Project Scientist
Biotelemetry Laboratory
Dept. of Wildlife, Fish, & Conservation Biology
University of California, Davis
arhearn@ucdavis.edu
Alex Hearn worked as Coordinator of Fisheries Research at the Charles Darwin Foundation in the Galapagos Islands from 2002-8. He studied Marine Biology at Southampton University and carried out his PhD research in the Orkney Islands. He is currently doing postdoctoral research on sharks and sturgeon at the Biotelemetry Laboratory at the University of California, Davis.
Degrees
2001: International Centre for Island Technology (ICIT), Heriot-Watt University, UK. – Ph.D. Marine Biology
1997: ICIT, Heriot-Watt University, UK.. – M.Sc. Marine Resource Development and Protection
1995: Southampton University, UK. – B.Sc. Hons. Oceanography with Marine Biology
Research Interests
Marine Reserve ecology and management with relation to fisheries; movements and connectivity of large pelagics (hammerhead, Galapagos and whale sharks) in the Eastern Tropical Pacific; the importance of seamounts and oceanic islets as biological hotspots; green sturgeon movements; tracking and telemetry.
Publications
Hearn A, Ketchum J, Klimley AP, Espinoza E & C Peñaherrera (2010). Hotspots within hotspots? Hammerhead shark movements around Wolf Island, Galapagos Marine Reserve. Marine Biology DOI 10.1007/s00227-010-1460-2
Nance H & A Hearn (2008) Current research aimed at protecting the globally endangered scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini, in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Endangered Species Update 2008 25 (1): 9-11 (published in 2010)
Hearn A (2008) The rocky path to sustainable fisheries and conservation in the Galapágos Marine Reserve. Ocean & Coastal Management 51: 567-574
Hearn A & JC Murillo (2008) Life history of the red spiny lobster Panulirus penicillatus (Olivier, 1791) (Decapoda: Palinuridae) in the Galapagos Marine Reserve, Ecuador. Pacific Science 62 (2): 191–204
Hearn A & MV Toral-Granda (2007) Reproductive biology of the red spiny lobster Panulirus penicillatus and the slipper lobster Scyllarides astori in the Galápagos Islands. Crustaceana 80 (3): 297–312
Hearn A (2006) Life history of the slipper lobster Scyllarides astori Holthuis 1960, in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 328 (1): 87-97
Hearn A & F Pinillos (2006) Baseline information on the warty sea cucumber Stichopus horrens in Santa Cruz, Galápagos, prior to the commencement of an illegal fishery. Beche-de-Mer Bulletin 24: 3–10
Hearn A, P Martínez, MV Toral-Granda, J Murillo, & J Polovina (2005) Population dynamics of the exploited sea cucumber Isotichopus fuscus in the Western Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. Fisheries Oceanography 14 (5): 377-385
Hearn A (2004) Reproductive biology of the velvet swimming crab Necora puber (L.) in the Orkney islands UK. Sarsia: North Atlantic Marine Science, 89 (5): 318–325
Books & Selected Reports
Hearn A, J Ketchum & AP Klimley (2009) Vulnerability of top predators to climate change and adaptation options for their coastal and pelagic ecosystems: sharks case study. In: Hoffman J et al. (eds.) Cetaceans and Other Marine Biodiversity of the Eastern Tropical Pacific: Options for Adapting to Climate Change. Report from a workshop held February 9-11, 2009. MINAET/WWF/EcoAdapt/CI/IFAW/TNC/WDCS/IAI/ PROMAR, San Jose, Costa Rica
Hearn A (2009) Shark Migrations – Discovering the Golden Triangle. In: T. De Roy (ed.) Galapagos – Preserving Darwin’s Legacy. Bateman Press Pp 90-97.
Hearn A (2009) Shark movement patterns. In: P Oxford & G Watkins. Galapagos, both sides of the coin. Pp 46-47
Hearn A, Ketchum J, Shillinger G, Klimley & E Espinoza (2008). Shark Research & Conservation in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Annual Report 2006-7. Fundación Charles Darwin, Santa Cruz, Galapagos, Ecuador 114 pp (In Spanish).
Zárate P & A Hearn (2008) Conservation Status of Sharks in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia and Ecuador. Consultancy by the Charles Darwin Foundation for IUCN. Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador, 33p (In Spanish).
Hearn A, MV Toral-Granda, C Martinez & GK Reck (2007) Biology and fishery of the Galápagos slipper lobster. In: E Spanier & K Lavalli (eds.) The biology and fisheries of the slipper lobster. Crustacean Issues, vol 17. pp 287–308
Hearn A, Murillo JC, Nicolaides F, Moreno J & H Reyes (2006). Stock evaluation of the lobster fishery (Panulirus penicillatus & P. gracilis) in the Galapagos Marine Reserve 2005. In: (A Hearn, ed.) Evaluación de las pesquerías en la Reserva Marina de Galapagos, Informe Compendio 2005. Fundación Charles Darwin, Santa Cruz, Galapagos, Ecuador. pp 46–116 (In Spanish)
Hearn A (2004) Lobster mark-recapture studies in the Galapagos Marine Reserve 2002–2004. Final Report. Fundación Charles Darwin. 102 pp (In Spanish).
Presentations
May 2010 (Bodega Bay, CA, USA) Chapman ED, AR Hearn, AP Klimley, PE LaCivita, WN Brostoff & AM Bremner. The movements of late-fall Chinook and steelhead smolts relative to dredge removal and disposal sites in San Francisco Bay. LTMS Science Symposium
July 2009 (Portland, OR, USA) A Hearn, J Ketchum, P Klimley, G Soler, S Bessudo, R Arauz, C Peñaherrera. Interisland Movement of Hammerhead sharks in the Galapagos Marine Reserve and Eastern Tropical Pacific. Oral Presentation, American Elasmobranch Society Symposium
July 2009 (Portland, OR, USA) A Hearn, J Ketchum, P Klimley, E Espinoza Hotspots within hotspots? Hammerhead shark movement around Wolf Island, Galapagos. Oral Presentation, American Elasmobranch Society Symposium
July 2009 (Galapagos Islands, Ecuador) J Ketchum, A Hearn, G Shillinger, P Klimley, E Espinoza, C Peñaherrera. Shark movements and the design of protected pelagic environments within and beyond the Galapagos Marine Reserve. Galapagos International Science Symposium
October 2007 (Barriloche, Argentina) Hearn A, Altamirano M, Toral V & F Nicolaides (2007) Crónica de una muerta anunciada: la pesca de pepino de mar en la Reserva Marina de Galápagos. Latin American Marine Protected Areas Conference, Barriloche, Argentina.
February 2007 (San Francisco, CA, USA) Klimley P, Arauz R, Bessudo S, Hearn A, Henderson S, Guzman H, Ketchum J, Soler G & G Shillinger. Movements of sharks at seamounts and island, biotic “hot spots”, relative to marine protected areas in the eastern Pacific Ocean Corridor. AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science)
October 2005 (Geelong, Australia) The rocky path to sustainability in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. IMPAC-1 conference on Marine Protected Areas.
Posters
July 2009 (Portland, OR, USA). J Ketchum, G Shillinger, A Hearn, P Klimley, E Espinoza. Movements and Migratory patterns of sharks in the Galapagos Marine Reserve and Eastern Tropical Pacific. Poster Presentation, American Elasmobranch Society Symposium
July 2009 (Galapagos Islands, Ecuador) A Hearn, J Ketchum, P Klimley, E Espinoza. Hotspots within hotspots? Hammerhead shark movement around Wolf island, Galapagos, Poster Session. Galapagos International Science Symposium.
April 2009 (Santa Rosa, CA, USA) A Hearn, J Ketchum, P Klimley, E Espinoza. Hotspots within hotspots? Hammerhead shark movement around Wolf island, Galapagos, Poster Session at CAL-NEVA AFS Symposium.
