(pdf) Abstract: Settlement is a critical transition in the life history of reef fish, and the timing of this event can have a strong effect on fitness. Key factors that influence settlement timing are predictable lunar cyclic variation in tidal currents, moonlight, and nocturnal predation risk as larvae transition from pelagic to benthic environments. However, Read More …
Team Shima’s Moonlight V is out in ProcRoySoc B
(pdf) Abstract: Lunar rhythms shape spawning phenology and subsequent risks and rewards for early life-history stages in the sea. Here, we consider a perplexing spawning phenology of the sixbar wrasse (Thalassoma hardwicke), in which parents spawn disproportionately around the new moon, despite the low survival of these larvae. Because primary sex determination in this system Read More …
Adrian’s Current Biology essay on CAFI and coral resilience!
[pdf] Adrian led a paper that highlights the roles of coral associated fishes and invertebrates (CAFI) on coral health and resilience. Many of these critters facilitate resilience (e.g., many fishes), but some (e.g., gastropods) impede coral recovery.
Dam salmon: Greg’s paper on Chinook salmon life-history and recovery was just published in CJFAS
(pdf) Abstract. Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Columbia River basin are threatened by anthropogenic changes to migratory corridors, estuaries, and natal habitats. Streams provide spatially heterogeneous natal habitats essential for salmon spawning and rearing life stages. We fit a statistical state-space model to salmon populations in Idaho’s Middle Fork Salmon River (MFSR) to assess Read More …
Adrian’s quick guide on coral guard crabs!
[pdf] Adrian put together a Quick Guide for Current Biology that talks about coral guard crabs (Trapeziids). And it includes awesome photos from Thomas Vignaud!
Paula’s paper on meta-analysis quality is available in PLoS ONE!
[pdf] Abstract. Quantitatively summarizing results from a collection of primary studies with meta-analysis can help answer ecological questions and identify knowledge gaps. The accuracy of the answers depends on the quality of the meta-analysis. We reviewed the literature assessing the quality of ecological meta-analyses to evaluate current practices and highlight areas that need improvement. From Read More …
Welcome Gbenga to our lab
We are delighted to welcome Gbenga Dehemin to our lab. Gbenga did his undergraduate work at the University of Lagos (Marine Sciences; 2018) and then worked as a biology teacher, science tutor, and graphic designer. Gbenga will arrive in the US in July and head out to Sapelo Island to do an internship with Read More …
Presenting Drs. Atkins and Briggs!
It’s official! Rebecca and Amy graduated in December 2022, after having defended their dissertations during the Fall semester. Rebecca is finishing up her Knauss Fellowship at NOAA in DC and Amy is a National Museum of Natural History Fellow at the Smithsonian Marine Station in Ft. Pierce (working with Val Paul). We miss them but Read More …
Dr. Rebecca Atkins!
Rebecca defended and filed her dissertation last month: “Intraspecific variation in the distribution, physiology, population traits, and consumer effects of the salt marsh periwinkle, Littoraria irrorata, across its geographic range”. She snailed it (as we always knew she would)! She is finishing up her Knauss Fellowship at NOAA in DC and then on to other Read More …
Dr. Amy Briggs!
Amy defended and filed her dissertation last month. Way to go Amy! She is now off to a Smithsonian post-doc with Val Paul (after she gets back from her honeymoon — it’s been a busy summer). We’re going to miss her, but she’ll be back for graduation in December.
Dan’s paper on Patiria trophic ecology is out in MEPS!
[pdf] Abstract. Microbes influence ecological processes, including the dynamics and health of macro-organisms and their interactions with other species. In coral reefs, microbes mediate negative effects of algae on corals when corals are in contact with algae. However, it is unknown whether these effects extend to larger spatial scales, such as at sites with high Read More …
Welcome Kelsey to our lab
We are delighted to welcome Kelsey Vaughn to our lab. Kelsey did her BS at the University of Arkansas (2019) and then completed her MS at the University of the Virgin Islands (2021). Kelsey is currently doing her first field season in Moorea with Dan and Alex and will be moving to Athens in August. Read More …
Rebecca’s paper on Littoraria thermal traits (with Kat and Will) was just published in Biological Bulletin
(pdf) Abstract. Physiological processes influence how individuals perform in various environmental contexts. The basis of such processes, metabolism, scales allometrically with body mass and nonlinearly with temperature, as described by a thermal performance curve. Past studies of thermal performance curves tend to focus on effects of temperature on a single body size or population, rather Read More …
Amy and Anya’s study of the spatial scale of algal effects on coral microbiomes is out in RSOS!
[pdf] Abstract. Microbes influence ecological processes, including the dynamics and health of macro-organisms and their interactions with other species. In coral reefs, microbes mediate negative effects of algae on corals when corals are in contact with algae. However, it is unknown whether these effects extend to larger spatial scales, such as at sites with high Read More …
Congratulations to Knauss Fellow, Rebecca Atkins!
Congratulations to Rebecca for being selected as part of the 2022 class of the Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship program. (that’s her in the top row, second from left). We can’t wait to find out what federal agency she’ll be joining this winter. Way to go Rebecca — you snailed it again!
New positions for Mike, Phil and Mike (CU, CDC, and FAU) — Congratulations!
Congratulations to Mike Gil, Phil Shirk, and Mike McCoy! Mike (Gil) is joining the faculty at the University of Colorado Boulder (the the Eco &Evo Bio Dept); Phil just started a Presidential Management Fellowship at the CDC (in the Influenza Division); and Mike (McCoy) is moving from ECU to Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Read More …
Greg’s paper on spatiotemporal distribution of chinook salmon redds is in TAFS!
(link) Abstract. Pacific salmon spawning and rearing habitats result from dynamic interactions among geomorphic processes, natural disturbances, and hydro‐climatological factors acting across a range of spatial and temporal scales. We used a 21‐year record of redd locations in a wilderness river network in central Idaho, USA, to examine which covariates best predict the spawning occurrence Read More …
Elizabeth and Anya each have new jobs — on opposite coasts!
Elizabeth (website) has accepted a faculty position at St. Mary’s College of Maryland (left: Department of Biology) on the Chesapeake, and Anya (website) has accepted a faculty position at UC Davis (above: Bodega Marine Lab and Department of Evolution and Ecology) on the Pacific. We are very excited for them both, having found their dream Read More …
Presenting Dr. Jacobs (and what did the fish say when it bumped into a wall?)…
Greg Jacobs successfully defended his dissertation this week in the Odum School of Ecology at UGa (Population-level consequences of environmental variation for migratory fishes). Greg’s research examined migratory dynamics in two systems: sturgeon in the Niagara river and Chinook in the Middle Fork Salmon River. Greg’s studies in both studies relied on sophisticated modeling approaches Read More …
Anya’s paper on extended phenotypes! Early view in Ecology…
(pdf) Abstract: Phenotypic variation can lead to variation in the strength and outcome of species interactions. Variation in phenotypic traits can arise due to plastic responses to environmental stimuli, underlying genetic variation, or both, and may reflect differences in the focal organism or aspects of the extended phenotype (e.g., associated microbes). We used a reciprocal Read More …