Current Lab Members
Fish ecology, aquatic and wetland ecology and conservation, behavioral, population and community ecology, species interactions, predator-prey interactions, competition, anthropogenic disturbance, ecology of biological invasions.
Dr. Rehage is an aquatic ecologist whose work focuses on examining how anthropogenic disturbance alters the nature of key ecological processes and mechanisms. Her research encompasses both biotic (i.e., non-indigenous species) and abiotic (i.e., hydrological regimes) alterations to aquatic and estuarine systems. Ongoing work examines the structuring role of hydrologic disturbance on aquatic communities. Read more.
Undergraduate independent study
I am an Environmental Science major with a minor in Biology and a certificate in Agroecology. I am currently working on my independent study involving the salinity preference of non-native African Jewelfish. I am also interested in aquatic plants.
M.S. Student
I received my BS at Virginia Tech in Fisheries Science in 2008. For my thesis, I am working on snook foraging patterns, diet, and fidelity in relation to hydrology in the marsh-mangrove ecotone of the Everglades. Before joining the lab, I worked at Mote Marine Lab in Sarasota, Florida, with Dr. Aaron Adams, http://www.mote.org/
PhD Student
My current work seeks a mechanistic understanding of the trophic interactions and population dynamics of fish species found within ecotonal marsh and tidal mangrove creek habitats of the Florida Coastal Everglades. Read more...
M.S. Student
I received my B.S. degree in marine science and biology from Coastal Carolina University. Since my days as undergraduate, I have had a wide array of research experience ranging from studying elasmobranchs off South Carolina’s coast to working as a chemist for an environmental science lab Read more...
Undergraduate independent study
I am an Environmental Science major, and I am conducting an independent study project working on the life history and sexual differentiation of non-native African jewelfish. I am interested in looking at the morphology of jewelfish and how it varies across males and females, and as a function of diet.
M.S. Student
I conducted my undergraduate work at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida. My research interests focus on the spread of invasive fishes throughout South Florida. My thesis examines variation in behavioral Read more..
M.S. Student
I am looking at the utility of using creel data to examine fisheries trends in Biscayne National Park. I have been working at Biscayne National Park in a variety of research and monitoring programs since 2002.
Prospective Students
I take students through our departments Master’s Program and through Biology’s PhD program. I really enjoy mentoring, and I am quite selective about the people joining our lab. I am interested in taking students who are passionate about ecology, have a nagging curiosity about nature, are hardworking and are serious about scientific inquiry and graduate school. Graduate school is not necessarily for everyone…. In order to succeed in graduate school you really need to want it!
If you are interested in working in my laboratory, please review the application guidelines from these graduate programs first, read some of our publications, and contact me before applying. Please email me a copy of your resume or CV, an unofficial copy of your undergraduate transcript, and a statement of your research interests, why you want to go to graduate school, and why you think our lab is a good match, etc. If you have taken your GREs, please also include your scores. Prospective students should have some prior research experience and preferably with fieldwork.
Past Lab Members
M.S. Student
I obtained my undergraduate degree in Aquaculture and Fisheries from the University of Rhode Island. I completed my thesis at NSU’s Oceanographic Center in 2009. My thesis focused on cue utilization and anti-predator responses by native Everglades taxa to the non-native cichlid, the African jewelfish. I am currently a Grants Officer at NSU.
M.S. Student
For my master’s degree, I studied grass shrimp (Palaemonidae) in the Shark River estuary of Everglades National Park. I examined how the different grass shrimp species segregate along the Shark River and their variation in trophic function. My research will help gain a better understanding of grass shrimp ecology and can aid in Everglades restoration efforts. My academic areas of interest include: estuarine ecology, behavioral and community ecology, species interactions, biological invasions, wetland conservation, stable-isotope ecology, and invertebrate taxonomy. I am currently a Ph.D. student at East Carolina University in the Chalfcraft lab
M.S. Student
I received my B.A. in Zoology from Miami University located in Oxford, OH. I just completed my M.S. in Marine Biology and Coastal Zone Management under the direction of Dr. Jennifer Rehage and Dr. Craig Layman. My interest includes coastal conservation and restoration, along with community education and outreach. More specifically my research evaluates the habitat enhancement role of Laurencia spp. for juvenile fishes and macroinvertebrates in Thalassia testudinum beds in Abaco, Bahamas.
M.S. Student
I completed my thesis at NSU’s Oceanographic Center in 2008. My thesis compared the predatory effect non-native cichlids on native Everglades prey. For my work, I focused on the two most abundant invasive fishes, the African jewelfish and the Mayan cichlid. I am currently work in Grants and Contracts at NSU.
Undergraduate independent study
I am an Environmental Science major, and I am conducting an independent study project working on the salinity preference of non-native African jewelfish. This is a collaborative project with Dr. Joe Serafy at NOAA. We aim to understand the future distribution of jewelfish as a function of its preferred salinity range.
B.S. Biology Student
Originally from Colombia, I am a recent Biology graduate from FIU. I started getting involved in biological research working with primates in captivity in the DuMond Conservancy for Primates in Miami and in several field studies in northern Argentina. Read more...
I am currently pursuing a PhD in the Saltzman Lab at UC Riverside.
M.S. Student
Currently, my main area of study is focused on the native Florida apple snail, Pomacea paludosa. I am observing the effects of varying water chemistry Read more...
