Peer-reviewed publications

Dahdouh-Guebas F, Ajonina GN, Amir AA, Andradi-Brown DA, Aziz I, Balke T, Barbier EB, Cannicci S, Cragg SM, Lignon MC, Curnick DJ, Duarte CM, Duke NC, Endsor C, Fratini S, Feller IC, Fromard F, Hugé J, Huxham M, Kairo JG, Kajita T, Kathiresan K, Koedam N, Lee SY, Lin H-J, Mackenzie JR, Mangora MM, Marchand C, Meziane T, Minchinton TE, Pettorelli N, Polanía J, Polgar G, Poti M, Primavera J, Quarto A, Rog SM, Satyanarayana B, Schaeffer-Novelli Y, Spalding M, Stocken TVd, Wodehouse D, Yong JWH, Zimmer M and Friess DA (2020) Public Perceptions of Mangrove Forests Matter for Their Conservation. Front. Mar. Sci. In press 2020

Rog S.M., Clarke R.H, Cook C.N. (2020) Tackling the tide: An effective tool to detect terrestrial vertebrates in mangroves. Biodiversity & Conservation.  We developed and tested a rapid assessment protocol for tidal regions (RAPTR), that uses a range of techniques to detect mammals, reptiles and amphibians in mangrove habitat subject to daily tidal inundation. We detected 65 species of terrestrial vertebrates, of which 42 species have not previously been reported in mangroves. We recommend RAPTR be used as a biodiversity assessment protocol to identify terrestrial vertebrates in mangroves to fill critical knowledge gaps about these important ecological communities, and one which can potentially be applied to other tidal ecosystems.

Thompson B. S. & Rog SM. (2019) Beyond ecosystem services: Charismatic megafauna as a mean to improve global mangrove forest conservation. Environmental Science & Policy. Many candidate flagships species may occur – permanently or periodically – in mangrove habitats around the world, indicating the FSP could have widespread applicability for mangrove conservation. Leveraging upon these findings, we highlight how the FSP can complement, or be integrated with, the ESP in the context of awareness-raising, conservation finance, and policy (e.g. Ramsar Convention). We advise that socio-ecological settings, governance systems, and drivers of mangrove deforestation should be considered when designing flagship campaigns to support the protection of these vital wetlands.

Rog S.M., Cook C.N (2017) Strengthening governance for intertidal ecosystems requires a consistent definition of boundaries between land and sea. Journal of Environmental Management, 196: 694-705 The problems with governance structures for intertidal environments arise from inconsistent classification of the land-sea boundary, inconsistent classification of intertidal vegetation, failure to clearly define the taxonomy of intertidal vegetation (particularly saltmarsh and mangroves) and failure to define the boundaries of intertidal communities that would enable more accurate assessment of their extent.

Rog S.M, Cook C.N, Clarke R.H (2017) More than marine: The critical importance of mangroves for terrestrial vertebrates. Diversity and Distributions 23 (2):221-230 This work shifts the prevailing view of mangroves as marine ecosystems by revealing a significantly higher richness of terrestrial vertebrates than previously thought to occur in these forests.

Rog, S., K. Lampert, M. Ryan (2013) Evidence for morphological and genetic diversification of Túngara frog populations on islands. Herpetological Conservation and Biology, 8(1): 228-239 This study shows that despite the rather short colonization time, island populations differed significantly at the genetic as well as morphological level, as well as in male mating calls. These findings are evidence that isolated populations of Túngara frogs seem to diverge very rapidly and therefore provide very useful tools to analyze the evolutionary processes connected with small population size.

Ellers, J., S. Rog, C. Braam and M.P. Berg (2011). Genotype richness and phenotypic dissimilarity enhance population performance. Ecology, 92: 1605-1615 Genotypic richness in the springtail Orchesella cincta strongly increased population size and biomass production. Most importantly the degree of phenotypic dissimilarity among genotypes determined the magnitude of the genotypic richness effect. Although the exact mechanisms responsible for these effects are currently unknown, similar advantages of trait dissimilarity have been found. Hence, this paper showed that to better understand population performance, genotype number and phenotypic dissimilarity should be considered simultaneously.

Manuscripts prepared for submission in 2020/2021

Rog S.M., Cook C.N. (in Prep 2020) Quality indicators are essential for mangrove conservation: A case study from Australia, uncovering threatened and invasive terrestrial fauna in mangroves.

Science communication

Invited to open the last day of the webinar “Manglares para una gran ciudad” sede Guayaquil, Ecuador 30 October 2020. Where I talked about the importance of mangroves for terrestrial vertebrates and provided management recommendations to benefit both mangroves and species that depend on them. From minute 6: https://fb.watch/1E0kcRztVU/

Invited to provide a public lecture for the Field Naturalist Club of Victoria 2017. Field surveys in Australian mangroves detect a wide variety of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians previously unknown to occur in this habitat.

Conference presentations

Zoological Conference 2018, Lima, Perú. Threatened mammal richness can return to almost pristine values in a regenerating Amazonian Foothill forest (in Spanish).

National Conference on Protected Areas 2018, Cusco, Perú. A different view on the Manu Biosphere Reserve – Arboreal camera trapping in a vital conservation corridor.

International Conference Conservation Biology 2017, Colombia. Filling knowledge gaps on mangrove biodiversity using a novel field design that tackles the tides.

Ecological Society of Australia 2016. Mangrove conservation with a focus on their critical importance to terrestrial vertebrates.

The Mangrove and Saltmarsh Conference 2015, Australia. (Poster) Mangrove management with a focus on reptiles, mammals and amphibians.

The Student Conference on Conservation Science, Brisbane 2015. (Poster) We live here too! Mangrove forests and their importance to terrestrial vertebrates.

Integrative Biology Seminar 2007, Austin University, Texas. Island evolution in Túngara frogs.

Benelux Congress of Zoology 2007, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Island evolution in Túngara frogs, are island populations in Panama at the start of speciation?

National Entomologist Day 2006, Wageningen University, the Netherlands. The influence of genetic and phenotypic diversity on population viability in Orchesella cincta.