Professor Garry Russ

Contact Details

Campus:	Townsville
Phone:	+61 7 4781 4432
Fax:	+61 7 4725 1570
Email:	garry.russ@jcu.edu.au

Research Interests

• Fisheries on Coral Reefs

On the Great Barrier Reef, Australia my research interests involve studies of the biology and fisheries of species of reef fish of commercial and recreational fishing significance (mostly serranids, lutjanids and lethriids). Specific areas of research include age and growth, reproduction, mortality, movements, mark-release-recapture, use of fish traps as sampling devices, catch per unit effort and stock assessment. A major area of research now and in the future, is studies of age structures of reef fish of commercial/recreational significance on coral reefs opened and closed to fishing.

In south-east Asia, I am undertaking long-term (15 year) monitoring of reef fish populations inside and outside marine reserves. Work in the Philippines has been related to the use of marine reserves in reef fisheries management.

Recent and Currently Supervised Projects

• Age determination, age structure, growth, mortality and reproduction of reef fishes of commercial and recreational fishing interest on the Great Barrier Reef.

• Use of fish traps as sampling devices for coral reef fishes.

• Use of conventional tags and ultrasonic telemetry to determine movement patterns of reef fishes within and between coral reefs, with particular emphasis on spawning migrations and movements across fished/unfished boundaries.

Future PhD Directions

• Reefal scale manipulations of fishing pressure and use of age structures as indicators of effects of fishing on reef fish.

• Computer modeling of reef fisheries at both the level of populations and communities.

• Use of marine reserves in fisheries management.

• Empirical and modelling studies of larvae dispersal with respect to marine reserves.

Teaching

MB3150/MB5003 Fisheries Science

MB5310 Fisheries Biology, Assessment and Management (Odd years)

Selected Publications

Chidlow, JA., Simpfendorfer, CA. & Russ, GR. (2007) Variable growth band deposition leads to age and growth uncertainty in the western wobbegong shark, Orectolobus hutchinsi.Marine and Freshwater Research. 58: 856 - 865

Abesamis, RA., Alcala, AC. & Russ, GR. (2006) How much does the fishery at Apo Island benefit from spillover of adult fish from the adjacent marine reserve? Fishery Bulletin. 104: 360 - 375

Abesamis, RA., Russ, GR. & Alcala, AC. (2006) Gradients of abundance of fish across no-take marine reserve boundaries: evidence from Philippine coral reefs. Aquatic Conservation-Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 16: 349 - 371

Alcala, AC. & Russ, GR. (2006) No-take Marine Reserves and Reef Fisheries Management in the Philippines: A New People Power Revolution. Ambio. 35 (5): 245 - 254

Alcala, AC., Russ, GR. & Nillos, P. (2006) Collaborative and community-based conservation of coral reefs, with reference to marine reserves in the Philippines. In: Coral Reef Conservation (eds IM Cote & JD Reynolds), 392 - 418. Cambridge University Press, USA

Russ, G.R. and Alcala A.C. (2004). Marine reserves: long-term protection is required for full recovery of predatory fish populations. Oecologia 138: 622-627

Russ G.R. and Alcala A. C. (2004) Marine reserve benefits local fisheries. Ecological Applications 14:597-606

Zeller, D.C. and Russ G.R (2004). Are fisheries sustainable? A counterpoint to Steele and Hoagland. Fisheries Research 67:241-245.

Williamson D.H., Russ G.R. and A.M Ayling (2004) No-Take Marine Reserves Increase Abundance and Biomass of Reef Fish on Inshore Fringing Reefs of the Great Barrier Reef. Environmental Conservation 31(2):

Russ, G.R. and Zeller, D.C. (2003). From Mare Liberum to Mare Reservarum . Marine Policy 27: 75-78.

Zeller, D.C. , Stoute, S. L. and G. R. Russ (2003) The movement of reef fishes across marine reserve boundaries: effects of manipulating a density gradient. Marine Ecology Progress Series . 254: 269-280

Graham, N. A. J., Evans, R. D. and G.R. Russ (2003) The effects of marine reserve protection on the trophic relationships of reef fishes on the Great Barrier Reef. Environmental Conservation 30: 200-208

Williams, A.J, Davies C.R., Mapstone, B.P. and Russ, G.R. (2003). Spatial variation in demographic parameters of red-throat emperor, Lethrinus miniatus (Bloch and Schneider) among regions of the Great Barrier Reef. Fish. Bull. 101:673-683.

Russ G.R. and Alcala A. C. (2003) Marine reserves: rates and patterns of recovery and decline of predatory fish, 1983-2000. Ecological Applications 13: 1553-1565.

Russ, G.R., A.C. Alcala and A.P. Maypa. (2003). Spillover from marine reserves: The case of Naso vlamingii at Apo Island, Philippines. Marine Ecology Progress Series 264: 15-20.