Dr Steve Simpson - Research
Research Directions
(NB: "We" refers to many wonderful collaborators; numbers refer to publications listed at bottom of page)
The effects of climate change on fish and fisheries
- We are developing GAM modelling approaches to predict future abundances of European marine fishes
- We have analysed 30 years of European fisheries data to explore the effects of climate change on marine fish communities (24)
- We have designed new methods to look at the effects of ocean acidification on fish hearing (25)
- We have analysed long-term UK datasets to look for evidence of regime shifts (21)
- We have analysed a long-term survey of coral reef fish recruitment to look at the influence of El Nino events (20)
- We have analysed patterns in long-term plankton datasets to look at the effects of temperature on the timing (phenology) of fish spawning (16)
Sensory and orientation behaviour of marine organisms
- We have worked for several years on the importance of reef noise as a cue for orientation used by larval coral reef fish (4, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 18, 22, 25, 26)
- We have studied the early development of hearing in fish (5, 25, 26)
- We have found that pelagic crustaceans can use reef noise as a habitat cue or as a deterrent (23)
- We have found that coral larvae can detect sound and move towards it (17), and are now using laser vibrometry to study the mechanisms
- We are studying the nature of marine soundscapes and reef noise (currently in Oman and French Polynesia, and 13, 19, 22, 26)
- We are currently exploring the effects of anthropogenic noise on marine organisms (in the Bristol Bioacoustics and Behavioural Ecology Group, in French Polynesia, and in 13)
- We have used random walk models to study orientation and group behaviour (PhD student at University of Essex, and in 3, 8)
- We are also studying in the use of other sensory cues (26)
Dispersal, connectivity and biogeography
- We are developing global models of coral connectivity in present and future climates (PhD student in Bristol)
- We are using genetics to study the structure of populations of the Omani Clownfish (Project NEMO)
- We are studying the biogeography of coral reef fishes to test ideas about speciation
- We have used individual-based models to simulate the evolution of dispersal (9)
Management
- We have improved methods for releasing fish for re-stocking (14, 15)
- We have developed methods for developing countries to monitor recruitment (2)
- We have developed methods for using photography for ecological monitoring (1)
Collaborators
Dr Andy Radford, Dr Martin Genner, Dr Marc Holderied, Prof Daniel Robert, Prof Andy Ridgwell, Dr Erica Hendy, University of Bristol, UK
Dr Simon Jennings, Cefas / University of East Anglia, UK
Prof Mark Johnson, National University of Ireland, Galway
Prof David Sims, Marine Biological Association, UK
Dr Julia Blanchard, University of Sheffield, UK
Dr Mark Meekan, Australian Institute of Marine Science
Prof Phil Munday, James Cook University
Dr Monica Gagliano, University of Western Australia
Dr Hong Yan, Academia Sinica, Taiwan
Matt Wittenrich, Florida Institute of Technology, USA
Dr Serge Planes, Université de Perpignan, France
Dr Claire Paris, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science
Dr Jen McIlwain & Dr Andrew Halford, University of Guam
Dr Michel Claereboudt, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman
Dr Ivan Nagelkerken, Chantal Huijbers, Dr Mark Vermeij, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Prof John Montgomery, Dr Andrew Jeffs & Dr Craig Radford, University of Auckland, New Zealand
Dr Edd Codling & Dr David Smith, University of Essex, UK
Dr Calvin Dytham, University of York, UK
Dr David Lecchini, Dr Alain Lo-Yat, Dr Eric Parmentier, Prof Rene Galzin, CRIOBE, Moorea, French Polynesia
Journal Articles
26. Huijbers CM, Nagelkerken I, Lössbroek PAC, Schulten IE, Siegenthaler A, Holderied MW, Simpson SD. 2011. A test of the senses: fish select novel habitats by responding to multiple cues. Ecology
25. Simpson SD, Munday PL, Wittenrich ML, Manassa R, Dixson DL, Gagliano M, Yan HY. 2011. Ocean acidification erodes crucial auditory behaviour. Biology Letters 7:917-920
24. Simpson SD, Jennings S, Johnson MP, Blanchard JL, Schön P-J, Sims DW, Genner MJ. 2011. Continental shelf-wide response of a fish assemblage to rapid warming of the sea. Current Biology 21:1565-1570
24a. Edwards M (2011) Biodiversity and ecosystems: change at the community level.
Nature Climate Change 1:398-399
24b. Harbourne AR, Mumby PJ (2011) Novel ecosystems: altering fish assemblages in
warming waters. Current Biology 21:R822-R824
23. Simpson SD, Radford AN, Tickle EJ, Meekan MG, Jeffs AG. Adaptive avoidance of reef noise. PLoS ONE 6(2): e16625
22. Radford CA, Simpson SD, Jeffs AG. 2011. Juvenile coral reef fishes use sound to locate habitats. Coral Reefs 30:295-305
21. (Simpson: joint first author *) Spencer M*, Birchenough SNR*, Mieszkowska N*, Robinson LZ*, Simpson SD*, Burrows MT, Capasso E, Cleall-Harding P, Crummy J, Duck C, Eloire D, Frost M, Hall AJ, Hawkins SJ, Johns DG, Sims DW, Smyth TJ, and Frid CLJ* (2011) Temporal change in UK marine communities: trends or regime shifts? Marine Ecology 32(S1):1-15 (* joint first author)
20. (Simpson: joint first author *) Lo-Yat A*, Simpson SD*, Meekan MG*, Lecchini D, Martinez E, Galzin R (2011) Climatic cycles as drivers of ocean productivity and larval supply in a tropical reef ecosystem. Global Change Biology 17:1695-1702 (*joint first author)
19. Kennedy EV, Guzman HM, Holderied MW, Mair JM, Simpson SD (2010) Spatial patterns in reef-generated noise relate to habitats and communities: Evidence from a Panamanian case study. Journal or Marine Biology and Ecology 395:85-92
18. Simpson SD, Meekan MG, Larsen NJ, McCauley RD, Jeffs A (2010) Behavioural plasticity in larval reef fish: orientation is influenced by recent acoustic experiences. Behavioral Ecology 21:1098-1105
17. Vermeij MJA, Marhaver KL, Huijbers CM, Nagelkerken I, Simpson SD (2010) Coral larvae move toward reef sounds. PLoS ONE 5(5): e10660
16. Genner MJ, Halliday NC, Simpson SD, Southward AJ, Hawkins SJ, Sims DW (2010) Temperature-driven phenological changes within a marine larval fish assemblage. Journal of Plankton Research 32:699-708
15. Heenan A, Simpson SD, Braithwaite V (2009) Testing the generality of acoustic cue use at settlement in larval coral reef fish. Proceedings of the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium (pp. 554-558)
14. Heenan A, Simpson SD, Meekan MG, Healy S, Braithwaite VA (2009) Restoring depleted coral reef fish populations through recruitment enhancement: a proof of concept. Journal of Fish Biology 75:1857-1867
13. Simpson SD (2008) The sounds of the reef: can we learn to listen before it is too late? Bioacoustics 17:28-29
12. Simpson SD, Jeffs A, Montgomery JC, McCauley RD, Meekan MG (2008) Settlement-stage coral reef fishes prefer the higher frequency audible component of reef noise. Animal Behaviour 75:1861-1868
11. Simpson SD, Meekan MG, Jeffs A, Montgomery JC, McCauley RD (2008) Nocturnal relocation of adult and juvenile coral reef fishes in response to reef noise. Coral Reefs 27:97-104
10. Gagliano M, Depczynski M, Simpson SD, Moore J (2008) Dispersal without errors: symmetrical ears tune into the right frequency for survival, Proc Roy Soc B 275, 527–534
9. Dytham C, Simpson SD (2007) Evolutionary models of active movement by larval coral reef fishes in response to mortality rates on the reef. Marine Ecology Progress Series 346:255-264
8. Codling EA, Pitchford JW, Simpson SD (2007) Group navigation and the ‘many wrongs principle’ in models of animal movement. Ecology 88:1864-1870
7. Montgomery JC, Jeffs A, Simpson SD, Meekan MG, Tindle C (2006) Sound as an orientation clue for the pelagic larvae of reef fish and crustaceans. Advances in Marine Biology, 51:143-196
6. Simpson SD, Meekan MG, Montgomery JC, McCauley RD, Jeffs A (2005) Homeward Sound. Science 308:221
5. Simpson SD, Yan HY, Wittenrich ML, Meekan MG (2005) Response of embryonic coral reef fishes (Pomacentridae: Amphiprion) to noise during development. Marine Ecology Progress Series 287:201-208
4. Simpson SD, Meekan MG, McCauley RD, Jeffs A (2004) Attraction of settlement-stage coral reefs fishes to ambient reef noise. Marine Ecology Progress Series 276:263-268
3. Codling EA, Hill NA, Pitchford JW, Simpson SD (2004) Random walk models for the movement and recruitment of reef fish larvae. Marine Ecology Progress Series 279:215-224
2. Watson M, Power R, Simpson SD, Munro JL (2002) Low cost light traps for coral reef fishery research and sustainable ornamental fisheries. Naga, the ICLARM Quarterly 25:4-7
1. Ducrotoy, J-PA, Simpson SD (2001) Developments in the application of photography to ecological monitoring, with reference to algal beds. Aquatic Conservation 11:125-135