Papastamatiou, Yannis
- Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences , College of Arts, Sciences & Education

Overview
overview
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Dr. Yannis Papastamatiou is an Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences and co-leads the PEC lab, which focuses on the ecology, biology, and behaviour of sharks, rays, and predatory bony fish. Their team produces high quality research that can be translated into meaningful conservation outcomes for threatened species and ecosystems. Using a variety of tools like genetics, new tag technologies, baited remote underwater videos, and stable isotopes, the PEC Lab has the ability to answer diverse and complex biological questions.
With over 80 research publications, Yannis is one of the world's leading shark behavioural ecologists. His work has been featured on National Geographic, BBC, and Discovery's Shark Week. Yannis' use of new tag technologies on species ranging from pelagic oceanic whitetips to home-ranging reef sharks has advanced the field of predator ecology and led to evidence-based marine protected area zoning.
BSc University of Southampton 1998-Oceanography
MSc California State University Long Beach-Biology
PhD University of Hawaii at Manoa-Zoology
research interests
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Predator behavioral and physiological ecology
Animal movement ecology
Community ecology of mesophotic reefs
Shark behavior, distribution, climate change impact
Scholarly & Creative Works
selected publications
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Article
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2022Social dynamics and individual hunting tactics of white sharks revealed by biologgingFull Text via DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2021.0599 Web of Science: 000779917100006
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2022Varying reef shark abundance trends inside a marine reserve: evidence of a Caribbean reef shark declineFull Text via DOI: 10.3354/meps13954 Web of Science: 000752973500007
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2022Evidence for spatial and temporal resource partitioning of sharks at Roca Partida, an isolated pinnacle in the eastern PacificFull Text via DOI: 10.1007/s10641-021-01206-4 Web of Science: 000747645000001
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2022Conservation implications of forage base requirements of a marine predator population at carrying capacityFull Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103646 Web of Science: 000747895100010
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2021Incorporating thermodynamics in predator-prey games predicts the diel foraging patterns of poikilothermic predatorsFull Text via DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13608 Web of Science: 000715151500001
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2021Endothermy makes fishes faster but does not expand their thermal nicheFull Text via DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13869 Web of Science: 000668356100001
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2021Approaching the "real" state of elasmobranch fisheries and trade: A case study from the MediterraneanFull Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2021.105743 Web of Science: 000690438300008
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2021Sharks surf the slope: Current updrafts reduce energy expenditure for aggregating marine predatorsFull Text via DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13536 Web of Science: 000661020500001
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2021Gut microbial diversity and digestive function of an omnivorous sharkFull Text via DOI: 10.1007/s00227-021-03866-3 Web of Science: 000637406400002
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2021Elucidating shark diets with DNA metabarcoding from cloacal swabsFull Text via DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13315 Web of Science: 000613646100001
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2020A scalable, satellite-transmitted data product for monitoring high-activity events in mobile aquatic animalsFull Text via DOI: 10.1186/s40317-020-00220-0 Web of Science: 000696407100001
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2020Buried in the sand: Uncovering the ecological roles and importance of raysFull Text via DOI: 10.1111/faf.12508 Web of Science: 000570877900001
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2020Multiyear social stability and social information use in reef sharks with diel fission-fusion dynamicsFull Text via DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.1063 Web of Science: 000561670100001
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2020Using side-scan sonar to survey critically endangered smalltooth sawfishFull Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2020.105577 Web of Science: 000531585900015
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2020Intestinal eversion in a pelagic shark evokes chase and bite attempts by large-bodied carangid fishFull Text via DOI: 10.1007/s10164-020-00664-0 Web of Science: 000551725000001
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2020Global status and conservation potential of reef sharksFull Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2519-y Web of Science: 000551385400006
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2020An encounter between a pelagic shark and giant cephalopodFull Text via DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14415 Web of Science: 000542477900001
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2020Habitat-specific inter and intraspecific behavioral interactions among reef sharksFull Text via DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04676-y Web of Science: 000537962800001
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2020Response of blacktip reef sharks Carcharhinus melanopterus to shark bite mitigation productsFull Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-60062-x Web of Science: 000563068400001
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2019Observation of a porbeagle shark Lamna nasus aggregation at a North Sea oil platformFull Text via DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14149 Web of Science: 000493078200001
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2019Global spatial risk assessment of sharks under the footprint of fisheriesFull Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1444-4 Web of Science: 000482219600033
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2019Size frequency, dispersal distances and variable growth rates of young sharks in a multi-species aggregationFull Text via DOI: 10.1111/jfb.13968 Web of Science: 000474071500011
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2018Seagrass digestion by a notorious 'carnivore'Full Text via DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2018.1583 Web of Science: 000444626300020
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2018Spline-based nonparametric inference in general state-switching modelsFull Text via DOI: 10.1111/stan.12133 Web of Science: 000438904800002
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2018Mesophotic coral ecosystems are threatened and ecologically distinct from shallow water reefsFull Text via DOI: 10.1126/science.aaq1614 Web of Science: 000439145800044
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2018Activity seascapes highlight central place foraging strategies in marine predators that never stop swimmingFull Text via DOI: 10.1186/s40462-018-0127-3 Web of Science: 000436185900001
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2018Spatial separation without territoriality in shark communitiesFull Text via DOI: 10.1111/oik.04289 Web of Science: 000434153600002
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2018Apex predatory sharks and crocodiles simultaneously scavenge a whale carcassFull Text via DOI: 10.1007/s10164-018-0543-2 Web of Science: 000431173000012
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2018Combining abundance and performance data reveals how temperature regulates coastal occurrences and activity of a roaming apex predatorFull Text via DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14088 Web of Science: 000428879800006
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2018Mobile marine predators: an understudied source of nutrients to coral reefs in an unfished atollFull Text via DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2456 Web of Science: 000428940600003
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2018A global perspective on the trophic geography of sharksFull Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41559-017-0432-z Web of Science: 000426516400020
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2018Optimal swimming strategies and behavioral plasticity of oceanic whitetip sharksFull Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-18608-z Web of Science: 000419942100034
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2017No persistent behavioural effects of SCUBA diving on reef sharksFull Text via DOI: 10.3354/meps12053 Web of Science: 000397823100012
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2017Etmopterus lailae sp nov., a new lanternshark (Squaliformes: Etmopteridae) from the Northwestern Hawaiian IslandsFull Text via DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4237.2.10 Web of Science: 000394798100010
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2017Resetting predator baselines in coral reef ecosystemsFull Text via DOI: 10.1038/srep43131 Web of Science: 000394706800001
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2017Growth and life history variability of the grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) across its rangeFull Text via DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172370 Web of Science: 000394424500128
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2017Analysis of animal accelerometer data using hidden Markov modelsFull Text via DOI: 10.1111/2041-210X.12657 Web of Science: 000395092500003
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2016Inferring animal social networks and leadership: applications for passive monitoring arraysFull Text via DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2016.0676 Web of Science: 000389816300013
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2016Relations between morphology, buoyancy and energetics of requiem sharksFull Text via DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160406 Web of Science: 000389241700027
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2016Into the deep: the functionality of mesopelagic excursions by an oceanic apex predatorFull Text via DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2260 Web of Science: 000381216300015
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2014Growth and maximum size of tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) in HawaiiFull Text via DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084799
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2013Behavior of American alligators monitored by multi-sensor data loggersFull Text via DOI: 10.3354/ab00489
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2012Energetics of the yo-yo dives of predatory sharksFull Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2011.11.008
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2011Acoustic monitoring of fish movements across multiple spatial and temporal scalesFull Text via DOI: 10.1121/1.3654937
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2010Site fidelity and movements of sharks associated with ocean-farming cages in HawaiiFull Text via DOI: 10.1071/MF10056
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2009Long-term movement patterns of tiger sharks Galeocerdo cuvier in HawaiiFull Text via DOI: 10.3354/meps07951
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2008Intestinal eversion in a free-ranging manta ray (Manta birostris)Full Text via DOI: 10.1007/s00338-007-0305-z
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Book Chapter
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2022Advances in Our Understanding of the Ecological Importance of Sharks and Their Relatives. 487-521.Full Text via DOI: 10.1201/9781003262190-15
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2019Feeding in Cartilaginous Fishes: An Interdisciplinary Synthesis. 231-295.Full Text via DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-13739-7_8 Web of Science: 000487210200009
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2008An Overview of the Feeding Ecology and Physiology of Elasmobranch Fishes. 393-443.Full Text via DOI: 10.1201/b10749-10
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Conference
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2019Multiyear social stability shapes cryptic colonial behavior in an ectothermic marine predator. E179-E179.Web of Science: 000460620902075
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Letter
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2021Reply to: Caution over the use of ecological big data for conservation. E20-E28.Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03464-9 Web of Science: 000671377900017
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2021Reply to: Shark mortality cannot be assessed by fishery overlap alone. E8-E16.Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03397-3 Web of Science: 000671377900016
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Other Scholarly Work
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2020Global status and conservation potential of reef sharks (583, pg 801, 2020). E11-E11.Full Text via DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2692-z Web of Science: 000563193900001
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2020Heterospecific foraging associations between reef-associated sharks: first evidence of kleptoparasitism in sharksFull Text via DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3117 Web of Science: 000548416400001
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2019Mobile marine predators: an understudied source of nutrients to coral reefs in an unfished atoll (vol 285, 20172456, 2018)Full Text via DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.0246 Web of Science: 000465432500032
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Preprint
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Review
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2022The Functional and Ecological Significance of Deep Diving by Large Marine Predators. 129-159.Full Text via DOI: 10.1146/annurev-marine-032521-103517 Web of Science: 000788648800007
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2019Distribution, body size and biology of the megamouth shark Megachasma pelagios. 992-998.Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/jfb.14007 Web of Science: 000489884900002
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2019Reef Shark Science - Key Questions and Future DirectionsFull Text via DOI: 10.3389/fmars.2019.00012 Web of Science: 000457827300001
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2017The nutritional physiology of sharks. 561-585.Full Text via DOI: 10.1007/s11160-017-9481-2 Web of Science: 000406965300005
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2016A review of batoid philopatry, with implications for future research and population management. 251-261.Full Text via DOI: 10.3354/meps11963 Web of Science: 000394183600019
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2015Biological effects, conservation potential, and research priorities of shark diving tourism. 365-379.Full Text via DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2015.02.007
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2012An analytical and hypothesis-driven approach to elasmobranch movement studies. 1342-1360.Full Text via DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2012.03232.x
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Works By Students
advised honors theses
Research
principal investigator on
- Energetics and predator-prey dynamics of great hammerhead sharks awarded by Georgia Aquarium 2019 - 2022
- Collaborative Research: RAPID: Storm and tropical cyclone effects on the spawning activity, larval dispersal, and ecosystem impacts of an endangered marine predator awarded by National Science Foundation 2019 - 2022
- Movements of Nassau grouper in San Salvador, Bahamas awarded by Moore Charitable Foundation 2020 - 2021
- Coexistance at an ocean oasis: what supports the abundance of marine top predators at Roca Partida? awarded by National Geographic Society 2016 - 2018
- Predator prey interactions of great hammerheads awarded by BBC Blue Planet 2017
co-principal investigator on
- Integrating reef-seagrass functional connectivity into MPA management and design awarded by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin 2021 - 2025
- Shark and ray conservation in Belize awarded by Earthwatch Institute 2017 - 2020
Contact
full name
- Yannis Papastamatiou
Identifiers
ORCID iD
- https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6091-6841 (confirmed)
visualizations
publication subject areas
Citation index-derived subject areas the researcher has published in