Dr. Simon J Pierce | |
---|---|
Nationality | New Zealand |
Occupation | Marine Biologist |
Employer | Marine Megafauna Foundation |
Known for | Research and Protection of Whale Sharks, Manta Rays and other large marine animals |
Alma mater | School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Marine Biology, Marine Conservation, Photography |
Institutions | Marine Megafauna Foundation |
Thesis | Biology, demography and conservation of rays in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia (2009) |
Doctoral advisor | Michael B. Bennett |
Website | https://www.simonjpierce.com/ |
Simon J Pierce is a marine biologist and conservationist known for discovering, studying, and protecting large marine animals such as whale sharks and manta rays. He is the co-founder and principal scientist of the Marine Megafauna Foundation. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Pierce has developed several non-invasive research techniques [5] for endangered species, [5] [6] [7] [8] such as developing photo-identification with computer image analysis and artificial intelligence [9] to track populations of whale sharks and other species of marine animal. [10]
These techniques have been incorporated into Citizen Science [11] projects, including Sharkbook, [12] the global shark monitoring database, as well as other MMF projects such as Manta Matcher.
He led the conservation assessment on whale sharks for the IUCN Red List in 2016, [13] which resulted in the whale shark’s global protection through an Appendix I listing on the UN Convention on Migratory Species in 2017 and then led the first IUCN Green Status conservation assessment on whale sharks in 2021. [14]
Pierce is a wildlife photographer. [15] [16]
Dr. Simon J Pierce | |
---|---|
Nationality | New Zealand |
Occupation | Marine Biologist |
Employer | Marine Megafauna Foundation |
Known for | Research and Protection of Whale Sharks, Manta Rays and other large marine animals |
Alma mater | School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Marine Biology, Marine Conservation, Photography |
Institutions | Marine Megafauna Foundation |
Thesis | Biology, demography and conservation of rays in Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia (2009) |
Doctoral advisor | Michael B. Bennett |
Website | https://www.simonjpierce.com/ |
Simon J Pierce is a marine biologist and conservationist known for discovering, studying, and protecting large marine animals such as whale sharks and manta rays. He is the co-founder and principal scientist of the Marine Megafauna Foundation. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Pierce has developed several non-invasive research techniques [5] for endangered species, [5] [6] [7] [8] such as developing photo-identification with computer image analysis and artificial intelligence [9] to track populations of whale sharks and other species of marine animal. [10]
These techniques have been incorporated into Citizen Science [11] projects, including Sharkbook, [12] the global shark monitoring database, as well as other MMF projects such as Manta Matcher.
He led the conservation assessment on whale sharks for the IUCN Red List in 2016, [13] which resulted in the whale shark’s global protection through an Appendix I listing on the UN Convention on Migratory Species in 2017 and then led the first IUCN Green Status conservation assessment on whale sharks in 2021. [14]
Pierce is a wildlife photographer. [15] [16]