Dr Mark Meekan

Scientist in Charge, Darwin Office, Australian Institute of Marine Science Scientist in Charge (2004-present), Research Scientist (2004-1996), Post-Doctoral Fellowship Laval University, Quebec Canada (1992-1995) BSc (Auckland) MSc (Auckland) PhD (Griffith) Member of Australian Marine Sciences Association (national councillor 2003-2007), Australian Coral Reefs Society, Review Editor for Marine Ecology Progress Series.

Research Interests

My research interests cover a very broad range of subjects, with a principal (but not exclusive) focus on the biology of fishes. My publications include studies of population demographics and dynamics, age and growth, sampling techniques, feeding, spatial and temporal patterns in distribution, selective mortality, plankton communities, larval fish navigation and migration. The subjects of my work have ranged from larval and adult reef and pelagic fishes, to freshwater fishes, macrozooplankton, corals and elasmobranchs. Two of the major themes of my research are outlined below.

The ecology of reef fishes
As larval and juvenile coral reef fishes undergo mortality bottlenecks that can play a central role in population regulation, much of my work has focussed on these life history phases. Studies of patterns of larval supply and connectivity of reef fish populations have led to research on the means by which larval fish navigate to return to reefs after the planktonic phase. This work has recently shown that the biological sounds produced by reefs are utilised by fish as cues for settlement. Current work examines this behaviour in detail, and examines the discriminatory abilities of larval fish during the settlement process. Once they have returned from the plankton, young fish undergo very high rates of mortality during the first few weeks of juvenile life on reefs. This mortality does not occur randomly; rather it selectively removes individuals, often based on their size and growth characteristics. A major part of my work seeks to understand this process and the phenotypic and genotypic traits on which it is based.

Other current research projects include the use of chemical fingerprints within otoliths as a means of tracing patterns of larval dispersal and juvenile survivorship in reef environments. Growth and age analysis of otoliths is used to determine the contributions of parents and larval phases to the outcomes of selective processes undergone by juveniles. Analysis of adult otoliths describes the demographic parameters of reef fish populations over entire species ranges. At a community level, long term data sets of reef fish assemblages are being analysed to examine the effects of reef isolation and size on stability and turnover of populations and the influence of life history traits (size, fecundity, growth rate, etc) on rarity and commonness in assemblages.
  
The ecology of sharks and rays
As apex predators, the life history characteristics of sharks are typified by slow growth, late maturity and low rates of reproduction. These traits, which are shared by other elasmobranchs, make these animals particularly vulnerable to human exploitation. Anthropogenic threats have been an important driver of research and my work has pioneered the use of fishery independent, non-destructive techniques to assess species composition, distribution and abundance in tropical reef habitats. This has allowed sampling of habitats beyond the reach of traditional methods and has been used to quantify the effects of fishing (both legal and illegal) on abundance patterns. Recently, the work has broadened to encompass mark-recapture studies of pelagic and reef sharks to quantify movement patterns, stock boundaries and sustainable yields. Concurrently, long term data bases of fish community structure are being interrogated to determine the ecosystem effects of the removal of these apex predators. 

A central part of research effort focuses on the ecology of whale sharks at Ningaloo Reef, WA. These animals form the basis of a major ecotourism industry, the future of which is threatened by fishing in South-East Asian waters to which animals migrate after residing at Ningaloo. Our research aims to describe migration patterns of animals participating in the Ningaloo aggregation using a variety of tagging approaches, quantify patterns in the demography using both historical records and photo-identification libraries and describe the behaviour of whale sharks to determine why aggregations occur on a predictable basis.

Migration and movement patterns of reef sharks and other elasmobranchs are a key focus for new work. A successful application to the Integrated Marine Observing System (part of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy) will allow deployment of cross-shelf curtains of sonar listening stations at Ningaloo Reef. These will be used to describe the residency and movement patterns of the major components of the elasmobranch assemblage (whale sharks, manta rays, stingrays, reef sharks etc) and some reef fishes. The project will estimate appropriate spatial scales for management strategies and in combination with genetic studies, investigate philopatry and sex-biased gene flow in populations. Because the larger components of the fauna (whale sharks and manta rays) are likely to migrate large distances (1000’s km) a second aim is to extend tagging and photo-identification work to other locations in the Indian Ocean.

Selected Publications

[1]  Bergenius, MAJ, McCormick, MI, Meekan, MG and Robertson, DR (2005). Environmental influences on larval duration, growth and magnitude of settlement of a coral reef fish. Marine Biology 147(2): 291-300.
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[2]  Bradshaw, CJA, Mollet, HF and Meekan, MG (2007). Inferring population trends for the world's largest fish from mark-recapture estimates of survival. Journal of Animal Ecology 76(3): 480-489.
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[3]  Doherty, PH, Dufour, V, Galzin, R, Hixon, MA, Meekan, MG and Planes, S (2006). High mortality during settlement is a population bottleneck for a tropical surgeonfish (vol 85, pg 2422, 2004). Ecology 87(4): 1073-1073.
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[4]  Fitzpatrick, B, Meekan, M and Richards, A (2006). Shark attacks on a whale shark (Rhincodon typus) at Ningaloo Reef, western Australia. Bulletin of Marine Science 78(2): 397-402.
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[5]  Gagliano, M, McCormick, M and Meekan, M (2007). Temperature-induced shifts in selective pressure at a critical developmental transition. Oecologia 152(2): 219-225.
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[6]  Meekan, MG, Bradshaw, CJA, Press, M, McLean, C, Richards, A, Quasnichka, S and Taylor, JG (2006). Population size and structure of whale sharks Rhincodon typus at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Marine Ecology-Progress Series 319: 275-285.
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[7]  Meekan, MG, Carleton, JH, Steinberg, CR, McKinnon, AD, Brinkman, R, Doherty, PJ, Halford, A, Duggan, S and Mason, L (2006). Turbulent mixing and mesoscale distributions of late-stage fish larvae on the NW Shelf of Western Australia. Fisheries Oceanography 15(1): 44-59.
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[8]  Meekan, MG, Vigliola, L, Hansen, A, Doherty, PJ, Halford, A and Carleton, JH (2006). Bigger is better: size-selective mortality throughout the life history of a fast-growing clupeid, Spratelloides gracilis. Marine Ecology-Progress Series 317: 237-244.
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[9]  Montgomery, JC, Jeffs, A, Simpson, SD, Meekan, M, Tindle, C and Alan J. Southward, aDWS (2006). Sound as an orientation cue for the pelagic larvae of reef fishes and decapod crustaceans. Advances in Marine Biology Volume 51: 143-196.
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[10]  Simpson, SD, Meekan, M, Montgomery, J, McCauley, R and Jeffs, A (2005). Homeward Sound. Science 308(5719): 221-.
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