Ron West

Associate Professor

35.G11

+61 2 4221 4648

ron_west@uow.edu.au

Research Interests

Associate Professor Ron West is an environmental scientist with research interests ranging across the marine and estuarine sciences. He has more than 80 publications in a range of journals and popular magazines, covering issues related to the coastal environments of SE Australia, as well as oceans and coastal policy. His major Australian research has been on estuaries, coastal wetlands (particularly seagrass, mangrove and saltmarsh communities), as well as the biology and ecology of estuarine fishes. He is currently carrying out research on assessment and management of Indonesian and Philippine fisheries.

Recent Publications

Whitfield, A.K., Elliott, M., Basset, A., Blaber, S.J.M. & West, R.J. (2012). Paradigms in estuarine ecology - a review of the Remane diagram with a suggested revised model for estuaries. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 97: 78-90.

Walsh, C. T., Reinfelds, I. V., Gray, C. A., West, R. J., van der Meulen, D. E. & Craig, J. R. (2012). Seasonal residency and movement patterns of two co-occurring catadromous percichthyids within a south-eastern Australian river. Ecology of Freshwater Fish, 21 145-159.

Borja, A., Basset, A., Bricker, S., Dauvin, J., Elliot, M., Harrison, T., Marques, J., Weisberg, S. & West, R. (2011). Classifying Ecological Quality and Integrity of Estuaries. In E. Wolanski & D. McLusky (Eds.), Treatise on Estuarine and Coastal Science (pp. 125-162). Waltham: Academic Press.

West, R.J. 2011. Impacts of recreational boating activities on the seagrass Posidonia in SE Australia. Wetlands (Australia), 26(2): 3-13.

West, R.J., Palma, M.A, Barut, N., Garvilles, E. & Ayanan, D. (2011). Preliminary assessment of the handline (banca) fisheries in the Philippines (FIS/2009/033). Final Report (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra). Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and

Miles, N.G. and West, R.J. 2011. Recreational fishing in the Shoalhaven Region, NSW, Australia: optimising survey methods and assessing sustainability. Final Report, (NSW Recreational Fishing Trust), ANCORS, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia.

Read, A.D., West, R.J., Haste, M, Jordan, A. 2011. Optimizing voluntary compliance in marine protected areas: A comparison of recreational fisher and enforcement officer perspectives using multi-criteria analysis. Journal of Environmental Management 92, 2558-2567.

Walsh, C.T., Gray, C.A., West, R.J., Williams, L.F.G., 2011. Reproductive biology and spawning strategy
of the catadromous percichthyid, Macquaria colonorum (Günther, 1863). Environmental Biology of Fishes 91, 471–486.

Roberts, D. G., Gray, C. A., West, R. J. & Ayre, D. J. 2011. Temporal stability of a hybrid swarm between the migratory marine and estuarine fishes Acanthopagrus australis and A. butcheri. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 421, 199-204.

Miles, N. G. & West, R. J. 2011. The use of an aeration system to prevent thermal stratification of a freshwater impoundment and its effect on downstream fish assemblages. Journal of Fish Biology, 78 (3), 945-952.

Stocks, J., Stewart, J., Gray, C. A. & West, R. J. 2011. Using otolith increment widths to infer spatial, temporal and gender variation in the growth of sand whiting Sillago ciliata. Fisheries Management and Ecology, 18 121-131.

Read, A.D., West, R.J., 2010. Qualitative risk assessment of multiple-use marine park effectiveness - a case study from NSW, Australia. Ocean & Coastal Management 53, 636-644.

Walsh, C.T., Gray, C.A., West, R.J., van der Meulen, D.E., Williams, L.F.G., 2010. Growth, episodic recruitment and age truncation in populations of a catadromous percichthyid, Macquaria colonorum. Marine and Freshwater Research 61, 397-407.

Roberts, D.G., Gray, C.A., West, R.J., Ayre, D.J., 2010. Gamete compatibility between marine and estuarine Acanthopagrus spp. (Sparidae) and their hybrids. Journal of Fish Biology 77, 425-431.

Roberts, D.G., Gray, C.A., West, R.J., Ayre, D.J., 2010. Marine genetic swamping: hybrids replace an obligately estuarine fish. Molecular Ecology 19, 508-520.

Miller, M.E., Stewart, J., West, R.J., 2010. Using otoliths to estimate age and growth of a large Australian endemic monacanthid, Nelusetta ayraudi (Quoy and Gaimard, 1824). Environmental Biology of Fishes 88, 263-271.

Searchable Publication List

Current Postgraduate Students

PhD Students:

Chris Walsh, Project Title: Effects of Environmental Flows on Two Co-Occurring Percilthyidae Fishes.

Andrew Read, Project Title: The role of marine protected areas in ecosystem-based management (Joint with Prof. Martin Tsamneyi).

Arief Setyanto, Project Title: An assessment of the South Java Lobster Fisheries (Joint with Prof. Martin Tsamneyi).

Recent Graduates

PhD Students:

Dr Nathan Miles, Project Title: Ecology and Biology of Diadromous Fish of South Eastern Australia.

Masters Students:

Mandi McKaig, Project Title: 'Strategic Role of Policy and Legislative Regimes in the Protection and Management of Grey Nurse Sharks.'

Future Topics for Students

See the Honours Topics Page

Abbreviated CV

Associate Professor Ron West is a member of the Australian National Centre for Oceans Resources and Security (http://www.ancors.uow.edu.au/). Prior to joining the university, he held many senior research and policy positions in government, and provided research and policy advice on natural resources management, including fish and fisheries, threatened species, estuary and river management, marine impact assessment, marine park selection and forest policy.

He is immediate past Chair of the NSW Fisheries Scientific Committee, dealing with threatened aquatic species, and has been a member of several government advisory committees, in particular the Southern Coalfields Inquiry.