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

• 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 MAFMC Research Set Aside.

• Design and implementation of ChesMMAP - Chesapeake Bay Multispecies Monitoring and Assessment Program, funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Virginia Marine Resources Commission.

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

Selected Publications

 (2003 - present, * graduate student)

• 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.
• *Horodysky, A.Z., R.W. Brill, E.J. Warrant, J.A. Musick, and R.J. Latour. In review. Comparative visual function in four piscivorous fishes inhabiting Chesapeake Bay. Journal of Experimental Biology.
• *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. Marine Ecological Progress Series.
• Latour, R.J., J. Gartland, C.F. Bonzek, and E.A. Brasseur. In review. Trophic interactions of weakfish Cynoscion regalis in Chesapeake Bay, with reference to dietary overlap among common piscivores. Journal of Fish Biology.
• *Buchheister, A. and R.J. Latour. In press. Turnover rates and fractionations of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N in muscle, blood, and liver tissues of juvenile summer flounder. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences.
• Graves, J.E., *A.Z. Horodysky, and R.J. Latour. 2009. Use of pop-up satellite archival tag technology to study postrelease survival and habitat utilization of estuarine and coastal fishes: an application to striped bass. Fishery Bulletin 107:373-383.
• Hoffman, J.C., C.F. Bonzek, and R.J. Latour. 2009. Estimation of bottom trawl catch efficiency for two demersal fishes, the Atlantic croaker and white perch, in Chesapeake Bay. Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 1: 255-269.
• Gauthier, D.T., R.J. Latour, D.M. Heisey, C.F. Bonzek, J. Gartland, E.J. Burge, W.K. Vogelbein. 2008. Mycobacteriosis-associated mortality in wild striped bass (Morone saxatilis) from Chesapeake Bay, USA. Ecological Applications 18: 1718-1727.
• *Horodysky, A.Z., R.W. Brill, E.J. Warrant, J.A. Musick, and R.J. Latour. 2008. Comparative visual function in five sciaenid fishes inhabiting Chesapeake Bay. Journal of Experimental Biology 211:3601-3612.
• *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, Australia. 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

• Patrick Lynch (Ph.D)
• Kathryn Sobocinski (Ph.D) co-advisor
• Andre Buchheister (Ph.D)

Past Students

• Andrij Horodysky, Ph.D., 2009. Dissertation: Comparative sensory and energetic ecology of sciaenid fishes and their competitors in Chesapeake Bay, VA
• Justine Woodward, M.S., 2009. Thesis: Investigating the relationships between recruitment indices and estimates of adult abundance for striped bass, weakfish, and Atlantic croaker.
• Andre Buchheister, M.S., 2008. Thesis: Isotope dynamics in summer flounder tissues, with application to diet assessment in Chesapeake Bay.
• 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

• Chair, ASMFC Menhaden Technical Committee

• Member, ASMFC Assessment Science Committee

• Member, ASMFC Multispecies Technical Committee

• Member, Science and Statistics Committee, MAFMC