David Roy Bellwood is an Australian marine biologist. Bellwood studies the ecology,
biogeography
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities often vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, ...
Yorkshire, England
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
cyanide
Cyanide is a naturally occurring, rapidly acting, toxic chemical that can exist in many different forms.
In chemistry, a cyanide () is a chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a ...
as an anaesthetic for reef fishes. He worked on North Sea inshore
fishing trawlers
A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets tha ...
and trained in taxonomy at the
Natural History Museum in London
The Natural History Museum in London is a museum that exhibits a vast range of specimens from various segments of natural history. It is one of three major museums on Exhibition Road in South Kensington, the others being the Science Museum an ...
James Cook University
James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cairn ...
in
Townsville, Australia
Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 30 ...
, where he studied
parrotfishes
Parrotfishes are a group of about 90 fish species regarded as a family (Scaridae), or a subfamily (Scarinae) of the wrasses. With about 95 species, this group's largest species richness is in the Indo-Pacific. They are found in coral reefs, ro ...
from 1981 to 1985. He subsequently undertook a one-year postdoctoral position at Silliman University in the Philippines. In 1988, Bellwood returned to James Cook University, first as a postdoctoral researcher with Howard Choat and then, in 1991, as a Lecturer. In 2004, he was promoted to a Personal Professorial Research Chair in Marine Biology, and then to Distinguished Professor in 2015, becoming an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow in 2019. Bellwood's research interests are wide-ranging, and his work spans the "systematics, evolution, biogeography, biology and ecology of reef fishes from both tropical and temperate seas." Bellwood currently teaches ‘Reef fish evolution and ecology’ and ‘Marine biogeography’ at
James Cook University
James Cook University (JCU) is a public university in North Queensland, Australia. The second oldest university in Queensland, JCU is a teaching and research institution. The university's main campuses are located in the tropical cities of Cairn ...
. Since 1992, Bellwood has led the Reef Fish Research Lab at James Cook University.
Biological Reviews
The Cambridge Philosophical Society (CPS) is a scientific society at the University of Cambridge. It was founded in 1819. The name derives from the medieval use of the word philosophy to denote any research undertaken outside the fields of law ...