Curator of Fishes

Wayne.Starnes@ncmail.net
(919) 733-7450 x760

Ph.D. (Ecology) U. of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1977
M.S. (Zoology) U. of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1973
B.S. (Business Admin.) U. of Tennessee, Knoxville, 1969

Dr. Starnes’ current research focuses on several areas including discovery and documentation of the true extent of diversity in freshwater fishes of North Carolina and the surrounding region, studies on selected marine fish groups of world-wide distribution, and continued work with Neotropical fishes begun in prior years at the Smithsonian Institution. Investigations of regional freshwater taxa are conducted via correlated molecular and morphological approaches which hopefully reveal both finer patterns of diversity that are useful for purposes of conservation management and patterns of relationships among taxa that facilitate studies of the biogeographic history of the region. A great deal of effort is directed toward the accurate identification, cataloging, and databasing of regional fishes in the NCSM collection of fishes which will hopefully lay a firm foundation for a future comprehensive reference book on the fishes of North Carolina. Dr. Starnes holds adjunct faculty appointments to the Department of Zoology and to the College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, and at Clemson University, and works collaboratively with these institutions as well as regional agency biologists to conduct research on fishes.

2006. Priacanthidae, bigeyes. in Carpenter, K.E. (Ed.) The living marine resources of the Eastern Central Atlantic, Vol. 3. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Rome. In press.

2003. Freshwater fishes of the United States, the U.S. Territories, and Canada. Integrated Taxonomic Information System. USDA, Washington, D.C. http://www.itis.usda.gov/contrib.html

2003. Priacanthidae, bigeyes. Pp. 1379–1385 in Carpenter, K.E. (Ed.) The living marine resources of the Western Central Atlantic, Vol. 3. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Rome.

2002. Current diversity, historical analysis, and biotic integrity of fishes in the lower Potomac basin in the vicinity of Plummers Island, Maryland—contribution to the natural history of Plummers Island, Maryland XXVII. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 115(2):273–320.

2002. A capital case for common names of species of fishes—a white crappie or a White Crappie. Fisheries. 27(7):31–33. (with J.S. Nelson, first author, also with M.L. Warren)

2000. Diversity, distribution, and conservation of the native freshwater fishes of the United States. Fisheries. 25(10):7–29. (with M.L. Warren, first author, and others)

2000. Priacanthidae, bigeyes. Pp. 2590–2601 in Carpenter, K.E. and V.H. Niem (Eds.) The living marine resources of the western central Pacific, Vol. 4. Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, Rome.

1999. Effects of invasive tissue collection on rainbow trout, razorback sucker, and bonytail chub. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 19:848–855. (H.M. Tyus, first author, also with C.A. Karp, J.F. Saunders III)

1998. Perilous experiment: the Asian Rice Eel in Georgia. Georgia Wildlife. 7(1):60–70. (with R.T. Bryant and G. Greer)

1995. Colorado River Basin fishes. Pp. 149–152 in LaRoe, E.T. (Ed.) Our living resources: a report to the nation on the distribution, abundance, and health of U.S. plants, animals, and ecosystems. U.S. Department of Interior National Biological Service, Washington, D.C.

1993. The fishes of Tennessee. University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville. 689 pp. (D.A. Etnier, first author)

1993. Comments of the genus Apareiodon Eigenmann (Characiformes: Parodontidae) with the description of a new species from the Gran Sabana region of eastern Venezuela. Copeia. (3):754–762. (with I. Schindler)

1990. A new genus and species of Sarcoglanidinae from the Rio Mamore, Amazon Basin, with comments on subfamilial phylogeny (Teleostei, Trichomyteridae). Journal of Zoology, London. 222:775–788 (M.C.C. de Pinna, first author)

1988. Revision, phylogeny, and biogeographical comments on the circumtropical marine percoid family Priacanthidae. Bulletin of Marine Science. 43(2):117–203.

1988. A new cyprinid fish of the genus Phoxinus (Pisces: Cypriniformes) from the Tennessee River drainage with comments on relationships and biogeography. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington. 101(3):517–529. (with R.E. Jenkins)

1986. Drainage evolution and fish biogeography of the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers drainage realm. Chapter 10, pp. 325–361 in Hocutt, C.H., and E.O. Wiley (Eds.) The zoogeography of North American freshwater fishes. Wiley-Interscience, New York. (with D.A. Etnier)

1985. Ecology and life history of the Mountain Madtom, Noturus eleutherus (Pisces: Ictaluridae). American Midland Naturalist. 114(2):331–341. (L.B. Starnes, first author)