The Ocean Sunfishes

The Ocean Sunfishes: Evolution, Biology and Conservation is the first book to gather into one comprehensive volume our fundamental knowledge of the world-record holding, charismatic ocean behemoths in the family Molidae. From evolution and phylogeny to biotoxins, biomechanics, parasites, husbandry and popular culture, it outlines recent and future research from leading sunfish experts worldwide This synthesis includes diet, foraging behavior, migration and fisheries bycatch and overhauls long-standing and outdated perceptions. This book provides the essential go-to resource for both lay and academic audiences alike and anyone interested in exploring one of the ocean’s most elusive and captivating group of fishes.

Dr. Tierney M. Thys is a Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California USA. She has been captivated by the molids since the 1990s and was a member of the first team to successfully satellite tag Mola mola in the wild. She has research sites in South America and California and runs www.oceansunfish.org and the Adopt a Sunfish Project. Dr. Thys received her B.A. from Brown University and Ph.D. from Duke University.

Dr. Graeme C. Hays is the Alfred Deakin Professor of Marine Science at Deakin University, Australia. He has a long-standing interest in the movements and ecology of marine megafauna, pioneering the use of satellite tracking in the early 1990s, a technique that is now very widely used across studies with marine mammals, birds, reptiles and fish. Since encountering ocean sunfish during fieldwork on the west coast of Ireland, he has been fascinated by these extraordinary fish.

Dr. Jonathan D.R. Houghton is a Senior Lecturer in Marine Biology (i.e. Associate Professor) based at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. His lab group focuses on the movement and foraging ecology of pelagic species from leatherback sea turtles, basking sharks and ocean sunfish through to deep oceanic jellyfish. These efforts center on marine conservation across Europe, the Caribbean, Indian Ocean and the Galápagos Islands.