Richard Smith
Position: PhD candidate (commenced 2007)
Education:
Research Interests: Pygmy seahorses, behaviour, population structure
- PhD Project: "Reproductive Behaviour and Population Structure of the Pygmy Seahorses Hippocampus bargibanti and H. denise "
This study aims to elucidate the social and reproductive behaviours, population structure and spatial partitioning of the recently described pygmy seahorse Hippocampus denise (Lourie & Randall, 2003), the world's second smallest fish, as well as estimate the population size and structure of the closely related pygmy seahorse H. bargibanti (Whitely 1970). In addition, a novel species of pygmy seahorse will be described and pygmy seahorse related ecotourism investigated including economic value and impact on the species' persistence.
Publications:
Smith, RE and Tibbetts IR (2008) Mating and birth of Denise's pygmy seahorses ( Hippocampus denise ) observed in the wild. Coral Reefs. 27(3): 617.
Contact Details: richard9@oceanrealmimages.com .