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| Dr. Mike Heithaus, Florida International University | |
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I grew up in Mt. Vernon, OH and attended Oberlin College from 1991-1995 where I was a member of the swim team and played water polo. I completed my PhD under Larry Dill at Simon Fraser University where I initiated the research that grew into the Shark Bay Ecosystem Research Project and developed many of my interests in the role of non-consumptive predator effects on marine community dynamics. From 2001-2003 I was a postdoctoral scientist and then staff scientist in the Center for Sha rk Research at Mote Marine Laboratory (Sarasota, FL). For part of that time I was on loan to National Geographic as a Research Fellow in the Remote Imaging Program where I conducted research using their "Crittercam" systems and hosted a 13-part series on the National Geographic Channel. I came to FIU in the Fall of 2003 as part of the Marine Biology Program. In 2008, I became the director of the Marine Sciences Program and received tenure in the Department of Biological Sciences. In my spare time I spend time with my wife and two boys and play Australian Rules Football for the Ft. Lauderdale Fighting Squids. |
| Postdocs | Dr. Shomen Mukherjee |
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My primary research interests are in the behavioral dynamics of predator-prey interactions including habitat selection, anti-predator behaviors (e.g. time allocation and vigilance) and state-dependent foraging decisions. I have worked on model systems such as the desert rodents of Thar desert (India) and on desert gerbils and their predators (red fox and barn owls) in the Negev desert (Israel). Currently, I am investigating factors influencing the dynamics of predator-prey foraging decisions in a model aquatic system. Specifically, I am trying to quantify the risk of injury (from its prey) as a foraging cost to predators and how spatial structure / habitat configuration affects the patch and habitat use of both prey and their predators. |
| Dr. Jeremy Vaudo | |
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Predators can exert strong top-down influences on prey populations and can ultimately structure communities through both density- and trait-mediated interactions. However, the role of predators in structuring soft bottom communities is not clear. Rays are important predators in soft bottom communities and their foraging behavior may be important in structuring infaunal communities through removal of prey items and disturbance to the sediments. However, ray predators such as large sharks may influence stingray foraging behavior, and thus indirectly affect soft bottom communities. The importance of such behaviorally-mediated indirect interactions in marine communities is largely unknown. My research focuses on the effects of stingray foraging behavior and habitat use on the structure of soft-bottom communities in Shark Bay, Western Australia and how these effects change in the presence of stingray predators. |
| Dr. Jordy Thomson | |
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My research interests are relatively broad and lie a the intersection of behavior, ecology and conservation in marine systems. I have been working on marine turtles with the Shark Bay Ecosystem Research Project since 2005. My Ph.D. work (Simon Fraser University) focused on quantifying spatioteporal variation in the dive-surfacing behavior of gren and loggerhead turtles in Shark Bay and examining its implications for detection probabilities during transect-based population surveys. My postdoctoral research will examine the effects of tiger shark predation risk on turtle behavior and use stable isotope analysis and video data logging technology to study turtle foraging ecology. |
| Graduate Students | |
| Derek Burkholder, PhD Candidate, Florida International University | |
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My primary research interests are predator-prey behavioral interactions and their impact on both prey populations and the structure of marine communities. My current research examines the ecological role of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) in the pristine shallow sea grass ecosystem of Shark Bay, Western Australia. My main focus is the importance of non-lethal impacts of tiger sharks on green turtles. Green turtles feed primarily of sea grasses and may have a strong effect on the community composition and structure of sea grass ecosystems. Therefore, if tiger sharks modify green turtle gazing locations they may help to structure sea grass communities. In Shark Bay, I will examine the impacts of green turtle foraging on sea grass beds and the potential behaviorally mediated indirect interaction (BMII) of tiger sharks on sea grass beds via green turtle foraging behavior and habitat use. |
| Adam Rosenblatt, PhD Candidate | |
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I am interested in linking an understanding of behavioral decisions to conservation and management strategies. My current research focuses on the Florida Everglades, which is a heavily managed ecosystem that is in the process of being restored. I am studying how movement and habitat use patterns and trophicinteractions of American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), are influenced by both biotic factors and environmental variables like salinity and patterns of freshwater flow. Understanding how alligators respond to current variation in biotic and abiotic conditions will aid in Everglades management and conserving alligator populations. In addition, my work will test the efficacy of two tracking methods (passive acoustic telemetry and GPS telemetry) for studying habitat use of crocodilians and assess turnover rates of stable isotopic signatures in various alligator tissues. |
| Phil Matich, PhD Candidate | |
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My research interests focus on the roles animals play within their ecosystems and how changes in biotic and abiotic factors can influence the spatiotemporal pattern of predator effects in ecosystems. My current research focuses on the habitat use and foraging ecology of juvenile bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) in the Shark River Slouth (Florida Coastal Everglades) using acoustic telementry, stable isotope analysis, and predator and prey sampling. The main objective of this project is to understand the factors responsible for driving shark foraging and movement decisions and how spatial and temporal variation in these factors my affect the role of bull sharks in the ecosystem. Additionally, I am hoping to elucidate the usefulness of comparing and contrasting isotopic signatures from multiple tissues for elucidating feeding patterns of sharks. |
| Cindy Bessey, PhD Candidate | |
| My broad research interests are in the field of animal behavior and how animals modify their behaviors in changing conditions to meet their life history requirements. Specifically, I am interested in how lower trophic level organisms are impacted through trophic cascades. My current research will focus on habitat use of the facultative herbivorous fish Pelates sexlineatus (Six-Lined Trumpeter) in the seagrass beds of Shark Bay, Australia. I will investigate what conditions occur that promote or discourage herbivory in these fish. I would like to investigate which seagrasses are preferred, as well as the changes in intensity of grazing in both the presence and absence of megagrazers and piscivores. I will also investigate the variation in abundance of these fish in structurally diverse seagrass habitats, and the structural changes to the seagrass bed that result from the grazing behavior of P. sexlineatus. | |
| Robin Sarabia, MS Candidate | |
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I am interested in the behavior of marine mammals and how behavioral decisions might influence ecosystem dynamics. For my dissertation research, I plant to investigate the feeding ecology of bottlenose dolphins in the coastal Everglades. I will determine the influences of both abiotic (e.g. salinity) and biotic factors (e.g. prey distribution and abundance) on their use of inland environments and how dolphins might influence prey populations and nutrient dynamics of the estuary. |
| Diana Churchill , MS Candidate | |
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My current research is focused on the effects of the Deepwater Horizon Spill on the trophic structure of deep-sea communities in the Gulf of Mexico. I am studying both upper trophic level predators (sharks) and benthic scavengers (crabs, isopods, hagfish) as sentinels of food web changes. I will use both stable isotope and gut contents analysis to assess both spatial and temporal variation in trophic structure. I hope to not only help elucidate the community structure of sharks and scavengers in deewater regions of the Gulf of Mexico, but how these shark communities and food webs in general have changed, and will continue to change, as a result of such a significant ecological disaster. |
| Staff Scientist | |
| Kirk Gastrich | |
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My past work includes studies of muscle biochemistry, physiology, and swim ming performance of fishes. Currently, I am involved in multiple research projects in Shark Bay. Most of my work has focused on ensuring that long-term datasets, including those based on transects and shark fishing, continue to be collected and maintaining and monitoring seagrass exclosure experiments. I also am heavily involved in seagrass transplant experiments and studies of fish communities. In Florida, I have worked with Adam and Phil on their studies in the Everglades and now am helping to lead our studies on deepsea communities in the Gulf of Mexico. |
| Lab Alumni | |
| Dr. Aaron Wirsing, University of Washington | |
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Aaron was a postdoc in the lab from 2006-2008 and worked on predation-sensitive foraging behavior in Shark Bay’s dugongs and the influence of dugong and turtle foraging on the bay's seagrass community. He also spent time working as part of the Long Term Ecological Research Project in the Florida Coastal Everglades. He is now an Assistant Professor in the College of Forest Resources at the University of Washington where he is continuing his studies of predator-prey interactions. |
| Dr. Jeremy Vaudo, PhD | |
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Jeremy completed his PhD in 2011 has published numerous papers from his dissertation as well as been an author and coauthor on book chapters. Jeremy continues be involved in the analysis of data on Shark Bay's elasmobranch populations. |
| Katy Cameron, MS | |
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Katy studied regional variation in the abundance and habitat use of tiger sharks in Shark Bay, Western Australia. She completed her MS in 2010 and was a coauthor on a paper published in Animal Behavior. |
| Meagan Dunphy-Daly, MS | |
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Meagan studied spatial and temporal variation in dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) habitat use and group size off Great Abaco Island, the Bahamas. She completed her MS in 2008 and published her results in Marine Mammal Science. Meagan is currently in the PhD program at the Duke Marine Laboratory. |
| Bryan Delius, MS | |
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Bryan conducted initial studies of bull sharks in the Floirda Coastal Everglades. His work focused on documenting spatial and temporal variation in catch rates of sharks within the estuary and analyzing stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes of bull sharks captured from the river mouth to 27 km upstream. Bryan received his MS in 2007 and his work formed the foundation for ongoing studies in the system. Bryan is currently working for the South Florida Water Management District. Bryan's work led to a publication in Limnology and Oceanography. |