whale sharks. Rohner CA, Richardson AJ, Prebble CEM, Marshall AD, Bennett MB, Weeks SJ, Cliff G, Wintner SP & SJ Pierce. PeerJ

Acoustic telemetry reveals cryptic residency of whale sharks. Cagua EF, Cochran JEM, Rohner CA, Prebble CEM, Sinclair-Taylor TH, Pierce SJ & ML Berumen. Biology Letters

Whale sharks target dense patches of sergestid shrimp off Tanzania. Rohner CA, Armstrong AJ, Pierce SJ, Prebble CEM, Cagua EF, Cochran JEM, Berumen ML & AJ Richardson. Journal of Plankton Research

Effectiveness of recreational divers for monitoring sea turtle populations. Williams JL, Pierce SJ, Fuentes MMPB & M Hamann. Endangered Species Research 26: 209-219

2014

Monitoring the effects of tourism on whale shark Rhincodon typus behaviour in Mozambique. Haskell PJ, McGowan A, Westling A, Mendez-Jiminez, Rohner CA, Collins K, Rosero-Caicedo M, Salmond J, Monadjem A, Marshall AD & SJ Pierce. Oryx

Genetic structure of populations of whale sharks among ocean basins and evidence for their historic rise and recent decline. Vignaud TM, Maynard JA, Leblois R, Meekan MG, Vasquez-Juarez R, Ramirez-Macias D, Pierce SJ, Rowat D, Berumen ML, Beeravolu C, Baksay S & S Planes. Molecular Ecology 23: 2590-2601

The complete mitogenome of the whale shark parasitic copepod Pandarus rhincodonicus Norman, Newbound & Knott (Crustacea; Siphonostomatoida; Pandaridae) – a new gene order for the copepoda. Austin CM, Hua Tan M, Peng Lee Y, Croft LJ, Meekan MG, Pierce SJ, Ming Gan H. Mitochondrial DNA.

Western Indian Ocean. In: Harrison LR, Dulvy NK (eds). Sawfish: A global strategy for conservation. IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Shark Specialist Group, Vancouver, Canada.

2013

Diet of whale sharks Rhincodon typus inferred from stomach content and signature fatty acid analyses. Rohner CA, Couturier LIE, Richardson AJ, Pierce SJ, Prebble C, Gibbons MJ & PD Nichols. Marine Ecology Progress Series

Unusually high levels of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids in whale sharks and reef manta rays. Couturier LIE, Rohner CA, Richardson AJ, Pierce SJ, Marshall AD, Jaine FRA, Townsend KA, Bennett MB, Weeks SJ & PD Nichols. Lipids

Population structure and residency of whale sharks Rhincodon typus at Utila, Bay Islands, Honduras. Fox S, I Foisy, R de la Parra Venegas, E Galv?n Pastoriza, RT Graham, ER Hoffmayer, J Holmberg & SJ Pierce. Journal of Fish Biology

Trends in sightings and environmental influences on a coastal aggregation of manta rays and whale sharks. Rohner CA, SJ Pierce, AD Marshall, SJ Weeks, MB Bennett & AJ Richardson. Marine Ecology Progress Series 482: 153-168

Whale sharks, Rhincodon typus, aggregate around offshore platforms in Qatari waters of the Arabian Gulf to feed on fish spawn. Robinson DP, MY Jaidah, RW Jabado, K Lee-Brooks, NM Nour El-Din, AA Al Malki, K Elmeer, PA McCormick, AC Henderson, SJ Pierce, RFG Ormond. PLoS ONE 8: e58255

Threatened marine species in Mozambique: a summary of the conservation and legal status. Warnell LJK, Darrin HM, Pierce SJ. Eyes on the Horizon/Marine Megafauna Foundation.

2012

The use and abuse of photographic identification in sharks and rays. Marshall AD & SJ Pierce. Journal of Fish Biology 80: 1361-1379

Biology, ecology and conservation of the Mobulidae. Couturier LIE, AD Marshall, FR Jaine, T Kashiwagi, SJ Pierce, AJ Richardson, KA Townsend, SJ Weeks & MB Bennett. Journal of Fish Biology 80: 1075-1119

2011

Community composition of elasmobranch fishes utilizing intertidal sand-flats in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. Pierce SJ, TB Scott-Holland & MB Bennett. Pacific Science 65: 235-247

How large is the world’s largest fish? Measuring whale sharks with laser photogrammetry. Rohner CA, AJ Richardson, AD Marshall, SJ Weeks & SJ Pierce. Journal of Fish Biology 78: 378-385

Estuary stingray. Pierce SJ & MB Bennett. In: Curtis LK, Dennis AJ, McDonald KR, Kyne PM & SJS Debus. Queensland’s threatened animals. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.

2010

Seeing spots: Photo-identification as a regional tool for whale shark identification. Brooks K, D Rowat, SJ Pierce, D Jouannet & M Vely. Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science 9: 185-194

Destined to decline? Intrinsic susceptibility of the threatened estuary stingray to anthropogenic impacts. Pierce SJ & MB Bennett. Marine & Freshwater Research 61: 1468-148

Developing a code of conduct for whale shark interactions in Mozambique. Pierce SJ, A Mendez-Jimenez, K Collins, M Rosero-Caicedo & A Monadjem. Aquatic Conservation: Marine & Freshwater Ecosystems 20: 782-788

Distribution of the estuary stingray (Dasyatis fluviorum) in Australia. Pierce SJ & MB Bennett. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum – Nature 55: 9-17

2009

Validated annual band pair periodicity and growth parameters of blue-spotted maskray (Neotrygon kuhlii) from southeast Queensland, Australia. Pierce SJ & MB Bennett. Journal of Fish Biology 75: 2490-2508

Reproduction of the blue-spotted maskray Neotrygon kuhlii (Myliobatoidei: Dasyatidae) in southeast Queensland, Australia. Pierce SJ & Bennett MB. Journal of Fish Biology 74: 1291-1308

Biology, demography and conservation of rays in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. PhD Thesis. School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane

Deep diving behaviour of a whale shark during long distance movement in the western Indian Ocean. Brunnschweiler JM, Baensch H, Pierce SJ & Sims DW. Journal of Fish Biology 74:?706-714

2008

Is host ectoparasite load related to echeneid fish presence Mucientes GR, Queiroz N, Pierce SJ, Sazima I & Brunnschweiler JM. Research Letters in Ecology

New record of the smalleye stingray, Dasyatis microps (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae), from the western Indian Ocean. Pierce SJ, White WT & Marshall AD. Zootaxa 1734: 65-68

Morphological measurements of manta rays (Manta birostris) with a description of a foetus from the east coast of Southern Africa. Marshall AD, Pierce SJ & Bennett MB. Zootaxa 1717: 24-30

Scarring patterns and relative mortality rates of Indian Ocean whale sharks. Speed CW, Meekan MG, Rowat D, Pierce SJ, Marshall AD & Bradshaw CJ. Journal of Fish Biology 72: 1488-1503

Pierce SJ, Trerup M, Williams C, Tilley A, Marshall AD & Raba N (2008) Shark fishing in Mozambique: A preliminary assessment of artisanal fisheries. Eyes on the Horizon, Maputo.

IUCN Red List Assessments

Dulvy NK, Robinson DP, Pierce SJ, Norman B, Fernando D, Khan M, Romanov E. Whale shark Rhincodon typus Smith, 1828. In: Jabado RW, Kyne PM, Pollom RA, Ebert DA, Simpfendorfer CA, Ralph GM, Dulvy NK (eds.). 2017. The Conservation Status of Sharks, Rays, and Chimaeras in the Arabian Sea and Adjacent Waters. Environment Agency Abu Dhabi, UAE and IUCN Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group, Vancouver, Canada 236 pp.

Pierce SJ, Norman BM (2016) Rhincodon typus. In: IUCN 2016. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Rigby C, Pierce SJ (2015) Himantura toshi. In: IUCN 2015. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Pierce SJ (2015) Dasyatis parvonigra. In: IUCN 2015. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Pierce SJ, Kyne PM (2015) Neotrygon leylandi. In: IUCN 2015. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Fahmi, White WT, Manjaji Matsumoto BM, Pierce SJ (2015) Dasyatis microps. In: IUCN 2015. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Pierce SJ, Bennett MB (2003) Mobula eregoodootenkee. In: IUCN 2015. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.