Dr. Luiz Rocha
Aliases: rocha (forum) Role: Marine biologist, ichthyologist, Wetpixel moderator, science correspondent Affiliation: California Academy of Sciences (CAS) First appearance: 2005 ([1])
Biography
Dr. Luiz Rocha is a marine biologist originally from Panama City, Panama, who became Wetpixel’s de facto science correspondent. He authored 46 articles — almost entirely marine conservation and science news — making him the community’s primary bridge between scientific research and the UW photography world. He was also an active forum contributor with 2,332 posts.
His career trajectory is visible through the Wetpixel archive: from Panama City marine biologist (2005) to the California Academy of Sciences, where he led deep-reef research expeditions as part of the “Hope for Reefs” initiative.
Contributions
Wetpixel Moderator and Science Writer
Appointed Wetpixel moderator in September 2005 alongside Drew Wong, Mike Veitch, and Leslie Harris ([2]). Later promoted to Senior Moderator ([3]).
In 2006 alone, he wrote 30+ articles covering lionfish invasions, shark overfishing (100M+ sharks/year), coral protection, NWHI national monument designation, and manta ray protections — a remarkable curation of marine science news for the photography community ([4], [5], [6]).
Scientific Research
- 2007: Joined NOAA research expedition to Northwestern Hawaiian Islands on ship Hi’ialakai, sharing a travel journal in the forums ([7])
- 2012: Co-authored peer-reviewed paper in Coral Reefs on jawfish mimicking the mimic octopus ([8])
- 2015: Featured in Gizmodo for CAS deep-reef expedition to Curacao using submersibles and rebreathers at 135m depth, “discovering new species at rates as high as 14 per hour” ([9])
- 2017: CAS “Hope for Reefs” expedition to Easter Island twilight zone (200–500 ft), discovering 4 new fish species and 1 new sea biscuit species ([10])
Timeline
- 2005-03: Named ScubaDiving.com Photographer of the Week ([11])
- 2005-09: Appointed Wetpixel moderator ([12])
- 2006: Prolific year — 30+ science/conservation articles for Wetpixel
- 2006-12: NWHI marine survey reveals new invertebrate species ([13])
- 2007-07: NOAA expedition to Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ([14])
- 2012-01: Jawfish/mimic octopus paper published; identified as CAS researcher ([15])
- 2015-05: CAS Curacao deep-reef expedition featured in Gizmodo ([16])
- 2017-04: Easter Island twilight zone expedition — 4+ new species discovered ([17])
References
Sources
- Wetpixel article, Mar 12, 2005: Luiz Rocha Scuba Diving Photographer Of The Week ↩
- Wetpixel article, Sep 14, 2005: Wetpixel Expands Moderating Team ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 8, 2012: Mimic Octopus Is Itself Mimicked By Jawfish ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 4, 2006: Invasive Lionfish In Florida ↩
- Wetpixel article, Sep 7, 2006: Sharks Threatened More Than Ever ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jun 15, 2006: Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Now A National Monument ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jul 18, 2007: Luiz Rocha Travels To Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 8, 2012: Mimic Octopus Is Itself Mimicked By Jawfish ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 22, 2015: Gizmodo Features Deep Fish Collecting ↩
- Wetpixel article, Apr 9, 2017: New Species Discovered In Easter Island ↩
- Wetpixel article, Mar 12, 2005: Luiz Rocha Scuba Diving Photographer Of The Week ↩
- Wetpixel article, Sep 14, 2005: Wetpixel Expands Moderating Team ↩
- Wetpixel article, Dec 7, 2006: Hawaii Underwater Survey Reveals New Species ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jul 18, 2007: Luiz Rocha Travels To Northwestern Hawaiian Islands ↩
- Wetpixel article, Jan 8, 2012: Mimic Octopus Is Itself Mimicked By Jawfish ↩
- Wetpixel article, May 22, 2015: Gizmodo Features Deep Fish Collecting ↩
- Wetpixel article, Apr 9, 2017: New Species Discovered In Easter Island ↩
- ScubaDiving.com Photographer of the Week (2005) (article) ↩
- Wetpixel expands moderating team (2005) (article) ↩
- Invasive lionfish in Florida (2006) (article) ↩
- NWHI survey reveals new species (2006) (article) ↩
- NOAA expedition to NWHI (2007) (article) ↩
- Jawfish mimicry paper (2012) (article) ↩
- CAS deep-reef expedition (2015) (article) ↩
- Easter Island expedition (2017) (article) ↩