Coral Reef Ecology Laboratory - Professor Mark Ian McCormick









Mark McCormack Reef Fish Ecology

 Publications 2011 to Present

Grutter AS, Blomberg S, Doherty PJ, Fargher B, Kuris AM, McCormick MI, Warner RR (2017) Size-related mortality due to gnathiid isopod micropredation correlates with settlement size in coral reef fishes. Coral Reefs doi: 10.1007/s00338-016-1537-6 click here click here for Sup files

McCormick MI, Allan BJM (2016) Lionfish misidentification circumvents an optimised escape response by prey. Conservation Physiology 4:cow064 click here

Warren DT, Donelson JM, McCormick MI, Ferrari MCO, Munday PL (2016) Duration of exposure to elevated temperature affects competitive interactions in juvenile reef fishes. PLoS ONE 11:e0164505 click here

Morse P, Zenger KR, McCormick MI, Huffard CL (2016) Chemical Cues Influence Female Mate Choice Behaviour in the Southern Blue-Ringed Octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae). Journal of Molluscan Studies:1-9 click here

Geange SW, Poulos DE, Stier AC, McCormick MI (2016) The relative influence of abundance and priority effects on colonization success in a coral-reef fish. Coral Reefs DOI 10.1007/s00338-016-1503-3  click here

Munday PL, Welch MJ, Allan B, Watson SA, McMahon S, McCormick MI (2016) Effects of elevated CO2 on predator avoidance behaviour by reef fishes is not altered by experimental test water. PeerJ 4:e2501 click here

Militz TA, McCormick MI, Schoeman DS, Kinch J, Southgate PC (2016) Frequency and distribution of melanistic morphs in coexisting population of nine clownfish species in Papua New Guinea. Marine Biology 163:200 click here

Nadler LE, Killen SS, McClure EC, Munday PL, McCormick MI (2016) Shoaling reduces metabolic rate in a gregarious coral reef fish species. Journal of Experimental Biology 219:2802-2805 click here

McCormick MI (2016) When corals die and fish become fearless. Wildlife Australia Magazine Spring click here

Chivers DP, McCormick MI, Allan BJM, Ferrari MCO (2016) Risk assessment and predator learning in a changing world: understanding the impacts of coral reef degradation. Scientific Reports 6:32542 click here

McCormick MI (2016) Protogyny in a tropical damselfish: females queue for future benefits. PeerJ 4:e2198 click here

McCormick MI, Chivers DP, Allan BJM, Ferrari MCO (2016) Habitat degradation disrupts neophobia in juvenile coral reef fish. Global Change Biology doi: 10.1111/gcb.13393 click here

Roberts MB, Jones GJ, McCormick MI, Munday PL, Neale S, Thorrold S, Robitzch VSN, Berumen ML (2015) Homogeneity of coral reef communities across 8 degrees of latitude in the Saudi Arabian Red Sea Marine Pollution Bulletin
doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2015.11.024 click here

McCormick MI, Lönnstedt OM (2016) Disrupted learning: habitat degradation impairs crucial antipredator responses in naïve prey. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 20160441 click here

Palacios MM, Killen SS, Nadler LE, White JR, McCormick MI (2016) Top-predators negate the effect of mesopredators on prey physiology Journal of Animal Ecology doi: 10.1111/1365-2656.12523 click here

Simpson SD, Radford AN, Holles S, Ferarri MCO, Chivers DP, McCormick MI, Meekan MG (2016) Small boat noise impacts natural settlement behavior of coral reef fish larvae. In: Popper AN, Hawkins AD (eds) The effects of noise on aquatic life, II. Springer Science+Business Media, New York click for PDF

Simpson SD, Radford AN, McCormick MI, Ferrari MCO, Chivers DP, Holles S, Meekan MG (2016) Boat noise reduces fish survival through impaired anti-predator performance. Nature Communications 7:10544  click here

Palacios MM, Warren DT, McCormick MI (2016) Sensory cues of a top-predator indirectly control a reef fish mesopredator. Oikos 125:201?209 click here

Sun D, Cheney KL, Werminghausen J, McClure EC, Meekan MG, McCormick MI, Cribb TH, Grutter AS (2016) Cleaner wrasse influence habitat selection in juvenile damselfish. Coral Reefs doi: 10.?1007/?s00338-015-1391-y click here

2015

Morse P, Zenger KR, McCormick MI, Meekan MG, Huffard CL (2015) Nocturnal mating behaviour and dynamic male investment of copulation time in the Southern Blue-Ringed Octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa (Cephalopoda: Octopodidae). Behaviour doi: 10.1163/1568539X-00003321

Lönnstedt OM, McCormick MI (2015) Damsel in distress: captured damselfish prey emit chemical cues that attract secondary predators and improve escape chances. Proceedings of the Royal Society London B 282:20152038 click for PDF

Mitchell MD, Chivers DP, McCormick MI, Ferrari MCO (2015) Learning to distinguish between predators and non-predators: understanding the critical role of diet cues and predator odours in generalisation. Scientific Reports click for PDF

Sun D, Cheney KL, De Brauwer M, Werminghausen J, Meekan MG, McCormick MI, Cribb TH, Grutter AS (2015) Presence of cleaner wrasse increases the recruitment of damselfishes to coral reefs. Biology Letters 11:20150456 click for PDF

Ramasamy RA, Allan B, McCormick MI (2015) Plasticity of escape responses: prior predator experience enhances escape performance in a coral reef fish. PLoS ONE 10:e0132790 click for PDF

Carter AB, Carton AG, McCormick MI, Tobin AJ, Williams AJ (2015) Maternal size, not age, influences egg quality of a wild, protogynous coral reef fish. Marine Ecology Progress Series 529: 249-263 click for PDF

Palacios MM, Warren DT, McCormick MI (2015) Sensory cues of a top-predator indirectly control a reef fish mesopredator. Oikos doi: 10.1111/oik.02116 click for PDF

White JR, Meekan MG, McCormick MI (2015) Individual consistency in the behaviors of newly-settled reef fish. PeerJ 3:e961
click for PDF

Ferrari MCO, L. MP, Rummer JL, McCormick MI, Corkill K, Watson S-A, Allan BJM, Meekan MG, Chivers DP (2015) Interactive effects of ocean acidification and global warming alter mortality and predator selectivity in reef fish communities. Global Change Biology 21:1848-1855 click for PDF

Ferrari MCO, McCormick MI, Meekan MG, Chivers DP (2015) Background level of risk and the survival of predator-naïve prey: can neophobia compensate for predator naivety in juvenile coral reef fishes? Proc R Soc Lond b 282:20142197 click for PDF

McLeod IM, McCormick MI, Munday PL, Wenger AS, Brooker RM, Takahashi M, Jones GP (2015) Latitudinal variation in larval development of coral reef fishes: implications of a warming ocean. Marine Ecology Progress Series 521:129?141click for PDF

Allan BJM, Domenici P, Munday PL, McCormick MI (2015) Feeling the heat: the effect of acute temperature changes on predator-prey interactions in coral reef fish. Conservation Physiology 3:1-8 click for PDF

Atherton JA, McCormick MI (2015) Active in the sac: damselfish embryos use innate recognition of odours to learn predation risk before hatching. Animal Behaviour 103:1-6 click for PDF

2014

Bosiger YJ, McCormick MI (2014) Temporal links in daily activity patterns between coral reef predators and their prey. PLoS ONE 9:e111723 click for PDF

Fraser MR, I. McCormick MI (2014) Gender-specific benefits of eating eggs at resident reef fish spawning aggregation sites. Marine Ecology Progress Series 517:209?216 click for PDF

Chivers DP, Ramasamy RA, McCormick MI, Watson SA, Siebeck UE, Ferrari MCO (2014) Temporal dynamics of risk assessment in a changing world. Science of the Total Environment 500:332?338 click for PDF

Claydon JAB, McCormick MI, Jones GP (2014) Multi-species spawning sites for fishes on a low latitude coral reef: spatial and temporal patterns. Journal of Fish Biology 84:1136-1163  click for PDF

Rizzari JR, Frisch AJ, Connolly SR (2014) How robust are estimates of coral reef shark depletion? Biological Conservation 176:39-47  click for PDF

Rizzari JR, Frisch AJ, Hoey AS, McCormick MI (2014) Not worth the risk: apex predator presence suppresses herbivory on coral reefs. Oikos123: 829-836 click for PDF

Lonnstedt OM, McCormick MI, Chivers DP, Ferrari MCO (in press) Habitat degradation is threatening reef replenishment by making fish fearless. Journal of Animal Ecology

Donelson JM, McCormick MI, Booth D, Munday PL (2014) Reproductive acclimation to increased water temperature of a tropical reef fish. PLoS ONE 9: e97223 click for PDF

Poulos D, McCormick MI (2014) Who wins in the battle for space? The importance of priority, behavioural history and size. Animal Behaviour90: 304-314  click for PDF

Domenici P, Allan B, Watson S, McCormick MI, Munday PL (2014) Shifting from right to left: the combined effect of elevated CO2 and temperature on behavioural lateralization in a coral reef fish. PLoS ONE 9:e87969 click for PDF

Lienart GDH, Mitchell MD, Ferrari MCO, McCormick MI (2014) Temperature and food availability affect risk assessment in an ectotherm. Animal Behaviour 89:199-204 click for PDF

Simpson SD, Radford AN, Holles S, Ferarri MCO, Chivers DP, McCormick MI, Meekan MG (2014) Small boat noise impacts natural settlement behavior of coral reef fish larvae. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology

Wenger AS, McCormick MI, Endo GGK, McLeod IM, Kroon F, Jones GP (2014) Suspended sediment threatens larval development of a coral reef fish. Journal of Experimental Biology doi: 10.1242/jeb.094409

Allan BJM, Miller GM, McCormick MI, Domenici P, Munday PL (2014) Parental effects improve escape performance of juvenile reef fish in a high CO2 world. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 281:1777 click for PDF

Berkström C, Jones GP, McCormick MI (2014) Trade-offs in the ecological versatility of juvenile wrasses: an experimental evaluation. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 453:91-97  click for PDF

Chivers DP, McCormick MI, Nilsson GE, Munday PL, Watson S-A, Meekan MG, Mitchell MD, Corkhill KC, Ferrari MCO (2014) Impaired learning about predators and lower survival under elevated CO2: a consequence of neurotransmitter interference. Global Change Biology 20:515-522 click for PDF

Watson S, Lefevre S, McCormick MI, Domenici P, Nilsson GE, Munday PL (2014) Marine mollusc predator-escape behaviour altered by near-future carbon dioxide levels. Proc. R. Soc. B 281:20132377click for PDF

2013

White JR, McCormick MI, Meekan MG (2013) Syndromes or flexibility: Behavioral during a life history transition of a coral reef fish. PloS ONE 8:e84262 click for PDF

White JR, Meekan MG, McCormick MI, Ferrari MCO (2013) A comparison of measures of boldness and their relationships to survival in young fish. PLoS ONE 8:268900 click for PDF

McCormick MI, Watson S, Munday PL (2013) Ocean acidification reverses competition for space as habitats degrade. Scientific Reports 3: 3280  doi:10.1038/srep03280 click for PDF

Lönnstedt OM, McCormick MI, Chivers DP (2013) Predator-induced changes in the growth of eyeballs and false eyespots. Scientific Reports 3: 2259 click for PDF

Eriksen MS, Poppe TT, McCormick MI, Damsgård B, Salte R, Braastad BO, Bakken M (in revision) Simulated maternal pre-spawning stress affects offspring?s attributes in farmed Atlantic salmon Salmo salar (Linnaeus, 1758). Aquaculture Research

Chivers DP, Dixson DL, White J, McCormick MI, Ferrari MCO (2013) Degradation of chemical alarm cues and assessment of risk throughout the day. Ecology and Evolution 3:3925?3934 click for PDF

Manassa RP, Dixson DL, McCormick MI, Chivers DP (2013) Coral reef fish incorporate multiple sources of social and chemical information to mediate predation risk. Animal Behaviour 86: 717-722  click for PDF

McCormick MI, Lönnstedt OM (2013) Degrading habitats and the effect of topographic complexity on risk assessment. Ecology & Evolution doi: 10.1002/ece3.793 click for PDF

White JR, Meekan MG, McCormick MI & Ferrari MCO (2013). A comparison of field measures of boldness and their relationship to survival in young fish. PLoS ONE 8(7): e68900. click for PDF

Lönnstedt OM, McCormick MI (2013) Ultimate predators: lionfish have evolved to circumvent prey risk assessment abilities. PLOS ONE 8(10): e75781 click for PDF

Lönnstedt OM, McCormick MI, Ferrari MCO, Munday PL, Chivers DP (2013) Ocean acidification and impaired responses to predation cues: can sensory compensation reduce the apparent impacts of elevated CO2 in coral reefs? Ecology and Evolution doi: 10.1002/ece3.684 click for PDF

Manassa RP, McCormick MI, Chivers DP, Ferrari MCO (2013) Social learning of predators in the dark: understanding the role of visual, chemical and mechanical information. Proceedings of the Royal Society Lond B click for PDF

Chivers DP, McCormick MI, Nilsson GE, Munday PL, Watson S-A, Meekan MG, Mitchell MD, Corkhill KC, Ferrari MCO (In press) Impaired learning about predators and lower survival under elevated CO2: a consequence of neurotransmitter interference. Global Change Biology click for PDF

Mitchell MD, McCormick MI (2013) Ontogenetic differences in chemical alarm cue production determine antipredator responses and learned predator recognition. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 67(7):1123-1129. click for PDF

Manassa RP, McCormick MI, Chivers DP (in press) Socially acquired predator recognition in complex ecosystems Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 67:1033-1040. click for PDF

Allan BJM, Domenici P, McCormick MI, Munday PL (2013) Elevated CO2 affects predator-prey interactions through altered performance PLoS One 8:e58520  click for PDF

Wenger AS, McCormick MI, McLeod IM, Jones GP (2013) Suspended sediment leads to shifting predator-prey interactions between two coral reef fish. Coral Reefs doi: 10.1007/s00338-012-0991-z click for PDF

Wenger AS, McCormick MI (2013) Determining trigger values of suspended sediment for behavioral changes in a coral reef fish. Marine Pollution Bulletin doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2013.02.014 click for PDF

2012

Frisch AJ, Cole AJ, Hobbs JP, Rizzari JR, Munkers KP (2012) Effects of spearfishing on reef populations in a multi-use conservation area. PLoS One e51938 click for PDF

Manassa RP, McCormick MI (2012) Risk assessment via predator diet cues in a coral reef goby. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 426-427:48-52 click for PDF

Munday PL, McCormick MI, Meekan MG, Dixson DL, Watson S, Ferrari MCO, Chivers DP (2012) Selection for CO2 tolerance in marine fishes. Ocean Acidification  1:1-5. doi: 10.2478/oac-2012-0001 click for PDF

Lönnstedt OM, McCormick MI, Chivers DP (2012) Degraded coral disrupts innate antipredator responses of fish. Ecology and Evolution doi:10.1002/ece3.388  click for PDF

Mitchell MD, McCormick MI, Chivers DP, Ferrari MCO  (2013) Generalization of learned predator recognition in coral reef ecosystems: how cautious are damselfish? Functional Ecology doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.12043  click for PDF

Manassa RP, McCormick MI (2012) Social learning improves survivorship at a life history transition. Oecologia doi:10.1007/s00442-012-2458-x click for PDF

Maddams JC, McCormick MI (2012) Not all offspring are created equal: a lesson on bet-hedging from a serial spawning species. PLoS One 7, e48525 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0048525 click for PDF

Munday PL, McCormick MI, Nilsson GE (2012) Impact of global warming and rising CO2 on coral reef fishes: what hope for the future? Journal of Experimental Biology 215: 3865-3873  doi:10.1242/jeb.074765 click for PDF

Mitchell MD, Cowman PF, McCormick MI (2012) Are chemical alarm cues conserved within the coral reef fish family Pomacentridae? PLoS 7:e47428 click for PDF

McCormick MI, Weaver C (2012) It pays to be pushy: intracohort interference competition between two reef fishes. PLoS One 7(8): 42590 click for PDF

McCormick MI (2012) Lethal effects of habitat degradation on fishes through changing competitive advantage. Proc B doi:10.1098/rspb.2012.0854 click for PDF

Sun D, Blomberg SP, Cribb TH, McCormick MI, Grutter AS (2012) The effects of parasites on the early life stages of a coral reef fish. Coral Reefs doi: 10.1007/s00338-012-0929-5 click for PDF

Takahashi M, Jones GP, McCormick MI, Munday PL (2012) Influence of seasonal and latitudinal temperature variation on early life history traits of a coral reef fish. Marine & Freshwater Research

Manassa RP, McCormick MI (2012) Risk assessment via predator diet cues in a coral reef goby. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology

Miller GM, Watson S, Donelson JM, McCormick MI, Munday PL (2012) Parental environment mediates impacts of elevated CO2 on a coral reef fish. Nature Climate Change doi: 10.1038/NCLIMATE1599

Berkström C, Jones GP, McCormick MI, Srinivasan M (2012) Ecological versatility and the consequences for distribution and abundance of coral reef wrasses in Kimbe Bay, Papua New Guinea. Marine Ecology Progress Series 461: 151-163 doi:10.3354/meps09788 click for PDF

Bosiger YJ, Lönnstedt OM, McCormick MI, Ferrari MCO (2012) Learning temporal patterns of risk in a predator-diverse environment PLoS One 7(4):e34535. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034535  click for PDF

Donelson JM, Munday PL, McCormick MI (2012) Interacting effects of parental and juvenile environment on a coral reef fish. Coral Reefs doi: 10.1007/s00338-012-0899-7 click for PDF

Feeney WE, Lonnstedt OM, Bosiger Y, Martin J, Jones GP, Rowe RJ, McCormick MI (2012) High rate of prey consumption in a small predatory fish on coral reefs. Coral Reefs doi: 10.1007/s00338-012-0894-z click for PDF

Manassa R, McCormick MI (2012) Social learning and acquired recognition of a predator by a marine fish. Animal Cognition doi:10.1007/s10071-012-0484-z  click for PDF

Ferrari MCO, McCormick MI, Munday PL, Meekan MG, Dixson DL, Lonnstedt OM, Chivers DP (2012) Effects of ocean acidification on visual risk assessment by coral reef fishes. Functional Ecology doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2011.01951.x click for PDF

Nilsson GE, Dixson DL, Domenici P, McCormick MI, Sørensen C, Watson S, Munday PL (2012) Near-future CO2 levels alter fish behaviour by interference with neurotransmitter function. Nature Climate Change doi: 10.1038/NCLIMATE1352 click for PDF

Lönnstedt OM, McCormick MI, Meekan MG, Ferrari MCO, Chivers DP (2012) Learn and live: the role of predator experience in influencing prey behaviour and survival. Proceedings of the Royal Society London B doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.2516 click for PDF

2011

Donelson JM, Munday PL, McCormick MI, Pitcher CR (2011) Rapid transgenerational acclimation of a tropical fish to climate change. Nature Climate Change doi:10.1038/NCLIMATE1323 click for PDF

Ferrari MCO, McCormick MI, Munday PL, Meekan MG, Lonnstedt OM, Chivers DP (2011) Putting prey and predator into the CO2 equation - quantitative and qualitative effects of ocean acidification on predator-prey interactions. Ecology Letters 14: 1143-1148 click for PDF

Claydon JAB, McCormick MI, Jones GP (2011) Patterns of migration between feeding and spawning sites in the tropical surgeonfish. Coral Reefs DOI 10.1007/s00338-011-0821-8  click for PDF

Lönnstedt OM, McCormick MI, Chivers DP (2011) Well-informed prey stealing: damage released chemical cues of injured prey signal quality and size to predators Oecologia doi:10.1007/s00442-011-2116-8 click for PDF

Domenici P, Allan B, McCormick MI, Munday PL (2011) Elevated CO2 affects behavioral lateralization in a coral reef fish. Biology Letters doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0591 click for PDF

Leahy SM, McCormick MI, Mitchell M, Ferrari MCO (2011) To fear or to feed: the effects of turbidity on perception of risk by a marine fish. Biology Letters 7: 811-813  doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0645  click for PDF

Eriksen MS, Færevik G, Kittilsen S, McCormick MI, Damgård B, Braithwaite VA, Braastad BO, Bakken M (2011) Stressed mothers - troubled offspring: a study of behavioural maternal effects in farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. Journal of Fish Biology 79:575-586 click for PDF

Cripps IL, Munday PL, McCormick MI (2011) Ocean acidification impacts prey detection by a predatory reef fish. PLoS One 6(7) e22736 click for PDF

Clague GE, Cheney KL, Goldizen AL, McCormick MI, Waldie PA, Grutter AS (2011) Long term cleaner fish presence affects growth of a coral reef fish. Biology Letters doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0458

Lönnstedt O, McCormick MI (2011) Previous growth and intrinsic factors influence risk assessment in a coral reef fish. Coral Reefs doi:10.1007/s00338-011-0768-9 click for PDF

Lönnstedt O, McCormick MI (2011) Chemical alarm cues inform prey of predation threat: the importance of ontogeny and concentration in a coral reef fish. Animal Behaviour 82: 213-218  doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.04.015 click for PDF

Ferrari MCO, Dixson DL, Munday PL, McCormick MI, Meekan MG, Sih A, Chivers DP (2011) Intrageneric variation in tolerance of coral reef fishes to ocean acidification: implications for climate change projections on marine communities. Global Change Biology doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2486.2011.02439.x  click for PDF

Vail A, McCormick MI (2011) Larval reef fish avoid pedator scent when choosing a home. Biology Letters doi:10.1098/rsbl.2011.0380 click for PDF

Mitchell MD, McCormick MI, Ferrar MCO, Chivers DP (2011) Knowing your enemy: the role of latent inhibition and flexible learning in identifying predators. Animal Cognition doi: 10.1007/s10071-011-0405-6 click for PDF

Holmes T, McCormick MI (2011) Response across a gradient: behavioural reactions of newly settled fish to predation cues. Animal Behaviour doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.11.019  click for PDF

Grutter AS, Crean A, Curtis LM, Kuris AM, Warner RR, McCormick MI (2011) Indirect effects of a micropredator reduce successful establishment of a damselfish at settlement. Functional Ecology 25: 586-594 doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2010.01798.x  click for PDF

Mitchell M, McCormick MI, Ferrar MCO, Chivers DP (2011) Coral reef fish rapidly learn to identify multiple unknown predators upon recruitment to the reef. PLoS One 6(1): e15764  click for PDF

Donelson JM, Munday PL, McCormick MI, Nilsson GE (2011) Acclimation to predicted ocean warming by a tropical reef fish. Global Change Biology 17:1712-1719   click for PDF