David Jacoby

Postdoctoral Researcher

Curriculum Vitae:

2021 - Present: IOZ Honorary Research Associate, Institute of Zoology (ZSL), London, UK.
2019 – 2021: Research Fellow, Institute of Zoology (ZSL), London, UK
2013 – Present: Red List Authority Coordinator, Anguillid Eel Specialist Group (AESG), IUCN Species Survival Commission
2013 – 2019: Postdoctoral Researcher, Indicators and Assessment Unit, Institute of Zoology (ZSL), London, UK
2009 – 2012: PhD Candidate, University of Exeter and the Marine Biological Association of the UK, Plymouth, UK
2009: Visiting Researcher, University of the West Indies, Trinidad
2006 – 2007: Master of Research, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
2005: Research Assistant, Bimini Biological Field Station, Bahamas
2003: Research Assistant, Operation Wallacea, Sulawesi, Indonesia
2001 – 2004: Bachelor of Science, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK.

Research Interests:

Social and spatial interactions in ecology

My research seeks to use electronic tracking devices and network analyses of animal movements to understand connectivity and grouping behaviour in ecological communities. Aggregation, collective movement and social interactions, often very difficult to measure in wild animals, can fundamentally impact the persistence and vulnerability of a species, so understanding the mechanisms behind such behaviour is crucial to mitigate against threats and inform management decisions.

I have a particular interest in the marine environment where often basic ecological knowledge of species or systems is hard to obtain. I believe tracking technologies, in combination with increasingly sophisticated spatial and temporal modelling techniques, can be applied to aid the monitoring and enforcement of highly dynamic and sometimes heavily exploited marine organisms. Specifically, I am interested in the dynamics and drivers of social networks in marine predators such as sharks and currently run projects in the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) on reef sharks and the Canary Islands, on Angelsharks.

Freshwater eel conservation

Freshwater eels are heavily theratened at the global scale by multiple perturbations, yet have a long and complex life history that make them a real challenge to conserve. I have a keen interest in freshwater eel ecology and conservation and am currently the Red List Authority Coordinator for the IUCN Anguillid Eel Specialist Group following our full IUCN Red List assessment of the anguillid species in 2014.

Editorial Board:

Guest Editor - Journal of Animal Ecology/Methods in Ecology and Evolution (Joint Special Feature on Animal Social Networks 2019-2020)
Assistant Editor - Journal of Fish Biology (2014 - Present)

Publications (Google Scholar):

22. Ferretti, F.*, Jacoby, D.M.P., Pfleger, M., White, T., Dent, F., Micheli, F., Rosenberg, A., Crowder, L. & Block, B.A. (Accepted) Shark Fin Trade Bans and Sustainable Shark Fisheries. Conservation Letters.

21. Andrzejaczek, S., Chapple, T.K., Curnick, D.J., Carlisle, A.B., Castleton, M., Jacoby, D.M.P., Schallert, R.J., Tickler, D.M. & Block, B.A. (Accepted) Horizontal and vertical movements of the reef manta ray Mobula alfredi in a large marine protected area. Marine Ecology Progress Series

20. Staveley, T.A.B.*, Jacoby, D.M.P., Perry, D, van der Meijs, F., Lagenfelt, I, Cremle, M., Gullström, M. (2019) Sea surface temperature dictates movement and connectivity of Atlantic cod in a coastal fjord system. Ecology and Evolution. 9 (16), 9076-9086

19. Queiroz, N. et al ... Jacoby, D.M.P. … et al. (2019) Global spatial risk assessment of sharks under the footprint of fisheries. Nature. 572 (7770) 461-466.

18. Williamson, M.J., Tebbs, E.J., Dawson, T.P. & Jacoby, D.M.P. (2019) Satellite remote sensing in shark and ray ecology, conservation and management. Frontiers in Marine Science. 6:135

17. Wearn, O.R., Freeman, R. & Jacoby, D.M.P. (2019) Responsible AI for conservation. Nature Machine Intelligence. 1, 72–73

16. Jacoby, D.M.P. (2019) An eye in the sky reveals the collective dynamics of free-ranging shark aggregations. Journal of Fish Biology. 94 (1), 3

15. Williams J.J.*, Papastamatiou Y.P., Caselle J.E., Bradley D. & Jacoby D.M.P. (2018) Mobile marine predators: an understudied source of nutrients to coral reefs in an unfished atoll. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 20172456

14. Jacoby, D.M.P.*, Papastamatiou, Y.P. & Freeman, R. (2016) Inferring animal social networks and leadership: applications for passive monitoring arrays. Journal of The Royal Society Interface. 13(124): 20160676

13. Jacoby, D.M.P.*, Siriwat, P. Freeman, R & Carbone, C. (2016) Scaling of swim speed in sharks: a reply to Morrison (2016) Biology Letters. 12: 20160502.

12. Jacoby, D.M.P.* & Freeman, R. (2016) Emerging network-based tools in movement ecology. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 31(4): 301-314.

11. Naylor, P.* & Jacoby, D.M.P. (2016) Territoriality in the tompot blenny, Parablennius gattorugine from photographic records. Journal of Fish Biology. 88(4): 1642-1647.

10. Jacoby, D.M.P.*, Siriwat, P. Freeman, R & Carbone, C. (2015) Is the scaling of swim speed in sharks driven by metabolism? Biology Letters. 11: 20150781.

9. Jacoby, D.M.P.*, Casselman, J.M., Crook, V., DeLucia, M-B., Ahn, H., Kaifu, K., Kurwie, T., Sasal, P., Silfvergrip, A.M.C., Smith, K.G., Uchida, K., Walker, A.M. & Gollock, M.J. (2015) Synergistic patterns of threat and the challenges facing global anguillid eel conservation. Global Ecology and Conservation. 4: 321-333.

8. Jacoby, D.M.P.*, Fear, L, Sims, D.W. & Croft, D.P. (2014) Shark personalities? Repeatability of social network traits in a widely distributed predatory fish. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 68: 1995-2003.

7. Jacoby, D.M.P.*, Sims, D.W. & Croft, D.P. (2012) The effect of familiarity on aggregation and social behaviour in juvenile small spotted catsharks, Scyliorhinus canicula. Journal of Fish Biology. 81: 1596-1610.

6. Croft, D.P.*, Hamilton, P.B, Darden, S.K, Jacoby, D.M.P., James, R, Bettaney, E.M. & Tyler, C.R. (2012) The role of relatedness in structuring the social network of a wild guppy population. Oecologia. 170(4): 955-963.

5. Jacoby, D.M.P.*, Brooks, E.J, Croft, D.P. & Sims, D.W. (2012) Developing a deeper understanding of animal movements and spatial dynamics through novel application of network analyses. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. 3(3): 574-583.

4. Jones, S.A., Cooke, A, Whiteside, M. & Jacoby, D.M.P. (2012) The effects of morphological and environmental conditions on vigilance behaviour in the feral goat (Capra hircus). Journal of the Lundy Field Society. 3: 87-98.

3. Griffiths, A.M*, Jacoby, D.M.P.*, Casane, D, McHugh, M, Croft, D.P, Genner, M.J. & Sims, D.W. (2012) First analysis of multiple paternity in an oviparous shark, the small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canicula L.) Journal of Heredity. 103(2): 166-173.

2. Jacoby, D.M.P.*, Croft, D.P. & Sims, D.W. (2012) The social behaviour of sharks and rays: analysis, patterns and implications for conservation. Fish and Fisheries. 13(4): 399-417.

1. Jacoby, D.M.P.*, Busawon, D.S, & Sims, D.W. (2010) Sex and social networking: the influence of male presence on social structure of female shark groups. Behavioral Ecology. 21(4): 808-818.

Book Chapters

1. Mourier, J., Lédée, E., Guttridge, T. & Jacoby, D.M.P. (2018) Network analysis and theory in shark ecology - methods and applications. In Shark Research: Emerging Technologies and Applications for the Field and Laboratory 337–356