Meaghen McCord

Meaghen McCord
CPAWS-BC (Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society - British Columbia)

MSc

About

33
Publications
26,801
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Citations
Introduction
In my current position I manage 5 direct reports and 10 additional cross-functional conservation staff. I manage and administer a budget of $1.7 million (CAD), ensuring effective allocation of funds and financial oversight. I provide strategic oversight of the Communications, Conservation, HR and Finance, and Fundraising and Development Departments. Additionally, I manage relationships with Ministers and senior bureaucrats to influence policies, legislation, and decision-making processes.
Additional affiliations
June 2007 - present
South African Shark Conservancy
Position
  • Founding Director/Research Manager
Description
  • An NGO focused on developing sustainable resource use practices, with a focus on ecological monitoring, shark fisheries, and ecosystem connectivity.
Education
January 2003 - April 2005
Rhodes University
Field of study
  • Fisheries Science
September 1998 - April 2002
Dalhousie University
Field of study
  • Marine Biology

Publications

Publications (33)
Article
• Haploblepharus is an understudied genus comprising four recognized scyliorhinid species that are endemic to southern Africa. Species identification within this group has historically been problematic due to a high degree of morphological conservatism among congeners, further complicated by the possibility of interspecific hybridization. • This st...
Article
Full-text available
Here, we summarise the extinction risk of the sharks and rays endemic to coastal, shelf, and slope waters of the southwest Indian Ocean and adjacent waters (SWIO+, Namibia to Kenya, including SWIO islands). This region is a hotspot of endemic and evolutionarily distinct sharks and rays. Nearly one-fifth (n = 13 of 70, 18.6%) of endemic sharks and r...
Article
Full-text available
Adaptive divergence in response to environmental clines are expected to be common in species occupying heterogeneous environments. Despite numerous advances in techniques appropriate for non‐model species, gene–environment association studies in elasmobranchs are still scarce. The bronze whaler or copper shark (Carcharhinus brachyurus) is a large c...
Article
The spotted gully shark Triakis megalopterus (Triakidae) is a mesopredatory species endemic to southern Africa. It is currently listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in accordance with an estimated increase in population size, general release by recreational linefishers and incidental catches in the commercial linefisheries. Previous researc...
Article
Full-text available
The ability to correctly identify specimens at the species level is crucial for assessing and conserving biodiversity. Despite this, species-specific data are lacking for many of South Africa’s catsharks due to a high level of morphological stasis. As comprehensive and curated DNA reference libraries are required for the reliable identification of...
Preprint
Full-text available
The southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO) is a hotspot of endemic and evolutionarily distinct sharks and rays. We summarise the extinction risk of the sharks and rays endemic to coastal, shelf, and slope waters of the SWIO and adjacent waters (Namibia to Kenya, including SWIO islands). Thirteen of 70 species (19%) are threatened: one is Critically Endanger...
Article
Full-text available
The European green crab (Carcinus maenas), native to northwestern Europe and Africa, is among the top 100 most damaging invasive species globally. In some regions, including the Atlantic coast of North America, C. maenas has caused long-term degradation of eelgrass habitats and bivalve, crab, and finfish populations, while other areas are near the...
Preprint
Full-text available
The southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO) is a hotspot of endemic and evolutionarily distinct sharks and rays. We summarise the extinction risk of the sharks and rays endemic to coastal, shelf, and slope waters of the SWIO and adjacent waters (Namibia to Kenya, including SWIO islands). Thirteen of 70 species (19%) are threatened: one is Critically Endanger...
Technical Report
Full-text available
Red list assessment of Dasyatis chrysonata
Article
Full-text available
Conservation surrogates, such as umbrella and flagship species, could help focus South Africa’s limited resources for research and management and enhance the conservation gains from marine protected areas (MPAs). Sharks, rays and chimaeras (Chondrichthyes), which are charismatic and ecologically diverse, are potential umbrella candidates, but tests...
Article
Full-text available
Threatened chondrichthyan diversity is high in developing countries where scarce resources, limited data, and minimal stakeholder support often render conservation efforts challenging. As such, data on many species, including many evolutionarily distinct endemics, is poor in these countries and their conservation status and habitat needs remain unc...
Article
Full-text available
Catch-and-release (C&R) is increasingly popular in recreational fisheries as it is thought to protect target species while still allowing anglers to continue recreational fishing activities. Several studies have highlighted high rates of mortality and many sub-lethal effects which ultimately have a negative impact on fish population viability. With...
Article
Full-text available
The tope shark (Galeorhinus galeus Linnaeus, 1758) is a temperate, coastal hound shark found in the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific oceans. In this study, the population structure of Galeorhinus galeus was determined across the entire Southern Hemisphere, where the species is heavily targeted by commercial fisheries, as well as locally, along the South A...
Data
Regional and local sampling populations, collection site, sample numbers (N) and sampling year. (DOCX)
Data
L (K) distributions using the “log probability of data” (Mean of LnP±1) approach prior to application of Evanno method (above) and Delta K analysis of the true number of clusters following the Evanno method (below) across the Southern Hemisphere (left) and across South African (right). (DOCX)
Data
L (K) distributions using the “log probability of data” (Mean of LnP±1) approach prior to application of Evanno method (above) and Delta K analysis of the true number of clusters following the Evanno method (below) for the two main genetic clusters Group 1 (left) and Group 2 (right) identified using STRUCTURE. (DOCX)
Data
Plots of the isolation-by-distance (IBD) analysis of the South African sampling populations showing regression linearized FST and geographic distance (R2 = 0.238, P = 0.1478). (DOCX)
Data
Individual cluster membership of the Southern Hemisphere samples following hierarchical structure performed on the two main genetic clusters (Group 1 and Group 2) identified using STRUCTURE. (TIF)
Data
Full-text available
Article
Full-text available
Chondrichthyans (sharks, skates, rays and chimaeras) are captured in many marine fisheries. Management and research efforts directed at chondrichthyan fishing are often neglected because of low product value, taxonomic uncertainty, low capture rates, and harvesting by multiple fisheries. In South Africa's diverse fishery sectors, which include arti...
Conference Paper
The Breede River estuary is a permanently open warm-temperate system located on the southwest coast of South Africa. It provides essential habitat for three recreationally important fish species – dusky kob (Argyrosomus japonicus), spotted grunter (Pomadasys commersonnii) and Zambezi shark (Carcharhinus leucas). Since 2009, five sharks and 11 spott...
Technical Report
Full-text available
South Africa is a nation largely defined by the characteristics of its oceans. The confluence of two great currents, the cold Benguela Current on the west coast and the warm Agulhas Current on the east coast, contributes to the high levels of marine biodiversity and species endemicity found within the region. Boasting a coastline that stretches ove...
Article
Full-text available
The Zambezi or bull shark Carcharhinus leucas is a large, predatory shark that occurs in warm-temperate, tropical and subtropical coastal and estuarine systems worldwide. To confirm reports of Zambezi sharks in the Breede Estuary on the south-west coast of South Africa, a survey was undertaken during 20-26 January 2009. On 24 January, a large femal...
Article
Full-text available
A quantitative analysis of the stomach contents of blue sharks (Prionace glauca) caught in recreational shark fishing tournaments in Nova Scotia, Canada tested for dietary differences based on sex, maturity and tournament location across 3 sampling years (1999-2001). Of 706 sharks examined, 303 stomachs (43%) were everted, 131 (19%) were empty, 231...
Article
Full-text available
Thesis (M.Sc. (Ichthyology & Fisheries )) - Rhodes University, 2005.

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