Overview
I will be at the Marine Lab for summer 2022 and will stay for a sabbatical in Fall 2022. I am working on a research project with Dr. Jim Welch (also of Wittenberg) and Dr. Richard Forward that looks at selective settlement of larvae of three species of fiddler crabs in the Newport River Estuary. We use molecular techniques to identify field-caught larvae to species, in order to answer questions of how the three species become separated in their adult habitats.
In my 'regular' life, I am a faculty member in the Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences at Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, where I am the director of the Marine Science Program. I travel to the Marine Lab each semester with class field trips from Wittenberg and advise interns with the REU program during the summer. My other research interests include foraging ecology of invertebrates and feeding sensitivities of crustaceans.
Current Appointments & Affiliations
Adjunct Professor in the Division of Marine Science and Conservation
·
2024 - Present
Marine Science and Conservation,
Nicholas School of the Environment
Recent Publications
The role of adult fiddler crab environmental acoustic cues and chemical cues in stimulating molting of field-caught megalopae
Journal Article Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology · April 1, 2021 In mid-Atlantic estuaries, three fiddler crab species, Uca pugilator, Uca pugnax and Uca minax, co-occur, with their adults occupying different habitat types distinguished by salinity and sediment size. Some evidence exists that selective settlement is res ... Full text Open Access CiteSeasonal and latitudinal variations in the energy reserves of the mud fiddler crab Uca pugnax: Implications for the response to climate change
Journal Article Aquatic Biology · August 28, 2017 In 2014, the Atlantic mud fiddler crab Uca pugnax was found 80 km north of its previously known northern range limit. Two years before this shift was noted, we collected a total of 781 male and female specimens from 6 populations along a latitudinal transe ... Full text CiteChemical cues from adult fiddler crabs stimulate molting of conspecific megalopae: Evidence from field-caught individuals
Journal Article Marine Ecology Progress Series · July 14, 2016 In mid-Atlantic estuaries, 3 species of fiddler crabs (Uca pugilator, U. pugnax and U. minax) co-occur, with their adults occupying different habitat types separated by salinity and sediment size. There is evidence that selective settlement is responsible ... Full text CiteRecent Grants
REU Site: Undergraduate Research in Estuarine and Coastal Marine Systems
ResearchSenior Investigator · Awarded by National Science Foundation · 2021 - 2025View All Grants
Education, Training & Certifications
Duke University ·
1995
Ph.D.