Dr. Andrew Chin

 

Position: President
Occupation: Research Fellow
Institution/Organisation Affiliation: James Cook University, Australian Institute of Marine Science

Chondrichthyan Research Interests: Habitat use, life history, fishery management, subsistence and artisanal fisheries, Indigenous fisheries, marine parks, coral reef management

Highest impact/most proud of paper from your research:

• Chin, A., Kyne, P.M., Walker, T.I. and McAuley, R.B. (2010) An integrated risk assessment for climate change: analysing the vulnerability of sharks and rays on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Global Change Biology, 16: pp. 1936–1953. 

Most influential chondrichthyan publication(s) to your research:

• Walker, T.I. (1998) Can shark resources be harvested sustainably? A question revisited with a review of shark fisheries. Marine and Freshwater Research, 49: pp. 553–572. 

• Carrier, J.C., Musick, J.A., Heithaus, M.R. (Eds) (2004) Biology of sharks and their relatives. CRC Marine Biology Series. CRC Press: Boca Raton.

• Heupel, M.R., Carlson, J.K. and Simpfendorfer, C.A. (2007) Shark nursery areas: concepts, definitions, characterisation and assumptions. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 337: pp. 287–297.

Why are you involved with OCS?: It’s an important ‘community of practice’ that provides an independent voice on important issues; support and mentorship for students; and knowledge sharing across the Pacific.

 

Dr. Brittany "Brit" Finucci

 

Position: Vice President
Occupation: Fisheries Scientist
Institution/Organisation Affiliation: National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), New Zealand

Research Interests: deep-sea, bycatch, chimaeras, life history, sustainable fisheries management

Highest impact/most proud of paper from your research:

• Coming out soon! 

Most influential chondrichthyan publication(s) to your research:

• Garrick, J.A.F. (1954-61) Studies on New Zealand Elasmobranchii Part I-XIII. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

• Simpfendorfer, C.A. and Kyne, P.M. (2009). Limited potential to recover from overfishing raises concerns for deep-sea sharks, rays and chimaeras. Environmental Conservation, 36: pp.97-103.

• Didier, D.A., Kemper, J.M., and Ebert. D.A. (2012). Phylogeny, Biology, and Classification of Extant Holocephalans. In: Carrier, J.C., Musick, J.A., Heithaus, M.R. (Eds). Biology of Sharks and their Relatives, Edition 2. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida: pp. 97–124.

Why are you involved with OCS?: OCS has always been a great introduction to the chondrichthyan community regionally and globally, particularly when you’re stuck in a more isolated part of the world. I’m excited to help the society continue to grow and look forward to connecting more shark-loving researchers across Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

 

 

Asia Armstrong

 

Position: Treasurer
Occupation: PhD candidate/Research Assistant

Institution/Organisation Affiliation: Project Manta, The University of Queensland
Research Interests: Conservation biology, habitat use, animal behaviour, feeding ecology

Highest impact/most proud of paper from your research:

• Armstrong, A. O., et al. (2016). "Prey Density Threshold and Tidal Influence on Reef Manta Ray Foraging at an Aggregation Site on the Great Barrier Reef." PLoS ONE 11(5): e0153393.

Most influential chondrichthyan publication(s) to your research:

• Marshall, A. D., et al. (2009). "Redescription of the genus Manta with resurrection of Manta alfredi (Krefft, 1868) (Chondrichthyes; Myliobatoidei; Mobulidae)." Zootaxa 2301: 1-28.

Why are you involved with OCS?: I wanted to join the OCS council to expand my research network within the chondrichthyan community, and be part of this society that fosters collaboration and promotes sharing of research ideas, methods and discoveries.

 

 

Samantha Sherman

 

Position: Secretary

Occupation: PhD Candidate and Research Worker

Institution/Organisation Affiliation: James Cook University, Australian Institute of Marine Science

Research Interests: fishery management, bycatch, batoids, distribution patterns, movement,  baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS), ecology, Southeast Asia

Highest impact/most proud of paper from your research:

• Sherman, C. S., Chin, A., Heupel, M. R., & Simpfendorfer, C. A. (2018). Are we underestimating elasmobranch abundances on baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS) using traditional metrics? Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, 503, 80-85. doi:

Most influential chondrichthyan publication(s) to your research:

• Espinoza, M., Cappo, M., Heupel, M. R., Tobin, A. J., & Simpfendorfer, C. A. (2014). Quantifying shark distribution patterns and species-habitat associations: implications of marine park zoning. PLoS ONE, 9(9), e106885. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0106885

• Dulvy, N. K., Fowler, S. L., Musick, J. A., Cavanagh, R. D., Kyne, P. M., Harrison, L. R., . . . White, W. T. (2014). Extinction risk and conservation of the world’s sharks and rays. eLife, 3.

Why are you involved with OCS?: OCS was the first conference I went to during my Masters and I met a great group of impressive and welcoming people. Being involved in OCS I am looking forward to being part of a community of shark scientists that I can learn from and collaborate with.

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