Osenberg Lab

(pdf)  Abstract: An animal’s movement rate (mobility) and its ability to perceive fitness gradients (fitness sensitivity) determine how well it can exploit resources. Previous models have examined mobility and fitness sensitivity separately and found that mobility, modelled as random movement, prevents animals from staying in high quality patches, leading to a departure from an ideal Read More …

Team Thalassoma’s second paper on moonlight and reproduction and recruitment patterns in T. hardwicke led by Captain Jeff S. Shima is out in Ecology (pdf).  Abstract: Most organisms reproduce in a dynamic environment, and life‐history theory predicts that this can favor the evolution of strategies that capitalize on good times and avoid bad times. When Read More …

We are delighted to welcome Dan Cryan (left) and Alex Primo (Center) to our lab.  Dan graduated from Stanford in 2018, and is currently an ORISE intern at the EPA in Rhode Island.  Alex graduated from UCSB in 2018, and worked with us in Moorea in 2019.  We’re looking forward to having them both here Read More …

[Better late than never — I forgot to post this earlier]  Elizabeth’s paper investigating the spatial distribution of damage on corals and its effects on healing and growth came out at the end of 2019 in Oecologia.   Abstract:  Many predators and herbivores do not kill their prey, but rather remove or damage tissue. Prey are Read More …

Phil defended his dissertation this month in the Biology Department at the University of Florida (Chameleons in a Changing Climate).  Phil’s work highlighted changing environments, thermal performance curves, and the responses of trophic chamelons, based upon his work in the East Usumbara Mountains in Tanzania.   He did a great job — and there was even Read More …

Abstract.  Colonization, including oviposition, is an important driver of population and community dynamics both within and across habitat patches. Most research has focused on the roles of habitat availability or quality on colonization and its outcomes. However, the spatial distribution of habitats also likely affects these processes. We conducted field experiments in Georgia, USA, using Read More …

We (Craig, Amy Briggs and Chao Song) taught our short-course on meta-analysis as part of the ELME (Enhancing Linkages between Math and Ecology) graduate program at the Kellogg Biological Station (Michigan State University). We had a great group of participants and terrific hosts (thanks to Kay and Ravi).  Kudos to everyone.    

Our collaborative grant on coral-associated-fish&invertebrates (CAFI) and the feedbacks between CAFI and corals builds on the field experiment led by Adrian (Stier and Osenberg 2010) and the modeling work led by Elizabeth (Hamman et al. 2017) and is collaborative between UCSB (Adrian Stier), Tulane (Scott McKinley), and UGA (CWO).  Elizabeth will be the post-doc on Read More …

Our team’s paper (pdf), led by Anya, on the interaction between muricids and vermetids came out today in MEPS.  Abstract: Predators, through their effects on prey densities, sizes, and behaviors, can shape ecological communities. Thus, quantitative assessments of predator−prey relationships are key to understanding these effects. Here, we documented the patterns and processes underlying the Read More …

The annual Odum Bake-Off was  a huge success, featuring the prize entry from Rebecca and Amy.  It was awesome (and was tasty too)!

Lauric’s paper (pdf) on the response of fishes to the Moorea MPA network is now on-line at Ecosphere.  Abstract:  Marine protected area (MPA) networks, with varying degrees of protection and use, can be useful tools to achieve both conservation and fisheries management benefits. Assessing whether MPA networks meet their objectives requires data from Before the establishment Read More …

Anya’s paper on the effects of of algae and vermetids on the coral microbiome is now on-line at Coral Reefs.  Abstract:  Most studies of stressors focus on the response of traditionally classified organisms via effects on growth, mortality or physiology; however, most species have microbial associates that may mediate the response of a host to Read More …

  _______________________________________________ Click here to download paper from Ecology

I (Craig) am particularly keen to attract a candidate to this new program (details below) who is interested in extending our ideas about propagule redirection (Stier and Osenberg 2010, Hamman et al. 2018) and cryptic density dependence (Shima and Osenberg 2010, 2015) that we’ve developed in reef fish, to mosquitoes to better understand their landscape Read More …

This weekend marked two great events.  Mike and Heather celebrated their marriage (above, right) and Gary celebrated his retirement (sort of, with the “this is not a retirement party” pig roast) (below).  Unfortunately, the two great events were the same day and we can’t all be two places at once, but we can still share Read More …

_______________________________________________ Click here to download paper from Coral Reefs

Anya defended her dissertation last week in the Odum School of Ecology at UGA (Trait-mediated effects and the extended phenotype: community interactions on coral reefs).  She did a great job – an excellent seminar and rumor has it there was even laughter coming out of the defense.  Many thanks to her committee (Tom Frazer, Erin Read More …

Lianne graduated from UF on May 4th.  Her family came from all over to celebrate with her.  Her son, Cooper, enjoyed it the most (well, he mostly slept).   Lianne is now teaching Marine Ecology at UF and continuing her work on scaling and the evolution of coloniality and indivuality.   Congratulations Lianne!

Rebecca won Best Oral Presentation at the 2018 Benthic Ecology Meetings in Corpus Christi, for her talk “Incorporating intraspecific variation and metabolic theory into our understanding of consumer-plant interactions”.  Kat Clancy (mentored by Rebecca) also attended the meeting and gave a poster on her undergraduate thesis research, “Do physiological responses to temperature depend on body Read More …

Click here for link to online version at Nature