Scientific Publications

To stay updated on this list, you can also follow my work on Google Scholar.

2024

Persistent declines in sightings of manta and devil rays (Mobulidae) at a global hotspot in southern Mozambique. Venables SK, Rohner CA, Flam AL, Pierce SJ, Marshall AD. Environmental Biology of Fishes.

Effects of climate warming on energetics and habitat of the world's largest marine ectotherm. Reynolds SD, Franklin CE, Norman BM, et al. Science of The Total Environment.

Identifying priority sites for whale shark ship collision management globally. Womersley FC, Rohner CA, Abrantes K, et al. Science of The Total Environment.

2023

Emergent community architecture despite distinct diversity in the global whale shark (Rhincodon typus) epidermal microbiome. Doane MP, Reed MB, McKerral J, et al. Scientific Reports.

Underwater ultrasonography and blood sampling provide the first observations of reproductive biology in free-swimming whale sharks. Matsumoto R, Murakumo K, Nozu R, et al. Endangered Species Research.

2022

Distribution of the reef manta ray Mobula alfredi and the oceanic manta ray Mobula birostris in the Philippines: A collaborative effort for conservation. Rambahiniarison J, Agustines A, Alexopoulos K, et al. Journal of Fish Biology.

Diving into the vertical dimension of elasmobranch movement ecology. Andrzejaczek S, Lucas TCD, Goodman MC, et al. Science Advances.

Improving sightings-derived residency estimation for whale shark aggregations: A novel metric applied to a global data set. Araujo G, Agustines A, Bach SS, et al. Frontiers in Marine Science.

Citizen science reveals the population structure and seasonal presence of whale sharks in the Gulf of Thailand. Magson K, Monacella E, Scott C, et al. Journal of Fish Biology.

Vertical habitat use of black and striped marlin in the Western Indian Ocean. Rohner CA, Bealey R, Fulanda BM, Prebble CEM, Williams SM, Pierce SJ. Marine Ecology Progress Series.

Residency, movement patterns, behavior and demographics of reef manta rays in Komodo National Park. Germanov ES, Pierce SJ, Marshall AD, et al. PeerJ.

Global collision-risk hotspots of marine traffic and the world’s largest fish, the whale shark. Womersley FC, Humphries NE, Queiroz N, et al. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Rhincodon typus, Whale Shark, Marokintana. Diamant S, Kiszka JJ, Pierce SJ. The New Natural History of Madagascar. Goodman SM (ed).

Citizen science as a key tool in whale shark conservation. Araujo G, Kwong KO, Jones IG, Holmberg J, Pierce SJ, Manjaji-Matsumoto BM. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems.

The need for long-term population monitoring of the world’s largest fish. Rohner CA, Venables S, Cochran J, et al. Endangered Species Research.

Pieces in a global puzzle: Population genetics at two whale shark aggregations in the western Indian Ocean. Hardenstine RS, He S, Cochran JEM, et al. Ecology and Evolution.

2021

Regional variation in anthropogenic threats to Indian Ocean whale sharks. Reynolds SD, Norman BM, Franklin CE, et al. Global Ecology and Conservation.

Rhincodon typus (Green Status assessment). Pierce SJ, Grace MK, & G Araujo. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Population structure, residency, and abundance of whale sharks in the coastal waters off Nosy Be, north-western Madagascar. Diamant S, Pierce SJ, Rohner CA, et al. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems.

Whale sharks: Biology, ecology, & conservation. Dove ADM & SJ Pierce (eds). CRC Press.

Chapter 2. Whale shark reproduction, growth, and demography. Pierce SJ, Pardo SA, Rohner CA, Matsumoto R, Murakumo K, Nozu R, Dove ADM, Perry C, & MG Meekan.

Chapter 7. Population ecology of whale sharks. Rohner CA, Norman BM, Reynolds S, Araujo G, Holmberg J, & SJ Pierce.

Chapter 11. Global threats to whale sharks. Rowat D, Womersley F, Norman BM, & SJ Pierce.

Chapter 12. Conservation of whale sharks. Pierce SJ, Grace MK, & G Araujo.

Chapter 13. Outstanding questions in whale shark research and conservation. Rowat D, Robinson DP, Dove ADM, Araujo G, Clauss T, Coco C, Dearden P, Grace MK, Green JR, Hearn AR, Holmberg J, Hoopes L, Matsumoto R, McClain C, Meekan MG, Murakumo K, Norman BM, Nozu R, Pardo SA, Peele EE, Peñaherrera Palma CR, Perry C, Prebble CE, Reynolds S, Román M, Rohner CA, Sato K, Schmidt JV, Schreiber C, Sequeira AMM, Womersley F, Yanagisawa M, Yopak KE, Ziegler J, & SJ Pierce.

Economic value and public perceptions of whale shark tourism in Nosy Be, Madagascar. Ziegler J, Diamant S, Pierce, SJ, Bennett R, & JJ Kiszka. Tourism in Marine Environments.

Movement ecology of black marlin Istiompax indica in the Western Indian Ocean. Rohner CA, Bealey R, Fulanda BM, Everett JD, Richardson AJ, & SJ Pierce. Journal of Fish Biology.

Satellite tracking of rehabilitated sea turtles suggests a high rate of short-term survival following release. Robinson DP, Hyland K, Beukes G, Vettan A, Mabadikate A, Jabado RW, Rohner CA, Pierce SJ, & W Baverstock. PLoS ONE.

2020

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, & SJ Pierce SJ. Frontiers in Marine Science.

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

St. Helena: An important reproductive habitat for whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) in the central South 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, & AD Dove. 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.

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.

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.

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, & SJ Pierce. 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. Robinson DP, Jabado RW, Rohner CA, Pierce SJ, Hyland KP, & WR Baverstock. 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, & ADM Dove. 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, & JM Brunnschweiler. 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: 209–19.

2014

Monitoring the effects of tourism on whale shark Rhincodon typus behaviour in Mozambique. Haskell PJ, McGowan A, Westling A, Mendez-Jimenez, 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. Pierce SJ. 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 Galvan 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: 153–68.

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.

2012

The use and abuse of photographic identification in sharks and rays. Marshall AD & SJ Pierce. Journal of Fish Biology 80: 1361–379.

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: 1075–119.

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: 235–47.

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: 378–85.

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: 185–94.

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

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: 782–88.

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: 2490–508

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.

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: 706–14.

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: 1488–503.

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

IUCN Red List & Green Status Assessments

Pierce SJ, Grace MK, Araujo G (2021) Rhincodon typus (Green Status Assessment). In: IUCN 2021. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

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 (2016) Maculabatis toshi. In: IUCN 2015. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

Pierce SJ (2016) Hemitrygon 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.

PhD Thesis

Pierce SJ (2009) Biology, demography and conservation of rays in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia. School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane