Robert Montgomery McDowall

MSc PhD Harvard FRSNZ

Bob McDowall FRSNZ

Robert (Bob) McDowall was born in Palmerston North on 15 September 1939, the second youngest in a family of five. Both parents were influential in his later choice of a career in science. His mother completed an MSc in zoology in the 1930s, an unusual feat for a woman at that time. His father was a gifted student who was employed by the New Zealand Dairy Research Institute and completed an MSc and a DSc at the University of London; he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1962. Bob’s father taught his son the skills of scientific writing and acted as a critic for much of Bob’s early writing.

Bob’s academic career started at Victoria University of Wellington (1958-62) and although his final undergraduate marks should have precluded him from post-graduate studies, his tutors saw something of his potential and admitted him to the MSc programme where he completed an excellent thesis on the biology of redfin bullies. One of the earliest papers on the origins of the New Zealand freshwater fish fauna (McDowall 1964) was probably instrumental in his gaining the opportunity to study at the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University USA (1965-68) where he was exposed to the teachings of some of the foremost evolutionary biologists (Mayr) and biogeographers (Darlington) of the time. His PhD thesis on the systematics and phylogeny of the New Zealand whitebait and related genera was regarded as one of the best submitted at that time.

Upon his return to New Zealand, Bob was instructed to commence research on the diet of brown trout, Salmo trutta, something he regarded of much lesser importance than understanding the ecology of native species. With a dogmatism that often characterised his dealings with authority, he ignored this directive and established an extensive field programme studying the ecology of the migrations of whitebait in South Westland - as he remarked in recent years, maintaining a field programme that involved a minimum of 3 staff continuously in the field for 3 months for 3 consecutive years would not be possible under the financial and health and safety constraints of today. He also commenced a comprehensive review of the taxonomy of the New Zealand native fish fauna, an exercise that culminated in the publication of his first book (McDowall 1978a; revised and enlarged as McDowall 1990) that was illustrated with Bob’s own excellent drawings and photographs. This was the forerunner of another 13 books he would complete over the next 33 years.

Bob moved from Wellington to Christchurch in 1979 to run the expanding freshwater fisheries laboratory and eventually had control of 60 freshwater science staff throughout New Zealand. These were his “bureaucratic wilderness” years when he had little time for research. Frustrated at the extensive administrative responsibilities the job required, Bob worked hard to shield junior staff from much of the “bureaucrap” as he called it. A turning point came for him in the form of an invitation in 1985 to be a keynote speaker at the first international conference on diadromy, the movements of fish between fresh and saltwater environments (Boston, March 1986). A further book followed (McDowall 1988), but more importantly, preparation for the book provided the motivation and direction for his many papers on diadromy and its evolutionary and biogeographic significance which continued until his death. Although the New Zealand freshwater fish fauna is sparse (~ 40 species), Bob realised he had available to him a virtually unstudied fauna that offered an opportunity to “explore pattern and process, cause and effect, evolution and biogeography, in a way that would have been much more difficult in areas with more speciose faunas” (McDowall 2010). He relished the challenge.

With the acceptance of plate tectonics, Bob became a dominant protagonist for the retention of oceanic dispersal as a valid biogeographic hypothesis, a process exemplified by species like inanga (Galaxias maculatus), where conspecific populations occupy temperate lowland catchments throughout the Southern Hemisphere, and larvae have been recorded hundreds of kilometres out to sea. Bob argued his point against several notable opponents within the discipline, especially Nelson, Rosen, Platnick, and Croizat. Much subsequent research has supported Bob’s position on oceanic dispersal, with many examples from terrestrial, freshwater, and nearshore marine faunas and floras although more recently Bob also argued that Gondwanan vicariance should not be forgotten as a significant dispersal process.

Bob had a remarkable ability to stay in touch with a wide range of scientific interests, as evidenced by the range of topics in the 230 papers (in 66 different journals), 14 books and 300+ reports and popular articles that he produced. Topics included taxonomy and distribution of fish, ontogenetic changes in body size and shape, impacts of introduced and invasive species, fish and art, the advantages of diadromy, the importance of habitat for effective conservation, and many more. A remarkable feature of these papers is that Bob was the sole author of 3/4 of them, and of the 57 joint-authored ones, there were only 14 where he wasn’t the first author – such was his dominance in his field. At the time of his death, he had just completed a substantial review of the osteology and taxonomic relationships of the galaxiids, retropinnids, and their allies (McDowall & Burridge 2011), a book reviewing the dispersal and distribution of New Zealand native fish (McDowall 2010), an extensive (872 p.) book on historic and contemporary Maori freshwater fisheries (McDowall 2011), and had almost completed a book on the diet of early New Zealand explorers.

Throughout his career, Bob displayed an unswerving and often dogmatic pursuit of the truth and scientific excellence. As a young graduate, he successfully opposed the proposed introduction of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, into New Zealand, a bold move as it was in direct opposition to his then boss. He had a particular aptitude for expansive thinking, being able to see the “wood” as well as the “trees”, a talent that meant he frequently came into conflict with bureaucrats who thought in terms of the immediate and affordable. He was a man of forthright opinion who was energised by spirited debate but could not abide “woolly thinking” as he termed it. He refereed many papers (over 50 in his last year alone) and his comments were sometimes blunt but invariably fair – he had a wonderful command of written English and consequently would not tolerate poor grammar, something many authors discovered to their detriment. He believed passionately in the importance of rigorous and sound science, and I can well remember his mantra that “to carry out good science you first have to ask the right questions”.

In recognition of his contribution to freshwater fish and fisheries, Bob was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand (RSNZ) in 1984. In achieving that, he joined a select few who have had a parent achieve the same honour. Throughout his career, he contributed 39 papers to the Transactions or Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand. He served on (and chaired) the editorial board of this journal, and also on the RSNZ Fellowship Selection Committee. After retiring from NIWA in 1999, he was awarded a James Cook Research Fellowship, administered by the RSNZ, that gave him 2 years of scientific freedom to pursue his interests in taxonomy and biogeography. Upon completion of this fellowship, he remained working as an emeritus scientist at NIWA until his death. He was also the RSNZ representative on the New Zealand Conservation Authority for two years until ill-health forced his retirement in 2011.

Among the many awards and accolades he received throughout his distinguished career, was the Le Cren Medal from the British Isles Fisheries Institute, a medal awarded to an individual who has “made a lifelong contribution to all aspects of the study of fish biology and/or fisheries science, with a focus on conservation, training or public understanding of the discipline”. This medal was awarded posthumously, but was a fitting recognition to a lifelong pursuit of scientific endeavour and achievement. As a fellow noted ichthyologist (Gene Helfman, Professor Emeritus, University of Georgia) wrote recently “while Bob worked chiefly in New Zealand, his impact was global”. Bob is survived by his wife Ainslie and their two children.

Don Jellyman
National Institute of Water and Atmosphere
Christchurch, New Zealand

Publications

Books

McDowall, R. M. 1978: New Zealand freshwater fishes: a guide and natural history. Heinemann Educational, Auckland. 230 pp.

McDowall, R. M. (ed.). 1980: Freshwater fishes of south-eastern Australia (New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania). Reed, Sydney. 208 pp.

McDowall, R. M. 1980: Mobil New Zealand nature series - freshwater fish. Reed, Wellington. 80 pp.

McDowall, R. M. 1984: Trout in New Zealand waters: the biology and management of trout in New Zealand's lakes and rivers. Wetland Press, Wellington. 120 pp.

McDowall, R. M. 1984: The New Zealand whitebait book, Reed, Wellington. 210 pp.

McDowall, R. M. 1988: Diadromy in fishes: migrations between freshwater and marine environments. Croom Helm, London. 308 pp.

McDowall, R. M. 1990: New Zealand freshwater fishes: a natural history and guide. Heinemann Reed, Auckland. 553 pp.

McDowall, R. M. 1994: Gamekeepers for the nation: the story of New Zealand's Acclimatisation Societies 1861-1990: Canterbury University Press, Christchurch. 508 pp.

McDowall, R. M. (ed.). 1996: Freshwater fishes of south-eastern Australia. Reed, Sydney. 247 pp.

McDowall, R. M. 2000: The Reed field guide to New Zealand freshwater fishes. Reed, Auckland. 225 pp.

McDowall, R. M. 2001: The Reed New Zealand nature series-freshwater fishes of New Zealand. Reed, Auckland. 95 pp.

McDowall, R. M.; Allibone, R. M.; Chadderton, W. L. 2005: Falkland Islands freshwater fishes: a natural history. Falklands Conservation, London. 102 pp.

McDowall, R. M. 2010: New Zealand freshwater fishes: an historical and ecological biogeography. Springer, Dordrecht. 449 pp.

McDowall, R. M. 2011: Ikawai: Freshwater fishes in Mäori culture and economy. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch. 872 pp.

Papers

McDowall, R. M. 1962: A redescription of the fresh-water red-finned bully Gobiomorphus huttoni (Ogilby). Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Zoology 3: 3-15.

McDowall, R. M. 1964: Affinities and derivation of the New Zealand freshwater fish fauna. Tuatara 12: 59-67.

McDowall, R. M. 1964: A bibliography of the indigenous freshwater fishes of New Zealand. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Zoology 5: 175-182.

McDowall, R. M. 1964: A consideration of the question "What are whitebait?" Tuatara 12: 134-146.

McDowall, R. M. 1964: Studies on the biology of the red-finned bully Gobiomorphus huttoni (Ogilby). I. Habitat and species interrelationships. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Zoology 4: 175-182.

McDowall, R. M. 1965: The composition of the New Zealand whitebait catch, 1964. New Zealand Journal of Science 8: 285-300.

McDowall, R. M. 1965: Descriptive and taxonomic notes on Grahamichthys radiatus (Valenciennes), Eleotridae. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Zoology 7: 51-56.

McDowall, R. M. 1965: A new species of Retropinna from Lake Omapere, North Auckland. Records of the Dominion Museum 5: 89-91.

McDowall, R. M. 1965: Studies on the biology of the red-finned bully Gobiomorphus huttoni (Ogilby). II. Breeding and life history. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Zoology 5: 177-196.

McDowall, R. M. 1965: Studies on the biology of the red-finned bully Gobiomorphus huttoni (Ogilby). III. Food studies. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Zoology 5: 233-254.

McDowall, R. M. 1966: Further observations on Galaxias whitebait and their relation to the distribution of the Galaxiidae. Tuatara 14: 12-18.

McDowall, R. M. 1966: A guide to the identification of New Zealand freshwater fishes. Tuatara 14: 89-104.

McDowall, R. M. 1967: New land-locked fish species of the genus Galaxias from North Auckland, New Zealand. Breviora 265: 1-11.

McDowall, R. M. 1967: Some points of confusion in galaxiid nomenclature. Copeia 1967: 841-843.

McDowall, R. M. 1968: The application of the terms anadromous and catadromous to the southern hemisphere salmonid fishes. Copeia 1968: 176-178.

McDowall, R. M. 1968: Interactions of the nature and alien faunas of New Zealand and the problems of fish introductions. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 97: 1-11.

McDowall, R. M. 1968: Oceanic islands and endemism. Systematic Zoology 17: 346-350.

McDowall, R. M. 1968: The proposed introduction of the Largemouth Black Bass Micropterus salmoides (Lacepede) into New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 2: 149-161.

McDowall, R. M. 1968: The status of Nesogalaxias neocaledonicus (Weber and de Beaufort) (Pisces: Galaxiidae). Breviora 286: 1-8.

McDowall, R. M. 1968: Galaxias maculatus (Jenyns), the New Zealand whitebait. New Zealand Fisheries Research Bulletin 2. 84 pp.

McDowall, R. M. 1969: Extinction and endemism in New Zealand land birds. Tuatara 17: 1-12.

McDowall, R. M. 1969: A juvenile of Aplochiton Jenyns. Copeia 1969: 631-632.

McDowall, R. M. 1969: Lunar rhythms in aquatic animals—a general review. Tuatara 17: 133-144.

McDowall, R. M. 1970: Comments on a new taxonomy of Retropinna (Galaxioidei: Retropinnidae). New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 4: 312-324.

McDowall, R. M. 1970: The galaxiid fishes of New Zealand. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University 139: 341-431.

McDowall, R. M. 1970: A second species of Galaxias common to Tasmania and New Zealand (Pisces: Galaxiidae). Records of the Dominion Museum 7: 13-19.

McDowall, R. M. 1971: Fishes of the family Aplochitonidae. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 1: 31-52.

McDowall, R. M. 1971: The galaxiid fishes of South America. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, London 50: 33-73.

McDowall, R. M. 1971: The identity of Eleotris radiata Valenciennes (Pisces: Eleotridae). Copeia 1971: 731-732.

McDowall, R. M. 1972: Freshwater fishes and rivers of Australia (by J. S. Lake)—a book review. Tuatara 19: 128-129.

McDowall, R. M. 1972: The species problem in freshwater fishes, and the taxonomy of diadromous and lacustrine populations of Galaxias maculatus (Jenyns). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 2: 325-367.

McDowall, R. M. 1972: The taxonomy of estuarine and brackish-lake Retropinna from New Zealand (Galaxioidei: Retropinnidae). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 2: 501-531.

McDowall, R. M. 1973: Designation of a lectotype for Eleotris gobioides Valenciennes (Pisces, Eleotridae). Copeia 1973: 169-170.

McDowall, R. M. 1973: Galaxias indicus Day, 1888—a nomen dubium. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 3: 191-192.

McDowall, R. M. 1973: Limitation of the genus Brachygalaxias Eigenmann, 1928 (Pisces: Galaxiidae). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 3: 193-197.

McDowall, R. M. 1973: Proposed suppression of the name Galaxias delfini Philippi 1895 (Pisces: Galaxiidae). Z. N. (S.) 1877. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 30: 88-89.

McDowall, R. M. 1973: Relationships and taxonomy of the New Zealand torrentfish, Cheimarrichthys fosteri Haast (Pisces: Mugiloididae). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 3: 199-217.

McDowall, R. M. 1973: The status of the South African galaxiid (Pisces: Galaxiidae). Annals of the Cape Province Museum 9: 91-101.

McDowall, R. M. 1973: Zoogeography and taxonomy. Tuatara 20: 88-96.

McDowall, R. M. 1974: Specialization in the dentition of the Southern graylings - genus Prototroctes (Galaxioidei: Prototroctidae). Journal of Fish Biology 6: 209-213.

McDowall, R. M.; Gosztonyi, A. E. 1974: Zoogeography of Galaxias maculatus in South America. Copeia 1974: 978-979.

McDowall, R. M.; Whitaker, A. M. 1975: The freshwater fishes. Pp. 277-299 in: G. Kuschel (ed.), Biogeography and ecology in New Zealand, Junk, The Hague.

McDowall, R. M. 1975: Gerald Stokell's Freshwater and diadromous fishes of New Zealand in the context of his other published works, with a bibliography of his publications. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 5: 219-223.

McDowall, R. M.; Robertson, D. A.; Saito, R. 1975: Occurrence of galaxiid larvae and juveniles in the sea. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 9: 1-9.

McDowall, R. M. 1975: A revision of the New Zealand species of Gobiomorphus (Pisces: Eleotridae). Records of the National Museum of New Zealand 1: 1- 32.

McDowall, R. M.; Hopkins, C. L.; Flain, M. 1976: Fishes. Pp. 292-307 in: V. H. Jolly; J. M. A. Brown (eds), New Zealand lakes, Auckland University Press, Auckland.

McDowall, R. M. 1976: Fishes of the family Prototroctidae (Salmoniformes). Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 27: 641-659.

McDowall, R. M. 1976: Notes on some Galaxias fossils from the Pliocene of New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 6: 17-22.

McDowall, R. M. 1976: The role of estuaries in the life cycles of fishes in New Zealand. Proceedings of the New Zealand Ecological Society 23: 27-32.

McDowall, R. M. 1976: The status of Stromateus maculatus Forster - a fish from New South Wales. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 6: 489-491.

McDowall, R. M. 1976: The taxonomic status of the Galaxias populations in the Rio Calle Calle, Chile (Pisces: Galaxiidae). Studies on Neotropical Fauna and Environment 11: 173-177.

McDowall, R. M.; Graynoth, E.; Eldon, G. A. 1977: The occurrence and distribution of fishes in streams draining the beech forests of the West Coast and Southland, South Island, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 7: 405-424.

McDowall, R. M. 1977: The possible effects on fishes and eucalypt enrichment of New Zealand beech forests. New Zealand Journal of Forestry 22: 45-52.

McDowall, R. M.; Fulton, W. 1978: A further new species of Paragalaxias from Tasmania (Pisces: Galaxiidae) with a revised key to species. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 29: 659-665.

McDowall, R. M. 1978: Generalised tracks and dispersal in biogeography. Systematic Zoology 27: 88-104.

McDowall, R. M. 1978: A new genus and species of galaxiid fish from Australia (Salmoniformes: Galaxiidae). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 8: 115-124.

McDowall, R. M. 1978: Patterns in the derivation of a New Zealand fish fauna. Pp. 203-218 in: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Marine Biogeography and Evolution in the Southern Hemisphere, Vol. 1, DSIR, Auckland, New Zealand.

McDowall, R. M.; Fulton, W. 1978: A revision of the genus Paragalaxias Scott (Salmoniformes: Galaxiidae). Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 29: 93-108.

McDowall, R. M. 1978: Sexual dimorphism in an Australian galaxiid. Australian Zoologist 19: 308-314.

McDowall, R. M. 1979: The centrolophid genus Tubbia (Pisces: Stromateoidei). Copeia 1979: 733-738.

McDowall, R. M. 1979: Fishes of the family Retropinnidae (Pisces: Salmoniformes) - a taxonomic revision and synopsis. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 9: 85-121.

McDowall, R. M. 1980: Charles Douglas, explorer: his notes on freshwater fishes. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 19: 311-324.

McDowall, R. M. 1980: First adults of Schedophilus maculatus Guenther, 1860 (Stromateoidei: Centrolophidae). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 10: 141-151.

McDowall, R. M. 1980: Freshwater fishes and plate tectonics in the south western Pacific. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 31: 337-351.

McDowall, R. M. 1980: Seriolella caerulea Guichenot, 1848 in New Zealand waters (Stromateoidei: Centrolophidae). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 10: 65-74.

McDowall, R. M.; Eldon, G. A. 1980: The ecology of whitebait migrations: (Galaxiidae : Galaxias spp.). New Zealand Fisheries Research Bulletin 20. 170 pp.

McDowall, R. M. 1981: Foreword. Pp. 197 in: T. M. Berra (ed.), An atlas of distribution of the freshwater fish families of the world, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska.

McDowall, R. M.; Frankenberg, R. S. 1981: The Galaxiid fishes of Australia (Pisces: Galaxiidae). Records of the Australian Museum 33: 443-605.

McDowall, R. M. 1981: Nomina nuda and the availability of lizard names; Comment. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 8: 127-128.

McDowall, R. M. 1981: The relationships of Australian freshwater fishes. Pp. 1253-1273 in: R. A. Keast (ed.), Ecological Biogeography of Australia.

McDowall, R. M. 1981: A sub-dorsal fin pore-canal system in Schedophilus maculatus Günther (Pisces: Centrolophidae). Copeia 1981: 492-494.

McDowall, R. M. 1982: The centrolophid fishes of New Zealand (Pisces: Stromateoidei). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 12: 103-142.

McDowall, R. M. 1983: La faune exotique des poissons d'eau douce de Nouvelle Zelande son histoire et son impact. Comptes Rendus des Seances-Societe Biogeographie 59: 223-230.

McDowall, R. M.; Pusey, B. J. 1983: Lepidogalaxias salamandroides Mees—a redescription, with natural history notes. Records of the Western Australian Museum 11: 11-23.

McDowall, R. M. 1984: Designing reserves for freshwater fish in New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 14: 17-27.

McDowall, R. M. 1984: Exotic fishes: the New Zealand experience. Pp. 200-214 in: W.R. Courtenay; J. R. Stauffer (eds), Distribution, biology and management of exotic fishes. John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA.

McDowall, R. M. 1984: Galaxiidae. Pp. 126-127 in: J. Daget; J. P. Gosse; D. F. E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds), Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of Africa. Orstom, Paris.

McDowall, R. M. 1984: Southern hemisphere freshwater salmoniforms: development and relationships. Pp. 150-153 in: G. H. Moser (ed.), Ontogeny and systematics of fishes. American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists.

McDowall, R. M.; Banister, K. E. 1985: Pikes, salmon, argentines. Pp. 44-59 in: K. E. Banister; A. Campbell (eds), The encyclopedia of underwater life. Allen Unwin, London. 287 pp.

McDowall, R. M. 1985: River estuaries in the life cycles of New Zealand fish species. Pp. 557-570 in: A. Yanez-Arancibia (ed.), Fish community ecology in estuaries and coastal lagoons. Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico: UNAM Press Mexico.

McDowall, R. M.: Banister, K. E. 1986: Pikes, salmon, argentines. Pp. 52-67 in: K. E. Banister; A. Campbell (ed.), All the worlds' animals - fishes, Torster Books, New York. 158 pp.

McDowall, R. M. 1987: Book review: The biology of perch and related fish. By J. F. Craig, 1987. 333 pp. Croom Helm Ltd. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 21: 647- 648.

McDowall, R. M.; Nakaya, K. 1987: Identity of the galaxioid fishes of the genus Aplochiton Jenyns from southern Chile. Japanese Journal of Ichthyology 34: 377-383.

McDowall, R. M. 1987: Impacts of exotic fishes on the native fauna. Pp. 333-347 in: A. B. Viner (ed.), Inland Waters of New Zealand. DSIR, Wellington, New Zealand.

McDowall, R. M. 1987: The occurrence and distribution of diadromy in fishes. American Fisheries Society Symposium 1: 1-13.

McDowall, R. M. 1987: Zoogeography—the native fishes. Pp. 291-306 in: A. B. Viner (ed.), Inland Waters of New Zealand. DSIR, Wellington, New Zealand.

Gross, M. R.; Coleman, R. M.; McDowall, R. M. 1988: Aquatic productivity and the evolution of diadromous fish migration. Science 239: 1291-1293.

McDowall, R. M.; Nakaya, K. 1988: Morphological divergence in the two species of Aplochiton Jenyns (Salmoniformes: Aplochitonidae): a generalist and specialist. Copeia 1988: 233-236.

McDowall, R. M. 1990: Filling in the gaps—the introduction of exotic fishes into New Zealand. Pp. 69-82 in: D. A. Pollard (ed.), Introduced and translocated fishes and their ecological effects. Australian Society for Fish Biology, Magnetic Island, Townsville, Queensland.

McDowall, R. M. 1990: Freshwater fishes and fisheries of New Zealand: the angler's Eldorado. Reviews in Aquatic Science 2: 281-341.

McDowall, R. M. 1990: When galaxiid and salmonid fishes meet- a family reunion in New Zealand. Journal of Fish Biology 37: 35-43.

McDowall, R. M. 1991: The ii's may have it at the end - patronyms should be amended only if demonstrably incorrect. New Zealand Natural Sciences 18: 25-29.

McDowall, R. M. 1991: Freshwater fisheries research in New Zealand: processes, projects, and people. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 25: 393-413.

McDowall, R. M. 1992: Diadromy: Origins and definitions of terminology. Copeia 1992: 248-251.

McDowall, R. M. 1992: Global climate change and fish and fisheries: what might happen in a temperate oceanic archipelago like New Zealand. Geographical Journal 28: 29-37.

McDowall, R. M. 1992: Particular problems for the conservation of diadromous fish: viewpoint. Aquatic Conservation 2: 351-355.

McDowall, R. M. 1993: Implications of diadromy for the structuring and modelling of riverine fish communities in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 27: 453-462.

McDowall, R. M. 1993: Native trout of western North America: [book review]. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 27: 382-384.

McDowall, R. M. 1993: New Zealand's quest for the rainbow's end: [letter to the editor]. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 27: 379-380.

McDowall, R. M. 1993: A recent marine ancestry for diadromous fishes? Sometimes yes, but mostly no! Environmental Biology of Fishes 37: 329-335.

McDowall, R. M.; Clark, B. M.; Wright, G. J.; Northcote, T. G. 1993: Trans-2-cis-6-nonadienal: the cause of cucumber odor [sic] in Osmerid and Retropinnid smelts. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 122: 144-147.

McDowall, R. M.; Mitchell, C. P.; Brothers, E. B. 1994: Age at migration from the sea of juvenile Galaxias in New Zealand (Pisces: Galaxiidae). Bulletin of Marine Sciences 54: 385-402.

McDowall, R. M. 1994: Correction of the type locality of Stokell's smelt, Stokellia anisodon (Stokell) 1941 (Pisces: Retropinnidae). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 24: 261-265.

McDowall, R. M. 1994: Distinctive form and colouration of juvenile torrentfish, Cheimarrichthys fosteri (Pisces:Pinguipedidae). New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 28: 385-390.

McDowall, R. M. 1994: Family Centrolophidae. Fishes of Australia's south coast: 832-838.

McDowall, R. M. 1994: Family Galaxiidae. Fishes of Australia's south coast: 234-238.

McDowall, R. M. 1994: Family Nomeidae. Fishes of Australia's south coast: 838-843.

McDowall, R. M. 1994: Family Prototroctidae. Fishes of Australia's south coast: 233.

McDowall, R. M. 1994: Family Retropinnidae. Fishes of Australia's south coast: 232-233.

McDowall, R. M. 1994: Fish imagery in art 70: Polynesian Maori carving of the Maui myth. Environmental Biology of Fishes 41: 330.

McDowall, R. M. 1994: On size and growth in freshwater fish. Ecology of Freshwater Fish 3: 67-79.

McDowall, R. M. 1994: The origins of New Zealand's chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. Marine Fisheries Review 56: 1-7.

McDowall, R. M.: Allibone, R. M. 1994: Possible competitive exclusion of common river Galaxias (Galaxias vulgaris) by koaro (G. brevipinnis) following impoundment of the Waipori River, Otago, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 24: 161-168.

McDowall, R. M. 1994: Salmons and their allies. Pp. 113-118 in: J. R. Paxton; W. N. Eschmeyer (ed.), Encyclopedia of fishes. NSW University Press, Kensington, NSW.

McDowall, R. M. 1994: The Tarndale Bully, Gobiomorphus alpinus Stokell (Pisces, Eleotridae) revisited and redescribed. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 24: 117-124.

McDowall, R. M.; Suren, A. M. 1995: Emigrating larvae of koaro, Galaxias brevipinnis Gunther (Teleostei: Galaxiidae), from the Otira River, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 29: 271- 275.

McDowall, R. M. 1995: Seasonal pulses in migrations of New Zealand diadromous fish and the potential impacts of river mouth closure. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 29: 517-526.

Allibone, R. M.; Crowl, T. A.; Holmes, J. M.; King, T. M.; McDowall, R. M.; Townsend, C. R.; Wallis, G. P. 1996: Isozyme analysis of Galaxias species (Teleostei: Galaxiidae) from the Taieri River, South Island, New Zealand: a species complex revealed. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 57: 107-127.

Jowett, I. G.; Richardson, J.; McDowall, R. M. 1996: Relative effects of in-stream habitat and land use on fish distribution and abundance in tributaries of the Grey River, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 30: 463-475.

McDowall, R. M. 1996: Ayson, Lake Falconer 1855 - 1927: Farm labourer, rabbit inspector, acclimatisation officer, fisheries inspector. Pp. 24-25 in: The Dictionary of New Zealand biography. Volume three, 1901-1920. Auckland University Press, Auckland.

McDowall, R. M.; Wallis, G. P. 1996: Description and redescription of Galaxias species (Teleostei: Galaxiidae) from Otago and Southland. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 26: 401-427.

McDowall, R. M. 1996: Diadromy and the assembly and restoration of riverine fish communities: a downstream view. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 53: 219-236.

McDowall, R. M. 1996: Etymology of some common names for New Zealand freshwater fishes. Pacific Science 50: 117-121.

McDowall, R. M.; Main, M. R.; West D. W.; Lyon, G. L. 1996: Terrestrial and benthic foods in the diet of the shortjawed kokopu, Galaxias postvectis Clarke (Teleostei: Galaxiidae). New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 30: 257-269.

McDowall, R. M.; Rowe, D. K. 1996: Threatened fishes of the world: Galaxias gracilis McDowall, 1967 (Galaxiidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes 46: 280.

McDowall, R. M.; Eldon, G. A. 1996: Threatened fishes of the world: Neochanna burrowsius (Phillipps, 1926) (Galaxiidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes 47: 190.

McDowall, R. M. 1996: Threatened fishes of the world: Prototroctes oxyrhynchus Gunther 1870 (Prototroctidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes 46: 60.

McDowall, R. M. 1996: Volcanism and freshwater fish biogeography in the North Island of New Zealand. Journal of Biogeography 23: 139-148.

McDowall, R. M. 1997: An accessory lateral line in some New Zealand and Australian galaxiids (Teleostei: Galaxiidae). Ecology of Freshwater Fish 6: 217-224.

McDowall, R. M. 1997: Affinities, generic classification and biogeography of the Australian and New Zealand mudfishes (Salmoniformes: Galaxiidae). Records of the Australian Museum 49: 121-137.

McDowall, R. M. 1997: The evolution of diadromy in fishes (revisited) and its place in phylogenetic analysis. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 7: 443-462.

McDowall, R. M.; Stewart, A. L. 1997: Further specimens of Agrostichthys parkeri (Teleostei: Regalecidae) with natural history notes. Pp. 165-176 in: B. Séret; J. Y. Sire (ed.) 5th Indo-Pacific Fish Conference, Société Française d'Ichtyologie : Institut de recherche pour le dévelopment, Nouméa, New Caledonia.

McDowall, R. M. 1997: Indigenous vegetation type and the distribution of shortjawed kokopu, Galaxias postvectis (Teleostei: Galaxiidae), in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 24: 243-255.

McDowall, R. M.; Pole, M. 1997: A large galaxiid fossil (Teleostei) from the Miocene of Central Otago, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 27: 193-198.

McDowall, R. M. 1997: Note of the conservation status of the giant bully, Gobiomorphus gobioides (Teleostei: Eleotridae). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 27: 163-172.

McDowall, R. M.; Eldon, G. A. 1997: Reproductive cycling and fecundity estimation in the upland bully. Journal of Fish Biology 51: 164-179.

McDowall, R. M. 1997: Two further new species of Galaxias (Teleostei: Galaxiidae) from the Taieri River, southern New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 27: 199-217.

McDowall, R. M.; Jellyman, D. J.; Dijkstra, L. H. 1998: Arrival of an Australian anguillid eel in New Zealand: an example of transoceanic dispersal. Environmental Biology of Fishes 51: 1-6.

McDowall, R. M. 1998: Driven by diadromy: its role in the historical and ecological biogeography of the New Zealand freshwater fish fauna. Italian Journal of Zoology 65: 73-85.

McDowall, R. M. 1998: Fighting the flow: downstream-upstream linkages in the ecology of diadromous fish faunas in West Coast New Zealand rivers. Freshwater Biology 40: 111-122.

McDowall, R. M. 1998: Phylogenetic relationships and ecomorphological divergence in sympatric and allopatric species of Paragalaxias (Teleostei: Galaxiidae) in high elevation Tasmanian lakes. Environmental Biology of Fishes 53: 235-257.

McDowall, R. M.; Paxton, J. R.; Eschmeyer, W. N. 1998: Salmons and their allies. Pp. 113-117 in: J. R. Paxton; W. N. Eschmeyer (ed.), Encyclopedia of fishes. Academic Press, San Diego, California.

McDowall, R. M. 1999: Book review: Fish migration and fish bypasses. M. Jungwirth; S. Schmutz; S. Weiss (eds). Fishing News Books, Oxford, 1998: Journal of Fish Biology 54: 1137-1138.

McDowall, R. M. 1999: The caudal skeleton in Galaxias and allied genera (Teleostei: Galaxiidae). Copeia 1999: 932-939.

McDowall, R. M.; Kelly, G. R. 1999: Date and age at migration in juvenile giant kokopu, Galaxias argenteus (Gmelin) (Teleostei: Galaxiidae) and estimation of spawning season. New Zealand. Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 33: 263-270.

McDowall, R. M. 1999: Diadromy and genetic diversity in Nearctic and Palearctic fishes. Molecular Ecology 8: 527-528.

McDowall, R. M. 1999: Different kinds of diadromy: different kinds of conservation problems. ICES Journal of Marine Science 56: 410-413.

McDowall, R. M. 1999: Freshwater fishes as indicators of habitat health in New Zealand: the implications of being migratory. Pp. 83-84 in: A. Holt; K. Dickinson; G. W. Kearsley (eds), Environmental indicators: Proceedings of the symposium, Environmental Policy and Management Research Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin.

McDowall, R. M. 1999: Further feral poeciliid fish in New Zealand fresh waters, with a key to species. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 33: 673-682.

McDowall, R. M.; Chadderton, W. L. 1999: Galaxias gollumoides (Teleostei: Galaxiidae), a new fish species from Stewart Island, with notes on other non-migratory freshwater fishes present on the island. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 29: 77-88.

McDowall, R. M. 2000: Biogeography of southern cool temperate freshwater fishes: evidence from macroparasitic faunas. Journal of Biogeography 27: 1221-1229.

McDowall, R. M. 2000: Biogeography of the New Zealand Torrentfish, Cheimarrichthys fosteri (Teleostei: Pinguipedidae): a distribution driven mostly by ecology and behaviour. Environmental Biology of Fishes 58: 119-131.

McDowall, R. M.; Taylor, M. J. 2000: Environmental indicators of habitat quality in a migratory freshwater fish fauna. Environmental Management 25: 357-374.

McDowall, R. M. 2000: Gerald Stokell 1890-1972: horticulturalist, ichthyologist. Pp. 499-500 in: Dictionary of New Zealand biography. Volume five, 1941-1960, Allen & Unwin: Department of Internal Affairs, Wellington.

McDowall, R. M. 2000: Identity of the Smith of Galaxias smithii. Falkland Island Newsletter 7: 3-7.

Saruwatari, T.; Oohara, I.; Orr, J. W.; Kobayashi, T.; McDowall, R. M. 2000: Phylogeny of lower Euteleosts reconstructed from mtDNA analysis. DNA Polymer 8: 96-101.

McDowall, R. M. 2001: Anadromy and homing: two life-history traits with adaptive synergies in salmonid fishes? Fish and Fisheries 2: 78-85.

McDowall, R. M. 2001: Diadromy, diversity and divergence: implications for speciation processes in fishes. Fish and Fisheries 2: 278-285.

McDowall, R. M. 2001: Getting the measure of freshwater fish habitat in New Zealand. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 4: 343-355.

McDowall, R. M.; Allibone, R. M.; Chadderton, W. L. 2001: Issues for the conservation and management of Falkland Islands freshwater fishes. Aquatic Conservation 11: 473-486.

McDowall, R. M. 2001: New Zealand stream invertebrates: ecology and implications for management: stream invertebrate ecology comes of age (book review). New Zealand. Science Review 58: 29-30.

McDowall, R. M. 2001: The origin of the salmonid fishes: marine, freshwater.....or neither? Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 11: 171-179.

McDowall, R. M. 2001: Parioglossus (Teleostei: Gobioidei:Microdesmidae) in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 35: 165-172.

McDowall, R. M. 2001: The principal caudal fin ray count: a fundamental character in the galaxioid fishes. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 28: 395-405.

McDowall, R. M. 2002: Accumulating evidence for a dispersal biogeography of southern cool temperate freshwater fishes. Journal of Biogeography 29: 207-220.

McDowall, R. M. 2002: Book reviews: Migration of freshwater fishes, by M. C. Lucas and E. Baras. 420 pp. Blackwell Science, Oxford, 2001. Journal of Fish Biology 60: 1613-1614.

McDowall, R. M. 2002: Centrolophidae - medusafishes (ruffs, barrelfishes). Pp. 3767-3770 in: The living marine resources of the western central Pacific. FAO, Rome.

McDowall, R. M. 2002: How many species of Galaxias are there in South Africa? Ichthos 67: 10-11.

McDowall, R. M.; Waters, J. M. 2002: A new longjaw Galaxias species (Teleostei: Galaxiidae) from the Kauru River, North Otago, New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 29: 41-52.

McDowall, R. M. 2002: Provenance and status of Galaxias smithii Regan (1905) (Teleostei: Galaxiidae). Journal of Natural History 36: 1129-1134.

Metcalfe, J. D.; Arnold, G.; McDowall, R. M. 2002: Migration. Pp. 175-199 in: P. J. B. Hart; J. D. Reynolds (eds), Handbook of fish biology and fisheries. Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, England.

Riehl, R.; McDowall, R. M.; Greven, H. 2002: Zur biologie von drei Galaxiiden-Arten Neuseelands. Verhalten der Aquarienfische 2: 123-129.

Waters, J. M.; McDowall, R. M. 2002: Phylogenetic placement of retropinnid fishes: Data set incongruence can be reduced by using asymmetric character state transformation costs. Systematic Biology 51: 432-449.

McDowall, R. M. 2003: Book review: New Zealand fish: a complete guide, by C. Paulin, C. Roberts, A. Stewart, and P. McMillan. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 37: 219-220.

McDowall, R. M. 2003: Hawaiian biogeography and the islands' freshwater fish fauna. Journal of Biogeography 30: 207-220.

McDowall, R. M. 2003: Impacts of introduced salmonids on native galaxiids in New Zealand upland streams: a new look at an old problem. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 132: 229-238.

McDowall, R. M. 2003: In defence of the caring male. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18: 610-611.

McDowall, R. M.; Waters, J. M. 2003: A new species of Galaxias (Teleostei: Galaxiidae) from the Mackenzie Basin, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 33: 675-691.

McDowall, R. M. 2003: Protocols for enumerating the principal caudal rays of fishes. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 30: 259-291.

McDowall, R. M. 2003: Salmons and their allies. Pp. 335-341 in: H. C. Cogger; W. N. Eschmeyer; J. R. Paxton; R. G. Zweifel (eds), Ecology of animals: reptiles, amphibians and fishes. Fog City Press, San Francisco.

McDowall, R. M. 2003: Shads and diadromy: implications for ecology, evolution and biogeography. American Fisheries Society Symposium 35: 11-23.

McDowall, R. M. 2003: Variation in vertebral number in galaxiid fishes (Teleostei: Galaxiidae): a legacy of life history, latitude and length. Environmental Biology of Fishes 66: 361-381.

McDowall, R. M. 2003: Variation in vertebral number in galaxiid fishes how fishes swim, and a possible explanation for pleomerism. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 13: 247-263.

Kelly, D. J.; McDowall, R. M. 2004: Littoral invertebrate and fish communities. Pp. 25.1-25.14 in: J. S. Harding; M. P. Mosley; C. P. Pearson; B. K. Sorrell (eds), Freshwaters of New Zealand. New Zealand Hydrological Society: New Zealand Limnological Society, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Koehn, J. D.; McDowall, R. M. 2004: Invasive species: fish and fisheries: workshop overview, then and now. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 38: 383-389.

McDowall, R. M. 2004: Ancestry and amphidromy in island freshwater fish faunas. Fish and Fisheries 5: 78-85.

McDowall, R. M. 2004: Book review: J. M. Gunn; R. J. Steedman; R. A. Ryder (eds), Boreal shield watersheds – lake trout ecosystems in a changing environment. Lewis, Boca Raton 501 pp. Progress in Physical Geography 28: 608-609.

McDowall, R. M. 2004: The Chatham Islands endemic galaxiid: a Neochanna mudfish (Teleostei: Galaxiidae). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 34: 315-331.

McDowall, R. M. 2004: Letter to the Editor: Protocols for citing the authority for zoological names: comment. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 38: 95-196.

McDowall, R. M.; Waters, J. M. 2004: Phylogenetic relationships in a small group of diminutive galaxiid fishes and the evolution of sexual dimorphism. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 34: 23-57.

McDowall, R. M. 2004: Shoot first, and then ask questions: a look at aquarium fish imports and invasiveness in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 38: 503-510.

McDowall, R. M.; Allibone, R. M. 2004: Threatened fishes of the world: Galaxias cobitinis McDowall and Waters, 2002 (Galaxiidae). Environmental Biology of Fishes 70: 42.

McDowall, R. M. 2004: What biogeography is: a place for process. Journal of Biogeography 31: 345-351.

McIntosh, A. R.; McDowall, R. M. 2004: Fish communities in rivers and streams. Pp. 17.1-17.9 in: J. S. Harding, M. P. Mosley, C. P. Pearson, and B. K. Sorrell (eds), Freshwaters of New Zealand. New Zealand Hydrological Society: New Zealand Limnological Society, Christchurch, New Zealand.

McDowall, R. M. 2005: [Book Review]: Freshwater fishes of north-eastern Australia. By B. Pusey, M. Kennard, and A. Arthington. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 39: 1196-1197.

McDowall, R. M. 2005: Diadromy, history and ecology: a question of scale. Pp. 5-14 in: S. P. Dufour, E. Prévost, E. Rochard, and P. Williot (eds), Fish and Diadromy in Europe (ecology, management, conservation). Springer, Bordeaux, France.

McDowall, R. M. 2005: Ernst Mayr: [obituary]. Pp.138-141 in: Annual Report of the Royal Society of New Zealand 2005.

McDowall, R. M. 2005: Falkland Islands biogeography: converging trajectories in the South Atlantic Ocean. Journal of Biogeography 32: 49-62.

McDowall, R. M. 2005: Falklands: fact, fiction or fiddlesticks: a place for process. Journal of Biogeography 32: 2187-2187.

McDowall, R. M. 2005: Historical biogeography of the New Zealand freshwater crayfishes (Parastacidae, Paranephrops spp.): restoration of a refugial survivor? New Zealand Journal of Zoology 32: 55-77.

McDowall, R. M. 2005: Letter to the Editor Comment: American Fisheries Society makes changes in the end. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 39: 1199-1200.

McDowall, R. M.; Pankhurst, N. W. 2005: Loss of negative eye-size allometry in a population of Aplochiton zebrai (Teleostei: Galaxiidae) from the Falkland Islands. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 32: 17-22.

McDowall, R. M. 2005: Making a living in Red Pond: a snapshot of the diet of a populaion of Aplochiton zebra (Teleostei: Galaxiidae) at the Falkland Islands. New Zealand Journal of Zoology 32: 23-27.

McDowall, R. M.; Lee, D. E. 2005: Probable perciform fish scales from a Miocene freshwater lake deposit, Central Otago, New Zealand. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 35: 339-344.

Waters, J. M.; McDowall, R. M. 2005: Phylogenetics of the australasian mudfishes: Evolution of an eel-like body plan. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37: 417-425.

McDowall, R. M. 2006: Crying wolf, crying foul, or crying shame: alien salmonids and a biodiversity crisis in the southern cool-temperate galaxioid fishes? Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 16: 233-422.

McDowall, R. M. 2006: Fish, fish habitats and fisheries in New Zealand. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management 9: 391-405.

McDowall, R. M.; Kennedy, E. M.; Alloway, B. V. 2006: A fossil southern grayling, genus Prototroctes, from the Pleistocene of north-eastern New Zealand (Teleostei: Retropinnidae). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 36: 27-36.

McDowall, R. M.; Charteris, S. C. 2006: The possible adaptive advantages of terrestrial egg deposition in some fluvial diadromous galaxiid fishes (Teleostei: Galaxidiae). Fish and Fisheries 7: 153-164.

McDowall, R. M.; Kennedy, E. M.; Lindqvist, J. K.; Lee, D. E.; Alloway, B. V.; Gregory, B. V. 2006: Probable Gobiomorphus fossils from the Miocene and Pleistocene of New Zealand (Teleostei: Eleotridae). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 36: 97-109.

Lee, D. E.; McDowall, R. M.; Lindqvist, J. K. 2007: Galaxias fossils from Miocene lake deposits, Otago, New Zealand: the earliest records of the Southern Hemisphere family Galaxiidae (Teleostei). Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 37: 109-130.

McDowall, R. M. 2007: Hawaiian freshwater fishes: the role of amphidromy in history, ecology and conservation biology. Pp. 3-9 in: N. L. Evenhuis and J. M. Fitzsimons (eds), Biology of Hawaiian streams and estuaries.

McDowall, R. M. 2007: On amphidromy, a distinct form of diadromy in aquatic organisms. Fish and Fisheries 8: 1-13.

McDowall, R. M.; Stevens, M. I. 2007: Taxonomic status of the Tarndale bully Gobiomorphus alpinus (Teleostei: Eleotridae), revisited-again. Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand 37: 15-29.

McDowall, R. M.; McIntosh, R. M. 2008: Freshwater fishes. Pp. 616-650 in: M. J. Winterbourn; G. A. Knox; C. Burrows; I. D. Marsden (eds), The Natural history of Canterbury. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch.

McDowall, R. M.; David, B. O. 2008: Gobiopterus in New Zealand (Teleostei: Gobiidae), with observations on sexual dimorphism. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 42: 325-331.

McDowall, R. M. 2008: Jordan's and other ecogeographic rules, and the vertebral number in fishes. Journal of Biogeography 35: 501-508.

McDowall, R. M. 2008: Process and pattern in the biogeography of New Zealand - a global microcosm? Journal of Biogeography 35: 197-212.

McDowall, R.M. 2008: Why are so many boreal freshwater fishes anadromous? Confronting ‘conventional wisdom'. Fish and Fisheries 9: 208-213.

King, C. M.; Roberts, C. D.; Bell, B. D.; Fordyce, R. E.; Nicoll, R. S.; Worthy, T. H.; Paulin, C. D.; Hitchmough, R. A.; Keyes, I. W.; Baker, A. N.; Stewart, A. L.; Hiller, N.; McDowall, R. M.; Holdaway, R. N.; McPhee, R. P.; Schwarzhans, W.; Tennyson, A. J. D.; Rust, S.; McAdie, I. 2009: Phylum Chordata: lancelets, fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Pp. 432-551 in: D. P. Gordon (ed.), New Zealand inventory of biodiversity. Canterbury University Press, Christchurch.

McDowall, R. M. 2009: Concluding remarks on the Halifax symposium. American Fisheries Society Symposium 69: 813-821.

McDowall, R. M. 2009: Early hatch: a strategy for safe downstream larval transport in amphidromous gobies. Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 19: 1-8.

McDowall, R. M. 2009: An ichthyological lucky dip, or "What freshwater fish lives where?": Review of: T. M. Berra, Freshwater fish distribution. Environmental Biology of Fishes 84: 147-151.

McDowall, R. M. 2009: Kenneth (Radway) Allen MSc DSc Cambridge FRSNZ. Royal Society of New Zealand Yearbook 2009.

McDowall, R. M. 2009: Making the best of two worlds: diadromy in the evolution, ecology and conservation of aquatic organisms. American Fisheries Society Symposium 69: 1-22.

Li, J.; McDowall, R. M. 2010: Phylogenetic position of the enigmatic Lepidogalaxias salamandroides with comment on the orders of lower euteleostean fishes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 57: 932-936.

McDowall, R. M. 2010: Biogeography in the life and literature of John Muir: a ceaseless search for pattern. Journal of Biogeography 37: 1629-1636.

McDowall, R. M. 2010: Why be amphidromous: expatrial dispersal and the place of source and sink population dynamics? Reviews in Fish Biology and Fisheries 20: 87-100.

McDowall, R. M. 2011: Dispersal ability: animal. Pp. 154-159 in: D. Simberloff; M. Rejmánek (eds), Encyclopedia of biological invasions. University of California Press, Berkeley.

McDowall, R. M.; Burridge, C. P. 2011: Osteology and relationships of the southern freshwater lower euteleostean fishes. Zoosystematics and Evolution 87: 7-185.

Obituary was lodged on website on Thursday, 14 March 2013.