Honorary Research Associate

Ross Wanless BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD  (Cape Town) Fax: +27 86 545 4319 email: rosswanless@gmail.com

Ross graduated with a BSc in Zoology from UCT in 1992. Since then he has worked as a Scientific Observer for South Africa's Patagonian Toothfish longline fishery observer programme. He has also worked as a Scientific Officer at the Avian Demography Unit, with John Cooper and BirdLife International's Seabird Conservation Programme. He created and maintained the project website (http://www.uct.ac.za/depts/stats/adu/seabirds/). Ross completed his BSc Honours at UCT in 1998 with distinction. He was then invited to join a small team that spent three months researching and monitoring seabirds and seals on the remote sub-Antarctic island of Bouvet in 1998/1999. In April 1999 he joined the Fitz for his Masters with Prof. Phil Hockey. Ross conducted a highly successful reintroduction of the flightless Aldabra Rail in the Seychelles and graduated in June 2002, again with distinction. He did an eight-month internship with the US-based Island Conservation in 2002/2003, working on several island restoration projects in the US and northwest Mexico. He then returned tot he Fitz, spending a full year on the remote Gough Island, researching the impacts that the introduced house mouse is having on the seabird community. This formed the basis of his PhD "The impacts of introduced mice on birds at Gough Island", under Prof. Peter Ryan. He graduated in December 2007, winning the medal for the best PhD thesis in the Science Faculty during 2007. His thesis took 3rd place in an international thesis competition run by the United Nations Environmental Programme and the Convention on Migratory Species.

Ross is now Seabird Division manager for BirdLife South Africa, as well as the Africa Coordinator for the Global Seabird Programme (BirdLife International). His work involves establishing marine Important Bird Areas throughout Africa and associated islands, managing the Albatross Task Force activities (to reduce seabird mortality in fisheries) in South Africa and Namibia, and strengthening seabird conservation measures and implementation in multi-lateral fisheries organisations, particularly the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission and ICCAT in the Atlantic Ocean. In 2009 he secured funding for an intial 3-year research and conservation intervention for the African Penguin, and is also involved in several other national seabird conservation actions.

Ross was appointed an honorary research associate in August 2009. He is co-supervising Vivianne Barquete's PhD thesis with Peter Ryan. Ross regularly writes articles of ornithological interest for popular publications and is a contributing author for the new Robert’s Birds of Southern Africa. His research interests include conservation and ecology of island systems, seabird ecology, stable light isotope applications in conservation, and evolutionary biology.

Recent Publications

2010

Wanless, R., Sauer, W., Scott, S., Andrew, T., Glass, J., Godfrey, B., Griffiths, C.  Holloway, P & Yeld, E. 2010. Semi-submersible rigs: transporting marine ecosystems around the world. Biological Invasions. IP.

2009

Cuthbert, R.J, Cooper, J., Burle, M.-H., Glass, C.J., Glass, J.P., Glass, S., Glass, T., Hilton, G.M., Wanless, R.M., Ryan, P.G., 2009. Demographic trends of the Northern Rockhopper Penguin at Gough and Tristan da Cunha islands. Bird Conservation International 19: 1-12.

Techow, N.M.S.M.. O’Ryan, C., Phillips, R.A., Gales, R., Marin, M., Patterson-Fraser, D., Quintana, F., Ritz, M.S., Thompson, D.R., Wanless, R.M., Weimerskirch, H. & Ryan P.G. 2009. Speciation and phylogeography of giant petrels Macronectes Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, In Press, Corrected Proof, Available online 13 September 2009 doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.09.005.

Wanless, R.M. 2009. The Vanishing. Africa Birds and Birding 14:62-69.

Wanless, R. 2009. BirdLife’s Albatross Task Force – incentives to reduce seabird bycatch in South African Fisheries. Bycatch Communication Network Newsletter 12:2-3.

Wanless, R. & Pichegru, L. 2009. Something fishy? Reply to letter. Africa Birds & Birding 14(5):8.

Wanless, R.M., Ryan, P.G., Altwegg, R., Angel, A, Cooper, J., Cuthbert, R & Hilton, G.M. 2009. From both sides: dire demographic consequences of carnivorous mice and longlining for the Critically Endangered Tristan albatrosses on Gough Island. Biological Conservation 142: 1710-1718.

2008

Wanless, R.M., Fisher, P., Cooper, J., Parkes, J.P., Ryan, P.G. & Slabber, M. 2008. Bait acceptance by house mice: a field trial on Gough Island. Wildlife Research 35: 806-811.

Wanless, R.M. & Hockey, P.A.R. 2008. Natural history and behavior of the Aldabra rail Dryolimnas cuvieri aldabranus. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 120: 50-61.

2007

Wanless, R.M., Angel, A., Cuthbert, R.J., Hilton, G.M. and Ryan, P.G. 2007. Can predation by invasive mice drive seabird extinctions? Biology Letters 3(3):241-244.

Wanless, R.M. & Wilson, J.W. 2007. Predatory behaviour of the Gough Moorhen Gallinula comeri: conservation implications. Ardea 95:311-315.

2006

Angel, A., Branch, G.M., Wanless, R.M. & Siebert, T. 2006. Causes of rarity and range restriction of an endangered, endemic limpet, Siphonaria compressa. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 330:245-260.