Dr Alec Moore
T&R Lecturer in Marine Top Predator Conservation
Overview
I gained my undergraduate degree in Marine Sciences in 1995 (Southampton) and an MSc in Ecosystems Analysis and Governance at Warwick (1999). I then worked in applied marine biology globally for the next ~20 years, undertaking work such as marine ecological surveys, fisheries observing, and Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA) of marine developments. This included a spell in Kuwait (2001-2003) where I set up and ran marine surveys associated with Gulf War oil spills. While working I undertook a PhD by Published Works through Bangor’s School of Ocean Sciences (SOS) on the taxonomy, diversity and fisheries of the elasmobranchs (sharks and rays) of the Persian/Arabian Gulf, based on fieldwork with artisanal fisheries in Kuwait, Qatar, UAE and Bahrain. I changed career paths and made the jump to academia and SOS in 2019, working as a postdoc on the Sustainable Fisheries Wales project. I took up my lecturer role in 2024.
I am a marine ecologist whose research aims to inform the sustainable management and conservation of marine biota, particularly sharks and rays. Geographic focus spans local waters of Wales and the Irish Sea to data-poor regions (Arabia, Africa), with a focus on highly threatened and poorly-known species. My research has included rediscovery of a 'lost' shark, discovery of two stingray species, documenting regional sawfish extinction, and identifying bull shark nursery grounds. As part of the IUCN Shark Specialist Group I have contributed to Red List Assessments, global conservation initiatives and the development of Important Shark Areas. In addition to fieldwork I typically use inexpensive, alternative and opportunistic sources of data (fish markets, fishers ecological knowledge, museums, historical documents, angling records, online). I am increasingly involved in marine historical ecology, using a range of documentary sources to understand past baselines, long-term change, and to directly inform modern-day management of species.
Additional Contact Information
E-mail: a.moore@bangor.ac.uk
Room 116, 1st floor, Marine Centre Wales, Menai Bridge
Qualifications
- Professional: Associate Fellow
Higher Education Academy, 2024 - PhD: Elasmobranchs of the Persian (Arabian) Gulf: diversity, taxonomy & fisheries
- BSc: Marine Sciences
University of Southampton, - MSc: Ecosystems Analysis & Governance
University of Warwick,
Teaching and Supervision
I teach on the following modules:
OSX-3023 Sharks and their relatives
OSX-4024 Marine top predator 1
OSX-1004 Diversity of marine life (elasmobranchs)
OSX-3023 Marine mammal science
Publications
2024
- E-pub ahead of printCentury-scale loss and change in the fishes and fisheries of a temperate marine ecosystem revealed by qualitative historical sources
Moore, A., Brander, K., Evans, S., Holm, P. & Hiddink, J. G., 20 Jul 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Fish and Fisheries.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedPredicting potential spawning areas of European bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, in the Irish and Celtic Seas
Lincoln, H., Robins, P., Wilmes, S.-B., Pérez-Mayol, S., Moore, A., Simpson, S., Goward Brown, A., Heney, C., Malham, S., Morales-Nin, B., Hold, N. & McCarthy, I., 1 Feb 2024, In: Fisheries Research. 270, 106884.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedRecords reveal the vast historical extent of European oyster reef ecosystems
Thurstan, R., McCormick, H., Preston, J., Ashton, E. C., Bennema, F. P., Cetinic, A. B., Brown, J. H., Cameron, T. C., da Costa, F., Donnan, D. W., Ewers, C., Fortibuoni, T., Galimany, E., Giovanardi, O., Grancher, R., Grech, D., Hayden-Hughes, M., Helmer, L., Jensen, K. T., Juanes, J. A., Latchford, J., Moore, A., Moutopoulos, D. K., Nielson, P., Nordheim, H. V., Ondiviela, B., Peter, C., Pogoda, B., Poulsen, B., Pouvreau, S., Roberts, C., Scherer, C., Smaal, A. C., Smyth, D., Strand, A., Theodorou, J. A. & zu Ermgassen, P. S. E., 1 Dec 2024, In: Nature Sustainability . 7, 12, p. 1719-1729 11 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedUsing opportunistic data to study the distribution and abundance of a warm water elasmobranch at the northern edge of its range
Hiddink, J. G., Charles, R. & Moore, A., Jan 2024, In: ICES Journal of Marine Science. 81, 1, p. 108-118
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2023
- PublishedA ray of hope? The re-appearance of Irish Sea skate decades after local extinction
Moore, A., Jun 2023, In: Journal of Fish Biology. 102, 6, p. 1503-1505 3 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedBycatch in northeast Atlantic lobster and crab pot fisheries (Irish Sea, Celtic Sea and Bristol Channel)
Moore, A., Heney, C., Lincoln, H., Colvin, C., Newell, H., Turner, B., McCarthy, I. & Hold, N., 1 Sept 2023, In: Fisheries Research. 265, 106745.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedInternet trade of a previously unknown wildlife product from a critically endangered marine fish
Pytka, J., Moore, A. & Heenan, A., Mar 2023, In: Conservation Science and Practice. 5, 3, e12896.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2022
- PublishedDetection and quantification of differences in catch rates among research vessel gears and commercial vessels
Delargy, A., Hold, N., Heney, C., Cann, R., Bhandari, K., Colvin, C., Moore, A., Lincoln, H., Hiddink, J. G. & McCarthy, I., 1 Oct 2022, In: Fisheries Research. 254, 106371, 106371.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedIdentifying critical habitat with archives: 275-year-old naturalist's notes provide high-resolution spatial evidence of long-term core habitat for a critically endangered shark
Moore, A. & Hiddink, J. G., 1 Aug 2022, In: Biological Conservation. 272, 109621.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedImportant Shark Areas: rationale and need
Moore, A. & Fowler, S., 1 Apr 2022, In: Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 32, 4, p. 710-711 2 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Comment/debate › peer-review - PublishedSpatial and Temporal variation of size at maturity in an intensive crustacean fishery with limited management
Moore, A., Delargy, A., Cann, R., Heney, C., Le Vay, L., Lincoln, H., McCarthy, I. & Hold, N., 1 Nov 2022, In: Fisheries Research. 255, November 2022, 106450.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2020
- PublishedHemitrygon yemenensis sp. nov., a new species of stingray (Myliobatoidea: Dasyatidae) from the northwestern Indian Ocean
Moore, A., Last, P. & Naylor, G., 23 Jul 2020, In: Zootaxa. 4819, 2, p. 364-374
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedUsing vertebrate environmental DNA from seawater in biomonitoring of marine habitats
Sigsgaard, E. E., Torquato, F., Froslev, T., Moore, A., Sorensen, J., Range, P., Ben-Hamadou, R., Bach, S., Moller, P. R. & Thomsen, P., Jun 2020, In: Conservation Biology. 34, 3, p. 697-710 14 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2019
- PublishedAn analysis of the response to the Storm Emma-Holyhead Marina incident in March 2018: The release of marine litter after the storm and the resulting increased risk of spread of the colonial sea-squirt, Didemnum vexillum
Whitehead, J., Wyn, G., Griffith, K. & Moore, A., 2019, Natural Resources Wales. (NRW Evidence Report; no. 366)
Research output: Book/Report › Commissioned report - PublishedRisks to biodiversity and coastal livelihoods from artisanal elasmobranch fisheries in a Least Developed Country: The Gambia (West Africa)
Moore, A. B. M., Seret, B. & Armstrong, R., May 2019, In: Biodiversity and Conservation. 28, 6, p. 1431–1450
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedShark and ray conservation research: Absent where the need is greatest
Moore, A. B. M. & Grubbs, R. D., Nov 2019, In: Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 29, 11, p. 2017-2017
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2018
- PublishedIdentification of critical habitat in a data-poor area for an Endangered aquatic apex predator.
Moore, A., Apr 2018, In: Biological Conservation. 220, p. 161-169
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedTroubled waters: Threats and extinction risk of the sharks, rays and chimaeras of the Arabian Sea and adjacent waters
Jabado, R. W., Kyne, P. M., Pollom, R. A., Ebert, D. A., Simpfendorfer, C. A., Ralph, G. M., Al Dhaheri , S. S., Akhilesh, K. V., Ali, K., Ali, M. H., Al Mamari , T. M. S., Bineesh, K. K., El Hassan , I. S., Fernando, D., Grandcourt, E. M., Khan, M. M., Moore, A. B. M., Owfi, F., Robinson, D. P., Romanov, E., Soares, A., Spaet, J. L. Y., Tesfamichael, D., Valinassab, T. & Dulvy, N. K., 1 Nov 2018, In: Fish and Fisheries. 19, 6, p. 1043-1062
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2017
- PublishedAre guitarfishes the next sawfishes? Extinction risk and an urgent call for conservation action
Moore, A., 21 Jul 2017, In: Endangered Species Research. 34, p. 75-88
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2016
- PublishedBiological data from a Data Deficient shark: the Arabian smoothhound Mustelus mosis (Carcharhinformes: Triakidae)
Moore, A., Henderson, A., Farrell, E. & Weekes, L., 1 Jun 2016, In: Journal of Fish Biology. 88, p. 2303-2307
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedThe distribution, diversity and abundance of elasmobranch fishes in a modified subtropical estuarine system in Kuwait
Bishop, J., Moore, A., Alsaffar, A. & Abdul Ghaffar, A. R., Feb 2016, In: Journal of Applied Ichthyology. 32, 1, p. 75-82
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2015
- PublishedA review of sawfishes (Pristidae) in the Arabian region: diversity, distribution, and functional extinction of large and historically abundant marine vertebrates
Moore, A., Oct 2015, In: Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 28, 5, p. 656-677
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedConcentrations of trace elements in a rare and threatened coastal shark from the Arabian Gulf (smoothtooth blacktip Carcharhinus leiodon)
Moore, A., Bolam, T., Lyons, B. & Ellis, J., 30 Nov 2015, In: Marine Pollution Bulletin. 100, 2, p. 646-650
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedDeep-water observation of scalloped hammerhead Sphyrna lewini in the western Indian Ocean off Tanzania
Moore, A. & Gates, A., 2015, In: Marine Biodiversity Records. 8, e91
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedMorphological abnormalities in elasmobranchs
Moore, A., 2015, In: Journal of Fish Biology. 87, p. 465-471
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedPopulation genetics of four heavily exploited shark species around the Arabian Peninsula
Spaet, J., Jabado, R., Henderson, A., Moore, A. & Berumen, M., Jun 2015, In: Ecology and Evolution. 5, 12, p. 2317–2332
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedSharks and rays of the Arabian/Persian Gulf
Almojil, D. K., Moore, A. & White, W. T., Jan 2015, MBG (INT) Ltd.
Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
2013
- PublishedComposition of elasmobranch landings in Bahrain
Moore, A. & Peirce, R., 19 Dec 2013, In: African Journal of Marine Science. 35, 4, p. 593-596
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedNew biological data on the rare, threatened shark Carcharhinus leiodon (Carcharhinidae) from the Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea
Moore, A., Almojil, D. K., Harris, M., Jabado, R. & White, W., 28 Oct 2013, In: Marine and Freshwater Research. 65, 4, p. 327-332
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedRedescription of Aetobatus flagellum (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), an endangered eagle ray (Myliobatoidea: Myliobatidae) from the Indo–West Pacific
White, W. & Moore, A., 2013, In: Zootaxa. 3752, 1, p. 199-213
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2012
- PublishedElasmobranchs of the Persian (Arabian) Gulf: ecology, human aspects and research priorities for their improved management
Moore, A., Mar 2012, In: Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries. 22, 1, p. 35-61
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedHimantura randalli sp. nov., a new whipray (Myliobatoidea: Dasyatidae) from the Persian Gulf
Last, P., Manjaji-Matsumoto, B. M. & Moore, A., 2012, In: Zootaxa. 3327, p. 20-32
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedSpecies, sex, size and male maturity composition of previously unreported elasmobranch landings in Kuwait, Qatar and Abu Dhabi Emirate
Moore, A. B., McCarthy, I. D., Carvalho, G. R. & Pierce, R., 1 Apr 2012, In: Journal of Fish Biology. 80, 5, p. 1619-1642
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2011
- PublishedRediscovery and redescription of the smoothtooth blacktip shark, Carcharhinus leiodon (Carcharhinidae), from Kuwait, with notes on its possible conservation status
Moore, A. B. M., White, W. T., Ward, R. D., Naylor, G. J. P. & Peirce, R., 24 Jun 2011, In: Marine and Freshwater Research. 62, 6, p. 528-539
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2010
- PublishedAdditions to the shark fauna of the Persian (Arabian) Gulf
Moore, A., White, W. & Peirce, R., 2010, In: Zoology in the Middle East. 50, 1, p. 83-88
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review - PublishedThe smalleye stingray Dasyatis microps (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) in the Gulf
Moore, A., 2010, In: Zoology in the Middle East. 49, p. 101-103
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2007
- PublishedThe Persian/Arabian Gulf’s sole great white shark Carcharodon carcharias (Lamniformes: Lamnidae) record from Kuwait: misidentification of a sandtiger shark Carcharias taurus (Lamniformes: Odontaspididae)
Moore, A. B. M., Compagno, L. J. V. & Fergusson, I. K., 2007, In: Zootaxa. 1591, p. 67-68
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2001
- PublishedMetazoan parasites of the lesser-spotted dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula and their potential as stock discrimination tools
Moore, A., Dec 2001, In: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. 81, 6, p. 1009-1013
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
2000
- PublishedThe first record of the elasmobranch parasite Diphterostomum betencourti (Monticelli, 1893) (Digenea, Zoogonidae) in the coastal waters of southern England
Bray, R. & Moore, A. B. M., 2000, In: Acta Parasitologica. 45, 4, p. 299-302
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Activities
2024
- PhD viva external examiner, Newcastle University
External examiner for Ellen Barrowclift-Mahon thesis "Life history of rays (Batoidea), intrinsic sensitivity to fishing, and implications for conservation and management"
2024
Activity: Examination (Examiner)
2023
- PhD viva external examiner, University of Oxford
External examiner for Alifa Haque thesis "Towards sustainable management of sharks and rays in the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh"
2023
Activity: Examination (Examiner)
2022
- BU-IIA Funded Project: Innovating towards plastic-free fisheries for Wales’ Green Recovery
As part of Wales’ Green Recovery, this project will address the issues of marine plastic litter and ghost fishing by developing sustainable plastic-free lobster fisheries, using natural, traditional, biodegradable materials. It builds new collaborations with technology developers and builds on existing links with the local fishing industry. This project will drive change and provide evidence by understanding barriers to change, exchanging knowledge, identifying opportunities for improvement, and testing efficiency and economic feasibility.
Funding awarded through the Bangor University Innovation and Impact Award (Research Wales Innovation Funding). Value = £49,392
1 Apr 2022 – 31 Mar 2023
Activity: Other (Contributor)
Projects
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FisHistory: Converting historical knowledge into sustainable ocean management
01/11/2024 – 15/11/2026 (Active)
-
History for the future: unlocking archives to solve challenges
01/01/2022 – 01/08/2022 (Finished)
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Pysgodfeydd Coll Cymru // Wales’ Lost Fisheries
01/12/2021 – 31/12/2199 (Active)
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Historical perspectives on Welsh marine fish communities to inform ecosystem restoration targets
01/02/2021 – 01/08/2022 (Finished)