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Jack Morris

Senior Biologist

Sharks & Rays Conservation Research Program

Today's Research for Tomorrow's Oceans
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Biography:

Jack Morris joined the Center for Shark Research in April of 2001 as a staff biologist and field support for a variety of shark migration projects. In 2005 he was promoted to senior biologist and manager of the Marine Experimental Research Facility. Since 2001, Jack has been involved with a diverse range of research projects that include field studies of shark nursery habitats, shark movements and migration patterns, habitat utilization, relative abundance of large coastal sharks and currently recreational and commercial post release mortality of sharks and shark physiology. In Addition, Jack designed and constructed the Marine Experimental Research Facility that has provided research tanks for a variety studies including; sensory capabilities, feeding morphology and kinematics, isotopic uptake and tag retention of sharks and rays.

Education:

B.S., Marine Science, Eckerd College, 1998

Featured Publications

Morris, J.; Hagan, V.; Harrington, K.; Chapman, D. (2025). Electronic pulse device deters and delays shark feeding in a depredation context. Journal of Fish Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfb.70220
Sequeira, A., Rodriguez, J., et al (2025). Global tracking of marine megafauna space use reveals how to achieve conservation targets. Science, 388(6751), 1086-1097. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl0239
Erin T. Spencer, Lisa A. Hoopes, Jack J. Morris, Demian D. Chapman, Valerie Hagan, Mark Johnson, Nicholas L. Payne, Yuuki Y. Watanabe, Ruth E. Dunn & Yannis P. Papastamatiou (2025). Energetic benefit of prey choice for a shark-eating shark. Oecologia, 207(113). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-025-05758-5
Spencer, E. T., Hoopes, L. A., Morris, J. J., Chapman, D. D., Hagan, V., & Papastamatiou, Y. P. (2025). Searching day and night: diel hierarchical search patterns in a large marine predator that never stops swimming. Animal Behaviour, 223, 123152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2025.123152
Prohaska, B. K., Marshall, H., Grubbs, R. D., Lear, K., Frazier, B. S., Morris, J. J., Andres, A., Hueter, R. E., Keller, B. A., & Whitney, N. M. (2025). Stress physiology of scalloped and great hammerhead sharks from a bottom longline fishery. Conservation Physiology, 13(1), coaf015. https://doi.org/10.1093/conphys/coaf015
Womersley, F. C., Sousa, L. L., Humphries, N. E., Abrantes, K., Araujo, G., Bach, S. S., Barnett, A., Berumen, M. L., Bessudo Lion, S., Braun, C. D., Clingham, E., Cochran, J. E. M., de la Parra, R., Diamant, S., Dove, A. D. M., Duarte, C. M., Dudgeon, C. L., Erdmann, M. V., Espinoza, E., Ferreira, L. C., Fitzpatrick, R., González Cano, J., Green, J. R., Guzman, H. M., Hardenstine, R., Hasan, A., Hazin, F. H. V., Hearn, A. R., Hueter, R. E., Jaidah, M. Y., Labaja, J., Ladino, F., Macena, B. C. L., Meekan, M. G., Morris Jr., J. J., Norman, B. M., Peñaherrera-Palma, C. R., Pierce, S. J., Quintero, L. M., Ramírez-Macías, D., Reynolds, S. D., Robinson, D. P., Rohner, C. A., Rowat, D. R. L., Sequeira, A. M. M., Sheaves, M., Shivji, M. S., Sianipar, A. B., Skomal, G. B., Soler, G., Syakurachman, I., Thorrold, S. R., Thums, M., Tyminski, J. P., Webb, D. H., Wetherbee, B. M., Queiroz, N., and Sims, D. W. (2024). Climate-driven global redistribution of an ocean giant predicts increased threat from shipping. Nature Climate Change. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-024-02129-5
Espinoza, R., Chapman, D., Morris, J., Schoen, S. N., Hagan, V., Hueter, R., Soto, M., Abrams, R., & Sotomayor, P. (2024). Characteristics and species composition of a small-scale shark fishery in Puerto Rico: Jurisdictional issues enable legal landings of prohibited and endangered species. Fisheries Research , 272, 106936. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2023.106936
Whitney, N. M., Lear, K. O., Morris, J. J., Hueter, R. E., Carlson, J. K., Marshall, H. M. (2021). Connecting post-release mortality to the physiological stress response of large coastal sharks in a commercial longline fishery. PLOS One, 16(9.0), e0255673. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0255673
Queiroz, N., Humphries, N.E., Couto, A. et al (2021). Reply to: Caution over the use of ecological big data for conservation. Nature, 595, E20-E28. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03464-9
Murua, H., Griffiths, S.P., Hobday, A.J. et al. (2021). Reply to: Shark mortality cannot be assessed by fishery overlap alone. nature, 595, E4-E7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03396-4
Lisnerov‡, M., Fiala, I., Cantatore, D., Irigoitia, M., Timi, J., Peckov‡, H., Bartosova-Sojkova, P., Sandoval, C.M., Luer, C., Morris, J., Holzer, A.S. (2020). Mechanisms and Drivers for the Establishment of Life Cycle Complexity in Myxozoan Parasites. Biology, 9.0(1.0), 10. https://doi.org/10.3390/biology9010010
Queiroz, N., Humphries, N.E., Couto, A. et al. (2019). Global spatial risk assessment of sharks under the footprint of fisheries. Nature, 572.0, 461-466. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1444-4
Gruss, A., Perryman, H.A., Babcock, E.A., Sagarese, S.R., Thorson, J.T., Ainsworth, C.H., Anderson, E.J., Brennan, K., Campbell, M.D., Christman, M.C., Cross, S., Drexler, M.D., Drymon, J.M., Gardner, C.L., Hanisko, D.S., Hendon, J., Koenig, C.C., Love, M., Martinez-Andrade, F., Morris, J., Noble, B.T., Nuttall, M.A., Osborne, J., Pattengill-Semmens, C., Pollack, A.G., Sutton, T.T., Switzer, T.S. (2018). Monitoring programs of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico: inventory, development and use of a large monitoring database to map fish and invertebrate spatial distributions. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries, 28, 667-691. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11160-018-9525-2
Hueter, R.E., Tyminski, J.P., Pina-Amargos, F., Morris, J.J., Abierno, A.R., Valdes, J.A., Fernandez, N.L. (2018). Movements of three female silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis) as tracked by satellite-linked tags off the Caribbean coast of Cuba. Bulletin of Marine Science, 94.0(2), 345-358. https://doi.org/10.5343/bms.2017.1162
Lear, K.O., Whitney, N.M., Brewster, L.R., Morris, J.J., Hueter, R.E., & Gleiss, S.E. (2017). Correlations of metabolic rate and body acceleration in three species of coastal sharks under contrasting temperature regimes. Journal of Experimental Biology, 220(3), 397-407. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.146993

Additional Publications

Gruss, A., Perryman, H.A., Babcock, E.A., Sagarese, S.R., Thorson, J.T., Ainsworth, C.H., Anderson, E.J., Brennan, K., Campbell, M.D., Christman, M.C., Cross, S., Drexler, M.D., Drymon, J.M., Gardner, C.L., Hanisko, D.S., Hendon, J., Koenig, C.C., Love, M., Martinez-Andrade, F., Morris, J., Noble, B.T., Nuttall, M.A., Osborne, J., Pattengill-Semmens, C., Pollack, A.G., Sutton, T.T., Switzer, T.S. (2018). Monitoring programs of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico: inventory, development and use of a large monitoring database to map fish and invertebrate spatial distributions. Rev. Fish. Biol. Fish., 28(4), 667-691. doi:10.1007/s11160-018-9525-2

Hueter, R.E., Tyminski, J.P., Pina-Amargos, F., Morris, J.J., Abierno, A.R., Valdes, J.A., Fernandez, N.L. (2018). Movements of three female silky sharks (Carcharhinus falciformis) as tracked by satellite-linked tags off the Caribbean coast of Cuba. Bull. Mar. Sci., 94(2), 345-358. doi:10.5343/bms.2017.1162

Hueter, R.E., Tyminski, J.P., Morris, J.J, Anuglo, J., Ruiz, A., 2017. Horizontal and vertical movements of satellite-tagged longfin makos (Isurus paucus Guitart Manday, 1966) in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean, Fishery Bulletin 115:101-115 

Bassos-Hull, Kim., Wilkinson, K.A., Hull, P.T., Dougherty, D.A., Omori, K.L., Ailloud, L.E., Morris, J.J., Hueter, R.E., 2014. Life history and seasonal occurrence of the spotted eagle ray, Aetobatus narinari, in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. Environmental biology of Fishes, 97(9). Yeiser, Beau G., John J. Morris, and Anton D. Tucker. 2008. Caretta caretta (loggerhead sea turtle), Predation. Herpetological Review 39(3):343-344.

Tyminski J.P., Ubeda A.J., Hueter, R.E., and Morris, J.J. 2007. Relative abundance of blacknose sharks (Carcharhinus acronotus) from coastal shark surveys in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, 2001-2006. SEDAR 13-DW-37-V2

Morris, J.J., Hueter, B., Gelsleichter, J., A New Seawater Facility for Experimental Research on Large Elasmobranchs and Other Marine Species, poster; American Elasmobranch Symposium meeting, June 2005.

Gelsleichter, J., Szabo, N.J., and Morris, J.J.2007.Organochlorine contaminants in juvenile sandbar (Carcharhinus plumbeus) and blacktip (Carcharhinus limbatus) sharks from major nursery areas on the east coast of the United States. Submitted for publication in Shark Nursery Grounds of the Gulf of Mexico and East Coast waters of the United States.(C. McCandless, N. Kohler, and H.L. Pratt, Jr., eds).American Fisheries Society symposium 50: 153-164.