Robert J. Latour

Moses D. Nunnally Distinguished Associate Professor of Marine Science

Email: [[latour]]
Phone: (804) 684-7312
Office: Fisheries Science Lab 127
Department: Fisheries Science

Education

• B.A., Mathematics, Western New England College

• M.BMA, Biomathematics, North Carolina State University

• Ph.D., Biomathematics, North Carolina State University

Research Interests

Quantitative fisheries ecology with particular emphasis on predataor-prey interactions and ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management. Population dynamics modeling and stock assessment of exploited marine resources. Theory and application of tagging models.

Current Projects

• Modeling Atlantic menhaden in support of nutrient and multispecies management. Funded by US Environmental Protection Agency, Chesapeake Bay Program.

• Data collection and analysis in support of multispecies stock assessments in the mid-Atlantic: Northeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program Nearshore Trawl Program. Funded by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

• Visual function in Chesapeake Bay sport and prey fishes. Funded by the Recreational Fishing and Advisory Board, Virginia Marine Resources Commission

• Design and implementation of ChesMMAP - Chesapeake Bay Multispecies Monitoring and Assessment Program, funded by the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office and US Fish and Wildlife Service.

• Stock assessment and population monitoring of American shad in Chesapeake Bay, funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service

Selected Publications

 (2003 - present)

• Hoffman, J.C., C.F. Bonzek, and R.J. Latour. In review. Atlantic croaker and white perch bottom trawl efficiency estimates from Chesapeake Bay based on hydroacoustics. Fisheries Research.
• Latour, R.J., J. Gartland, and C.F. Bonzek. In review. The [mis]calculation of fish diet indices and related parameters. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
• Lynch, P.D., M.J. Brush, E.D. Condon, and R.J. Latour. In review. Net removal of nitrogen through ingestion of phytoplankton by Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) in Chesapeake Bay. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
• Garrison, L.P., J.S. Link, D.P. Kilduff, M.D. Cieri, B. Muffley, D. Vaughan, A. Sharov, B. Mahmoudi, and R.J. Latour. In review. An expansion of the MSVPA approach for quantifying predator-prey interactions in exploited fish communities. ICES Journal of Marine Science.
• Gauthier, D.T., R.J. Latour, D.M. Heisey, C.F. Bonzek, J. Gartland, E.J. Burge, W.K. Vogelbein. In press. Mycobacteriosis-associated mortality in wild striped bass (Morone saxatilis) from Chesapeake Bay, USA. Ecological Applications.
• Horodysky, A.Z., R.W. Brill, M.L. Fine, J.A. Musick, and R.J. Latour. 2008. Acoustic pressure and particle motion thresholds in six sciaenid fishes. Journal of Experimental Biology 211:1504-1511.
• Hoenig, J.M., R.J. Latour, and J.E. Olney. 2008. >Estimating stock composition of anadromous fishes from mark-recovery data: possible application to American shad. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 28:507-515.
• Latour, R.J., J. Gartland, C.F. Bonzek, and R.A. Johnson. 2008. The trophic dynamics of summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) in Chesapeake Bay. Fishery Bulletin 106:47-57.
• Horodysky, A.Z., D.W. Kerstetter, R.J. Latour, and J.E. Graves. 2007. Habitat utilization and vertical movements of white marlin (Tetrapturus albidus) released from commercial and recreational fishing gears in the western North Atlantic Ocean: inferences from short-duration pop-up archival satellite tags (PSATs). Fisheries Oceanography 16:240-256.
• Jiang, H., K.H. Pollock, C. Brownie, J.M. Hoenig, R.J. Latour, B.K. Wells, and J.E. Hightower. 2007. Tag return models allowing for harvest and catch and release: evidence of environmental and management impacts on striped bass fishing and natural mortality rates. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 27:387-396.
• Olney, J.E., R.J. Latour, B.E. Watkins, and D.G. Clarke. 2006. Migratory behavior of American shad (Alosa sapidissima) in the York River, Virginia with implications for estimating in-river exploitation from tag-recovery data. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 135:889-896.
• Gartland, J., R.J. Latour, A.D. Halvorson, and H.M. Austin. 2006. Diet composition of young-of-the-year bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix) in the lower Chesapeake Bay and the coastal ocean of Virginia. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 135:371-378.
• Lipcius, R.M. and R.J. Latour. 2006. Food web interactions and modeling. In Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Ecosystem Advisory Panel (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Chesapeake Bay Office). Fisheries ecosystem planning for Chesapeake Bay. American Fisheries Society, Trends in Fisheries Science and Management 3, Bethesda, Maryland.
• Goldman, K.J., S.D. Anderson, R.J. Latour, and J.A. Musick. 2004. Homeothermy in adult salmon sharks, Lamna ditropis. Environmental Biology of Fishes 71:403-411.
• Simpfendorfer, C.A., R. Bonfil, and R.J. Latour. 2004. Mortality estimation. In Elasmobranch Fisheries Management Techniques. J.A. Musick and R. Bonfil (eds.). Joint publication between the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), International Union for the Protection of Nature (IUCN), and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS).
• Latour, R.J. 2004. Tagging methods and associated data analysis. In Elasmobranch Fisheries Management Techniques. J.A. Musick and R. Bonfil (eds.). Joint publication between the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), International Union for the Protection of Nature (IUCN), and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS).
• Latour, R.J., J.M. Hoenig, D.A. Hepworth, and S.D. Frusher. 2003. A novel tag-recovery model with two size classes for estimating fishing and natural mortality, with implications for the southern rock lobster (Jasus edwardsii) in Tasmania. ICES Journal of Marine Science 60:1075-1085.
• Latour, R.J., M.J. Brush, and C.F. Bonzek. 2003. Toward ecosystem-based fisheries management: strategies for multispecies modeling and associated data requirements. Fisheries 28:10-22.

Current Students

• Andrij Horodysky (Ph.D) co-advisor
• Patrick Lynch (Ph.D)
• Kathryn Sobocinski (Ph.D) co-advisor
• Andre Buchheister (M.S.)
• Justine Woodward (M.S.) co-advisor

Past Students

• Patrick Lynch, M.S., 2007. Thesis: The feeding ecology of Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) in Chesapeake Bay.
• Kathleen McNamee, M.S., 2007. Thesis: Trophic ecology and growth of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in Chesapeake Bay, with reference to mycobacteriosis.

Courses Taught/Teaching

• MSCI 504 Fundamentals of Statistical Methods and Data Analysis (Instructor)

• MSCI 528 Marine Fisheries Science (co-Instructor)

• MSCI 548 Marine Fisheries Science and Management (Lecturer, Summer course for high school teachers)

• MSCI 649 Modeling Biological and Ecological Systems (co-Instructor)

• MSCI 671 Fisheries Population Dynamics (Instructor)

Professional Memberships

•  Estuarine Research Federation (2003-present)

•  American Fisheries Society (1999-present)

Collaborative/Interdisciplinary Efforts

• Vice Chair, ASMFC Menhaden Technical Committee

• Member, ASMFC Assessment Science Committee

• Member, ASMFC Multispecies Technical Committee

• Member, Science and Statistics Committee, MAFMC