The Layman Lab    aquatic ecology • food webs • predator-prey interactions • outreach and education

Predator-Prey Relationships in Tidal Creek Food Webs

We are studying numerous aspects of predator-prey interactions in coastal ecosystems of the Bahamas and Florida, ranging from direct stomach content analysis of key predators to the evolutionary implications of predator regimes. We are especially interested in identifying:

1. Specific predator-prey interactions that mediate flow of energy from basal resource pools to upper trophic levels
2. The impact that predation has on the nursery value of juvenile nursery habitats such as seagrass beds. We are using experimental exclusion of predators to identify what the emergent impacts over-exploitation of top predators might have.
3. How small- and large-scale predator movements are related to prey availability and abiotic factors such as salinity and temperature