Ross Robertson - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Ross Robertson

Acta Ichthyologica Et Piscatoria, Jun 23, 2023

We documented the nearshore ray-finned fishes in Puerto Morelos Reef National Park (PMRNP) by sam... more We documented the nearshore ray-finned fishes in Puerto Morelos Reef National Park (PMRNP) by sampling 57 localities, including rocky intertidal pools, sandy bottoms, Thalassia beds, coral reefs, artificial reefs, karstic-slab bottoms, demersal-pelagic areas, and sessile-Sargassum patches. We recorded seven species new to Caribbean Mexican waters and one hundred and six species new to the PMRNP, most of which are small cryptobenthic reef fish. The resultant checklist includes 349 species, and specimens of 285 of which (81.7%) have been deposited in an ichthyological museum collection. These include both voucher organisms and with tissue samples for genetic analysis. A comparison with inventories at other localities of the Greater Caribbean indicates that more targeted sampling for cryptobenthic and deep-reef fishes is needed to provide a complete inventory. We also comment on the local use of some species as fishery resources.

Nature Ecology & Evolution

In the version of this article initially published, Diana M. T. Sharpe was thanked for data contr... more In the version of this article initially published, Diana M. T. Sharpe was thanked for data contributions in the Acknowledgements but not included as an author. Sharpe is now included in the author list and the Acknowledgements section adjusted accordingly. The changes have been made to the HTML and PDF versions of the article.

FIGURE 69. Anoplogaster cornuta. Top: entire specimen; Bottom: detail of head; USNM 421537, 105 m... more FIGURE 69. Anoplogaster cornuta. Top: entire specimen; Bottom: detail of head; USNM 421537, 105 mm. SL.

FIGURE 50. Luciobrotula coheni. Top: entire specimen; Bottom: detail of head; USNM 422550, 100 mm... more FIGURE 50. Luciobrotula coheni. Top: entire specimen; Bottom: detail of head; USNM 422550, 100 mm. SL.

FIGURE 36. Scopelengys tristis. Top: entire specimen; Bottom: detail of head; USNM 421425, 115 mm... more FIGURE 36. Scopelengys tristis. Top: entire specimen; Bottom: detail of head; USNM 421425, 115 mm. SL.

Science of The Total Environment, 2021

ARPHA Conference Abstracts, 2021

Shipping corridors can be hotspots for biological invasions as they connect the world’s oceans an... more Shipping corridors can be hotspots for biological invasions as they connect the world’s oceans and dissolve dispersal barriers between these aquatic systems. As a consequence, multiple opportunities for biotic exchange arise and the resulting establishment of non-native species often causes adverse ecological and economic impacts. In this study, a combined effort of traditional gillnetting and eDNA-based surveys was implemented to characterize the fish community of the Panama Canal, which is a key region for biotic exchange as it connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans in Central America. The Canal was recently expanded and new lock systems installed potentially providing novel opportunities for fish to enter the Canal. Using COI metabarcoding, we detected a total of 142 taxa, including thirteen potentially new records for the freshwater part of the Canal. Furthermore, we found evidence for the presence of 16 Atlantic and 10 Pacific non-native marine fish inside different sections ...

Data on marine and brackish-water fishes recorded in the area of the Parque Nacional Sistema Arre... more Data on marine and brackish-water fishes recorded in the area of the Parque Nacional Sistema Arrecifal Veracruzano in the southwest Gulf of Mexico were extracted from online aggregators of georeferenced location records, the recent ichthyological literature reviewed, and collections and observations made to provide a more complete faunal inventory for that park. Those actions added 95 species to a comprehensive inventory published in 2013, and brought the total to 472 species, an increase of 22%. Seventy-four percent of the additions came from online aggregators of georeferenced species records, which clearly demonstrates the value of reviewing and incorporating such data into species inventories. However, different aggregators recorded different sets of species, and some of their data were linked to outdated taxonomy or included identification errors. Hence individual records from multiple aggregators need to be obtained and reviewed for such issues when using such data to compile and revise faunal inventories. Existing lists also need to be carefully reviewed to ensure that errors are not perpetuated during updates.

Molecular ecology, Aug 25, 2016

Mesophotic and deeper reefs of the tropics are poorly known and underexplored ecosystems worldwid... more Mesophotic and deeper reefs of the tropics are poorly known and underexplored ecosystems worldwide. Collectively referred to as the 'twilight zone,' depths below ~30-40 m are home to many species of reef fishes that are absent from shallower depths, including many undescribed and endemic species. We currently lack even a basic understanding of the diversity and evolutionary origins of fishes on tropical mesophotic reefs. Recent submersible collections in the Caribbean have provided new specimens that are enabling phylogenetic reconstructions that incorporate deep-reef representatives of tropical-fish genera. Here, we investigate evolutionary depth transitions in the family Gobiidae (gobies), the most diverse group of tropical marine fishes. Using divergence-time estimation coupled with stochastic character mapping to infer the timing of shallow-to-deep habitat transitions in gobies, we demonstrate at least four transitions from shallow to mesophotic depths. Habitat transitio...

Journal of Biogeography, 2015

AimRafting with natural flotsam is an important mechanism of long‐distance oceanic dispersal for ... more AimRafting with natural flotsam is an important mechanism of long‐distance oceanic dispersal for many near‐shore marine organisms. Identifying the species‐level traits associated with this behaviour would aid in understanding and predicting a species' capacity for dispersal between isolated areas of benthic habitat.LocationThe tropical and subtropical Atlantic.MethodsWe assessed the relationships between species‐level traits (habitat use, position in water column, diet, body size, schooling activity) and rafting behaviour among 985 species of reef fish using generalized linear mixed‐effect modelling. To assess whether the relationships between rafting behaviour and species traits were mediated by raft type, our analysis included interactions between raft type and our predictor variables.ResultsThe following species‐level traits are positively associated with rafting for reef fishes: (1) position in water column above reef substratum, which indicates a species' dependency on ...

ZooKeys, Dec 30, 2020

Sint Eustatius (Statia) is a 21 km 2 island situated in the northeastern Caribbean Sea. The most ... more Sint Eustatius (Statia) is a 21 km 2 island situated in the northeastern Caribbean Sea. The most recent published sources of information on that island's marine fish fauna is in two non-governmental organization reports from 2015-17 related to the formation of a marine reserve. The species-list in the 2017 report was based on field research in 2013-15 using SCUBA diving surveys, shallow "baited underwater video surveys" (BRUVS), and data from fishery surveys and scientific collections over the preceding century. That checklist comprised 304 species of shallow (mostly) and deep-water fishes. In 2017 the Smithsonian Deep Reef Observation Project surveyed deep-reef fishes at Statia using the crewed submersible Curasub. That effort recorded 120 species, including 59 new occurrences records. In March-May 2020, two experienced citizen scientists completed 62 SCUBA dives there and recorded 244 shallow species, 40 of them new records for Statia. The 2017-2020 research effort increased the number of species known from the island by 33.6% to 406. Here we present an updated catalog of that marine fish fauna, including voucher photographs of 280 species recorded there in 2017 and 2020. The Statia reef-fish fauna likely is incompletely documented as it has few small, shallow, cryptobenthic species, which are a major component of the regional fauna. A lack of targeted sampling is probably the major factor explaining that deficit, although a limited range of benthic marine habitats may also be contributing.

Check List

The well-cataloged marine fish fauna of the Galapagos Islands includes eight of the 12 species of... more The well-cataloged marine fish fauna of the Galapagos Islands includes eight of the 12 species of snappers (Lutjanidae) found in the Tropical Eastern Pacific. A recent recreational scuba dive in the Galapagos produced photographs of an additional snapper species, Lutjanus inermis (Peters, 1869), which was sufficiently common as to likely have a recently established resident population.

ZooKeys

Review of the image plates shows that an image of Rypticus subbifrenatus was incorrectly identifi... more Review of the image plates shows that an image of Rypticus subbifrenatus was incorrectly identified as that of its similarly colored congener R. carpenter. Hence the latter was deleted from the St. John-Thomas inventory. In addition, an image of the blenniid fish Hypsoblennius exstochilus was obtained from St. Thomas, and it is now added to that inventory. These two changes did not substantially affect data on the ecological structure of the St. John-Thomas fauna.

Integrating both morphological and genetic data, we describe Squatina mapama... more Integrating both morphological and genetic data, we describe Squatina mapama, a new species of the angel shark genus Squatina, found on the upper continental slope off the Caribbean coast of Panamá. Distinguishing characters of S. mapama include a wider pectoral and pelvic span; a shorter head length; a narrower mouth; short fringed nasal flaps and barbels; a few large denticles on top of the head; a single dorsal midline row of slightly enlarged denticles from the level of the posterior insertion of the pelvic fin to the first dorsal fin and continuing past the first dorsal fin to the second dorsal-fin origin; and the presence of smaller scattered spots in males, which, in combination, allow separation of this new species from the closely related and sympatric species Squatina david. The new species can be distinguished from all other currently recognized Squatina species by mer...

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), Jan 16, 2022

Due to a transcription error in the collection data for the specimens, it is necessary to make th... more Due to a transcription error in the collection data for the specimens, it is necessary to make the following several corrections: p. 116 & p.127, collection data:

Revista de Biología Tropical, 1969

Con el propósito de investigar posibles cambios estacionales en la calidad del agua y en la distr... more Con el propósito de investigar posibles cambios estacionales en la calidad del agua y en la distribución del plancton se realizaron colectas semanales en un área de arrecifes coralinos. En adición, se llevaron a cabo alrededor del sitio de estudio, dos cruceros oceanográficos cubriendo un área geográfica mayor durante condiciones estacionales extremas. La información obtenida corrobora que el área de estudio es un ambiente oligotrófico. Los muestreos de mayor escala geográfica indican la presencia de variación estacional en los gradientes de plancton, huevos y larvas de peces a lo largo de la plataforma continental, lo que posiblemente está relacionado con los fuertes vientos del norte típicos de la estación seca. Aunque un limitado enriquecimiento con nutrientes ocurre en el área cercana a la costa durante la estación lluviosa, la mayor densidad y biomasa del plancton se observó durante la temporada seca. Larvas de numerosas taxa de peces se recolectaron en las áreas cercana a la c...

The Indo-west Pacific damselfish Neopomacentrus cyanomos was first recorded in the West Atlantic ... more The Indo-west Pacific damselfish Neopomacentrus cyanomos was first recorded in the West Atlantic in 2013, when it was found to be common on reefs near Coatzacoalcos, in the extreme southwest corner Gulf of Mexico. During 2014–2015, this species also was found on reefs farther afield in that area, but not in the northwest Gulf, nor the north-eastern tip of the Yucatan peninsula. These data, and information from public databases on invasive reef fishes, indicate that N. cyanomos currently is widely distributed in, but restricted to, the southwest Gulf of Mexico. Mitochondrial DNA barcodes of N. cyanomos from that area match to those for this species from its natural range, but do not indicate the ultimate origin of the Gulf of Mexico fish. Possible modes of introduction to the Gulf of Mexico and the potential for its further spread with negative effects on the native reef-fish fauna are discussed, and directions for future research suggested.

Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 2022