Robert J. Latour

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. NEAMAP.  Funded by ASMFC.
• Design and implementation of ChesMMAP - Chesapeake Bay Multispecies Monitoring and Assessment Program, funded by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
• VIMS Shark Research Program. Funded by ASMFC. 
• Striped Bass Assessment Program. Funded by Wallop-Breaux funds from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.

Multispecies Research Group

Selected Publications

(2018 – present; *Indicates my graduate student; † Indicates graduate student collaboration)

• ∗Schonfeld, A.J., G.M. Ralph, J. Gartland, P. St-Laurent, M.A.M Friedrichs, and R.J. Latour. In review. Hypoxia influences the extent and dynamics of suitable fish habitat in Chesapeake Bay. Marine Ecological Progress Series.
• ∗O’Brien, K.A., E. Cort´es, W.B. Driggers III, B.S. Frazier, and R.J. Latour. In press. Niche structure and habitat shifts for coastal sharks of the US Southeast Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Fisheries Oceanography.
• Fournier, R.J., D.D. Colombano, R.J. Latour, S.M. Carlson, and A. Ruhi. In press. Long-term data reveal widespread phenological change across major U.S. estuaries. Ecology Letters.
• †Marin Martinez, C.M., R.J. Latour, M.C. Fabrizio, E.D. Houde, and E.J. Hilton. In press. Larval fish assemblage dynamics in the York River Estuary, Virginia, U.S.A. NOAA Professional Papers.
• Latour, R.J., J. Gartland, and A.M Schueller. 2023. The reproductive biology and fecundity of female Atlantic menhaden. Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 15:e10269
• Latour, R.J., J. Gartland, and C.F. Bonzek. 2023. The design and redesign of a bottom trawl survey in Chesapeake Bay, USA. Frontiers in Marine Science 10:1217792
• Gartland, J., S.K. Gaichas, and R.J. Latour. 2023. Spatiotemporal patterns in the ecological community of the nearshore Mid-Atlantic Bight. Marine Ecology Progress Series 704:15-33.
• Zhang, Y., Y. Jiao, and R.J. Latour. 2023. Nonlinearity and spatial autocorrelation in species distribution modeling: an example based on weakfish (Cynoscion regalis) in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Fishes 8, article 27.
• Audemard, C., K.S. Reece, R.J. Latour, L.M Bienlein, and R.B. Carnegie. 2023. Influence of oyster genetic background on levels of human-pathogenic Vibrio spp. Aquaculture 562, article 738763.
• ∗Peterson, C.D., M. Wilberg, E. Cort´es, D.L. Courtney, and R.J. Latour. 2022. Effects of altered stock assessment frequency on the management of a large coastal shark. Marine and Coastal Fish[1]eries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 14:e10221.
• ∗Schonfeld, A.J., J. Gartland, and R.J. Latour. 2022. Spatial differences in estuarine utilization by seasonally resident species in Mid-Atlantic Bight, USA. Fisheries Oceanography 31:615-628.
• ∗Peterson, C.D., M. Wilberg, E. Cort´es, D.L. Courtney, and R.J. Latour. 2022. Effects of unregulated international fishing on re[1]covery potential of the sandbar shark within the southeast United States. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 79:1497- 1513.
• Latour, R.J., J. Gartland, and C.D. Peterson. 2022. Ontogenetic niche structure and partitioning of immature sandbar sharks within the Chesapeake Bay nursery. Marine Biology 169:76.
• ∗Peterson, C.D., D.L. Courtney, E. Cort´es, and R.J. Latour. 2021. Reconciling conflicting survey indices of abundance prior to stock assessment. ICES Journal of Marine Science 78:3101-3120. doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsab179.
• Anstead, K., K. Drew, D. Chagaris, M. Cieri, A.M. Schueller, J. Mcnamee, A. Buchheister, G. Nesslage, J.H. Uphoff, M. Wilberg, A. Sharov, M. Dean, J. Brust, M. Celestino, S. Madsen, S. Murray, M. Appelman, J. Ballenger, J. Brito, E. Cosby, C. Craig, C. Flora, K. Gottschall, R.J. Latour, E. Leonard, R. Mroch, J. Newhard, D. Orner, C. Swanson, J. Tinsman, E.D. Houde, T.J. Miller and H. Townsend. 2021. The past, present, and future of forage fish management: a case study of Atlantic menhaden. Frontiers in Marine Science 8:article 607657.
• ∗Peterson, C.D., M.J. Wilberg, E. Cort´es, and R.J. Latour. 2021. Dynamic factor analysis to reconcile conflicting survey indices of abundance. ICES Journal of Marine Science 78:1711-1729.doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsab051.
• Woodland, R., A. Buchheister, R.J. Latour, C. Lozano, E. Houde, ∗C. Sweetman, M.C. Fabrizio, and T. Tuckey. 2021. Environmental drivers of forage fishes and benthic invertebrates at multiple spatial scales in a large temperate estuary. Estuaries & Coasts 44:921-938.
• †Crear, D.P., R.J. Latour, M.A.M Friedrichs, P. St-Laurent, and K.C. Weng. 2020. Sensitivity of a shark nursery habitat to a changing climate. Marine Ecology Progress Series 652:123-136.
• Latour, R.J. and J. Gartland. 2020. Dynamics of the shark community in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Marine Biology 167 (100). 
• Bangley, C.W., T.H. Curtis, D.H. Secor, R.J. Latour, and M.B. Ogburn. 2020. Identifying important juvenile Dusky Shark habitat in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean using acoustic telemetry and spatial modeling. Marine and Coastal Fisheries: Dynamics, Management, and Ecosystem Science 12:348-363. doi:10.1002/mcf2.101.20.
• ∗Warshafsky, Z.T, T.D. Tuckey, W.K. Vogelbein, R.J. Latour, and A.R. Wargo. 2019. Temporal, spatial, and biological variation of nematode epidemiology in American eels. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 76:1808-1818.
• †Crear, D., R. Brill, P. Bushnell, R.J. Latour, †G. Schwieterman, R. Steffen, and K. Weng. 2019. The impacts of warming and hypoxia on the performance of an obligate ram ventilator. Conservation Physiology 7:doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coz026.
• ∗Stratton, M.A., G. Nesslage, and R.J. Latour. 2019. Multidecadal climate and fishing predictors of abundance for U.S. South Atlantic coastal fishes and invertebrates. Fisheries Oceanography 28:487-504. doi:10.1111/fog.12426.
• ∗Gervasi, C.L., S.K. Lowerre-Barbieri, W.K. Vogelbein, J. Gartland, and R.J. Latour. 2019. The reproductive biology of Chesapeake Bay striped bass with consideration of the effects of mycobacteriosis. Bulletin of Marine Science 95:117-137.
• †Ivory, J.A., D.K. Steinberg, and R.J. Latour. 2019. Diel, seasonal, and interannual patterns in mesozooplankton abundance in the Sargasso Sea. ICES Journal of Marine Science 76:217-231.
• Morley, J.W., R.L. Selden, R.J. Latour, T.L Frölicher R.J. Seagraves, and M.L. Pinsky. 2018. Projecting shifts in thermal habitat for 686 species on the North American continental shelf. PLoS ONE 13(5):e0196127. Feature Research: PLoS Responding to Climate Change.
• *Lynch, P.D., K.W. Shertzer, E. Cortès, and R.J. Latour. 2018. Abundance trends of highly migratory species in the Atlantic Ocean: accounting for water temperature profiles. ICES Journal of Marine Science 75:1427-1438.
• *Parsons, K.T., J. Maisano, J. Gregg, C. Cotton, and R.J. Latour.  2018. Age and growth assessment of western North Atlantic Spiny Butterfly Ray Gymnura altavela (L. 1758) using micro-CT reconstructed vertebral centra. Environmental Biology of Fishes 101:137-151.
• Fabrizio, M.C., T.D. Tuckey, R.J. Latour, G.C. White, and A.J. Norris. 2018. Tidal habitats support large numbers of invasive blue catfish in a Chesapeake Bay subestuary. Estuaries & Coasts 41:827-840.

Current Students

• Kaitlyn O’Brien (Ph.D.)
• Rebecca Taylor (Ph.D.)
• Caroline DeVries (M.S.)
• Amanda Salmoiraghi (co-advisor), M.S. 
• Ally Gravgaard (M.S.)
• Olivia Hendandez (co-advisor), M.S. 
• Emily Echevarria (Ph.D.)
• Shyane Masters (co-advisor), M.S. 

Former Students

• James Gartland
  • Ph.D., 2024. Dissertation: Linking fish community dynamics and trophic interactions with ecological processess on the Northeast US Continental Shelf. 
• Adena J. Schonfeld
  • Ph.D., 2023. Dissertation: Climate impacts on spatiotemporal habitat
    usage of Mid-Atlantic fishes.
• Cassidy Peterson
  • Ph.D., 2021. Dissertation: Improving Observation, Assessment, And Management Of Atlantic Coastal Sharks.
  • Cassidy Peterson, M.S., 2016. Thesis: Patterns of abundance and community dynamics in Atlantic coastal sharks.
• Christopher J. Sweetman
  • Ph.D., 2018. Dissertation: Consumption Patterns of Chesapeake Bay Fishes
  • M.S., 2012. Thesis: Distribution and feeding ecology of Bathylagus euryops (TELEOSTEI: MICROSTOMATIDAE) along the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge, from Iceland to the Azores
• Zoemma Warshafsky
  • M.S., 2017. Thesis: The impact of the parasitic nematode Anguillicoloides crassus on Chesapeake Bay American eels (Anguilla rostrata)
• Mark Stratton
  • Ph.D., 2017. Dissertation: Spatiotemporal abundance patterns and ecological drivers of a nearshore U.S. Atlantic fish and invertebrate assemblage

• Kristene Parsons

  • Ph.D., 2017. Dissertation: Age, growth and reproduction of western North Atlantic butterfly rays (Myliobatiformes: Gymnuridae), with the description of two new species

• Carissa Gervasi

  • M.S., 2015. Thesis: The reproductive biology of striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in Chesapeake Bay. 

• Kathryn Sobocinski
  • Ph.D., 2014. Dissertation: Fishes in seagrass habitats: Species composition, trophic interactions, and production.
• Andre Buchheister
  • Ph.D., 2013. Dissertation: Structure, drivers, and trophic interactions of the demersal fish community in Chesapeake Bay.
  • M.S., 2008. Thesis: Isotope dynamics in summer flounder tissues, with application to diet assessment in Chesapeake Bay.
• Patrick Lynch
  • Ph.D., 2012. Dissertation: Habitat and fish population dynamics: Advancing stock assessments of highly migratory species.
  • M.S., 2007. Thesis: The feeding ecology of Atlantic menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) in Chesapeake Bay.
• Catarina Wor
  • M.S., 2012. Thesis: Evaluating the impact of stock structure uncertainty in stock assessments of sailfish in the Atlantic Ocean.
• 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.
• 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 / Advisory Service

• Member, NMFS Advisory Panel for Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (SEDAR
  Pool), 2012 - present
• Member, MAFMC, Scientific and Statistical Committee, 2008 - present
• Member, ASMFC Atlantic Menhaden Technical Committee, 2006 - 2020
  • Stock Assessment Subcommittee May 2007 - 2020
  • Chairman, May 2009 - May 2011
  • Vice-chairman, May 2008 - May 2009
• Chairman, 66th Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Review Committee (SARC 66), Nov 2018,    NEFSC
• Member, Organizing Committee, Virginia Academy of Science, Engineering, and Medicine Annual Summit, 2018
• Invited Expert, Briefing for Virginia House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake, and Natural Resources, 2018
• Associate Editor, Estuaries & Coasts, 2012 - 2014
• Chairman, 58th Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Review Committee (SARC 58), Jan 2014, NEFSC
• Invited Expert, Panel discussion of management of forage fishes, MAFMC, Apr 2013
• Invited Expert, Briefing for the ad-hoc committee to evaluate the status of Atlantic menhaden, Virginia General Assembly, 2011
• Chairman, 49th Northeast Regional Stock Assessment Review Committee (SARC 49), Dec 2009, NEFSC
• Member, external panel to review the NEFSC Foodweb Dynamics Program, Jul 2009, NEFSC
• Invited Expert, ASMFC American Shad Technical Committee, Jun 2006
• Invited Expert, Briefing for the Virginia Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, Nov 2006
• Member, VIMS panel to advise Virginia Marine Resources Commission on permitting for King William Reservoir, 2004
• Member, ASMFC Assessment Science Committee, 2003 - 2008
• Member, ASMFC Multispecies Technical Committee, 2002 - 2012
• MSVPA Subcommittee, 2005 - 2012
• Member, Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem Modeling Advisory Panel, 2001 - 2007
• Invited Expert, ASMFC Striped Bass Tagging Subcommittee, 2000 - 2004, 2012