Dr Robert Bullock
Adjunct Research Fellow
BSc in Marine and Freshwater Biology | University of Hull (UK)
PhD in Marine Biology | University of Hull (UK)
Favourite papers?
Guttridge, T.L., Gruber, S.H., Franks, B.R., Kessel, S.T., Gledhill, K.S., Uphill, J., Krause, J. & Sims, D.W. (2012). Deep danger: intra-specific predation risk influences habitat use and aggregation formation of juvenile lemon sharks Negaption brevirostris. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 445, 279-291.
Heupel, M.R., Carlson, J.K., & Simpfendorfer, C.A. (2007). Shark nursery areas: concepts, definition, characterization and assumptions. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 337, 287-297.
Lea, J.S.E., Humphries, N.E., von Brandis, R.G., Clarke, C.R., & Sims, D.W. (2016). Acoustic telemetry and network analysis reveal the space use of multiple reef predators and enhance marine protected area design. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1834), 201960717
Rodriguez, J.P., Brotons, L., Bustamante, J., & Seoane, J. (2007). Application of predictive modelling of species distribution to biodiversity conservation. Diversity and Distributions, 243-251.
Whitney, N.M., Lear, K.O., Gleiss, A.C., Payne, N., & White, C.F. (2018). Advances in the application of high-resolution biologgers to elasmobranch fishes. Shark research: Emerging technology and applications for the field and laboratory, 45-70.
Rob grew up in the grey and cold northeast of England and determined that he would find a career that would take him to more tropical climes. Fast forward and now Rob works for the Save Our Seas Foundation as the Research Director of its D’Arros Research Centre in the Seychelles. Rob has a background in shark research, having conducted his PhD research at the Bimini Biological Field Station in the Bahamas, where he studied the fine-scale behaviour of young sharks using nursery sites. He then moved on to broaden his skill set as a post-doctoral research associate with the Marine Biodiversity Unit of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), assessing extinction risk to marine species. In his current role, Rob is responsible for designing and implementing novel research programmes focusing on tropical ecosystem dynamics and habitat requirements in marine predators. Rob’s career thus far has taken him to the intersection of scientific research and conservation action and he is driven to deliver science with tangible conservation outcomes.
Rob's current projects include:
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Long-term population monitoring of threatened biodiversity in remote tropical systems
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Quantifying the effects of climate warming on elasmobranch nurseries
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Investigating the varying roles of marine predators on coral reef ecosystem dynamics
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Elucidating pelagic shark distributions using deep-water BRUVs
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Using 3D photogrammetry to track the health of coral reefs through bleaching events
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Monitoring species populations with unmanned aerial vehicles
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Building national capacity for ecological research in small island developing states
Favourite species?
Both of the lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris and Negaprion acutidens)
