Research Interests

My research interests include ecological and systematic relationships of fishes, with emphasis on the resource ecology of fishes as it relates to the control of community structure. Studies of fish assemblages from a variety of marine and freshwater habitats show distinct patterns in how cohabiting species use resources. These studies also raise questions, including 1) the importance of environmental perturbation on resource use, 2) the temporal dynamics of resource use and its impact on community function, 3) the overall persistence of fish assemblages, and 4) the interplay of historical and contemporary ecological processes in community structure and function.

Representative Publications

Ross, S.T. 2001. The Inland Fishes of Mississippi. University Press of Mississippi, Jackson. 624 p.

Peterson, M. S., M. R. Weber, M. L. Partyka, and S. T. Ross. 2007. Integrating in situ quantitative geographic information tools and size-specific laboratory-based growth zones in a dynamic river-mouth estuary. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 17:602-618.

Heise, R. J., W. T. Slack, S. T. Ross, and M. A. Dugo. 2005. Gulf sturgeon summer habitat use and fall migration in the Pascagoula River, Mississippi. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 21:461-468.

Dugo, M. A., B. R. Kreiser, S. T. Ross, W. T. Slack, R. J. Heise, and B. R. Bowen. 2004. Conservation and management implications of finescale genetic structure of Gulf sturgeon in the Pascagoula River, Mississippi. Journal of Applied Ichthyology 20:243-251.