People

Camila's research interests range from behavioral ecology to small-scale fisheries and conservation. Her background has been focused on cognitive evolution and behavioral research, but her recent projects are centered around the interactions between human communities and their ecosystems. Through interdisciplinary methods, she studies how small-scale and artisanal fisheries affect coastal elasmobranch populations in various regions in the world. By understanding the social and economic importance of shark and ray fisheries, Camila hopes to improve conservation and management policies in order to preserve their populations as well as the human populations that depend on them.

Camila.caceres2@fiu.edu

Jessica is interested in the behavioral and trophic ecology of marine apex predators and how these species influence their habitat and community. Her research focuses on bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Biscayne Bay, Florida. Specifically, she investigates changes in spatial distribution, habitat use and behavior in response to a changing environment. Additionally, she studies the foraging ecology and social structure of dolphins in this system, and how environmental changes affect the ecological roles and group dynamics of these animals. This project is conducted in collaboration with the NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center.

Jcard145@fiu.edu

Courtney's research interests lie in expanding current knowledge on the foraging ecology of sea turtles and understanding how sea turtles contribute to the community dynamics within their habitats. Specifically, her research focuses on the bottom-up effects of reef habitat on hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) densities and distributions as well as the top-down effects that hawksbills have on coral reef resilience in Nosy Be, Madagascar. Her research aims include: identifying prey species and quantifying the foraging rates of hawksbills; determining how reef quality effects hawksbill encounter rates, population densities and distribution; and understanding the role these turtles play in the competition between sponges and corals on reefs. It is Courtney's hope that this research will increase understanding of a critically endangered species and promote knowledge-based conservation for both hawksbill sea turtles and coral reef ecosystems.

cknauer@fiu.edu 

Cindy's 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, she is interested in how lower trophic level organisms are impacted through trophic cascades. Her 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. She will investigate what conditions occur that promote or discourage herbivory in these fish.

Cindy 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. She 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.

Derek graduated in 2012 after studying the dynamics of the Shark Bay seagrass ecosystem. Derek's work examined the ecological role of green turtles (Chelonia mydas), the community and nutrient dynamics of seagrasses across multiple spatial and temporal scales, and the possibility that tiger sharks initiate a behavior-mediated trophic cascade that is mediated by predation-sensitive shifts by turtles and dugongs. He found that risk-sensitive foraging by large grazers results in considerably different seagrass communities between safer and more dangerous habitats and that tiger sharks likely trigger behavior-mediated trophic cascades.

Katy studied regional variation in the abundance and habitat use of tiger sharks in Shark Bay, Western Australia. She completed her M.S. in 2010 and was a co-author on a paper published in Animal Behavior.

Bryan conducted initial studies of bull sharks in the Florida 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 M.S. 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.

Meagan studied spatial and temporal variation in dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) habitat use and group size off Great Abaco Island, Bahamas.  She completed her MS in 2008 and published her results in Marine Mammal Science. Meagan continued on to the PhD program at the Duke Marine Laboratory. 

Dr. Matich graduated with his PhD in 2014 investigating the extrinsic and intrinsic factors shaping bull shark habitat use and trophic interactions in the Florida Coastal Everglades to understand how environmental change attributed to restoration may alter their roles within estuarine ecosystems, a project he is still involved in as it progresses to answer more ecologically applied questions. He went on to work as a postdoctoral research fellow at Sam Houston State University, developing a coastal marine ecology program that is investigating how water management and sea level rise affect coastal food web dynamics and the roles sharks and other predators play within them. He also worked on developing terrestrial experiments and monitoring programs in piney woods ecosystems to test hypotheses derived from coastal research, including spillover effects of conservation areas, effects of disturbance on community structure in fragmented ecosystems, and the role environmental fluctuations play in shaping phenotypic divergence within populations.

For more information on current and past research, please visit Dr. Matich's website: https://sites.google.com/site/matichphilip/ 

Dr. Nowicki's research interests are focused at the interface of disturbance ecology, predator ecology, functional ecology, and community ecology. For his PhD, he used a widespread seagrass die-off in the world’s largest seagrass ecosystem (Shark Bay, Western Australia) to answer general ecological questions about the effects of resource loss on seagrass associated communities from multiple angles and at multiple scales. This includes determining how seagrass loss influences fauna abundance, community composition, trophic relationships, habitat use patterns, and predation risk effects within the bay’s community- from herbivorous fish to tiger sharks. 

Dr. Nowicki is also interested in ecological resilience in seagrass ecosystems and what modifies it - particularly in the face of climate change. He has used the Shark Bay die-off to investigate the recovery of Shark Bay’s seagrass ecosystem since 2012 with the goal of predicting likely recovery trajectories of the seagrass assemblage. He has also used this die-off as a "natural experiment" to conduct a manipulative field study examining the role of tiger sharks in facilitating ecosystem recovery. 

In addition to his two main research areas, he also engages in research on stable isotope analysis of elasmobranchs. Outside of research, he has a love for engaging with the public and in mentoring students at various stages of their scientific careers. After graduating, he became a postdoctoral scientist at Mote Marine Lab in the Florida Keys.

robert.nowicki@fiu.edu

Adam graduated in 2013 after investigating the behavior and ecology of alligators in the Florida Coastal Everglades. He is interested in linking an understanding of behavioral decisions to conservation and management strategies. His PhD focused on how movement and habitat use patterns and trophic interactions of American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) are influenced by both biotic factors and environmental variables like salinity and patterns of freshwater flow. He found that alligators exhibited considerable individual specialization in movement tactics which were reflected in their diets.  Some individuals remained in relatively restricted areas with lower salinities while others commuted frequently between low-salinity habitats and higher salinity downstream regions to feed. After graduating, Adam became a postdoctoral fellow at Yale.

arosenbl@fiu.edu 

Robin investigated spatial and temporal variation in the abundance and group sizes of bottlenose dolphins in the coastal Everglades. Her work also focused on residency patterns of individual dolphins and built the first catalog of individuals that will form an important component of future research on dolphins in the coastal Everglades.

Abraham's current research involves the development of innovative aquatic toxicity testing methods which use native aquatic organisms to assess the impacts of chemical stressors to an environment. The majority of his work is focused around the Natural Resource Damage Assessment of the Deepwater Horizon Incident. Using a variety of native organisms allows for a more complete understanding of the impacts of a chemical in a specific ecosystem. He is also investigating the use of an estuarine anemone to study the impacts of toxicants, metals in particular, in estuarine ecosystems.

Abraham.smith@fiu.edu

Jeremy conducted his doctoral research in Shark Bay between 2005 and 2007. His work included describing the diverse elasmobranch community of Shark Bay’s nearshore sand flats. Jeremy examined the seasonal trends within this community as well as the habitat use and foraging ecology of the most abundant ray species. He completed his PhD in 2011 and has published numerous papers from his dissertation as well as being an author and co-author on book chapters. Jeremy continues to be involved in the analysis of data on Shark Bay’s elasmobranch populations.

Dr. Kiszka studies the ecological roles and importance of marine megafauna in marine ecosystems. More specifically, he investigates how they use habitats and resources (their ecological roles) and how ecosystems can be affected by the presence of these animals, which includes their top-down effects on resources and behavior, as well as nutrient dynamics. Empirical studies and a rich theoretical framework also demonstrate marine megafauna can affect ecosystems through more diverse pathways, including those that are driven by behavior. For example, Dr. Kiszka studies the roles of cetaceans, green turtles and several species of elasmobranchs in facilitating access to resources to other species (e.g. teleosts, seabirds), and how mixed-species associations can provide evolutionary benefits to species involved in these interactions. His work implies the use and development of new and innovative research tools and methods to study marine megafauna ecology and conservation issues, particularly since these species are so challenging to observe. Through research and education, he also creates outreach tools and works on providing opportunities for students from minority groups and developing countries to build capacity. At FIU, Dr. Kiszka teaches the online course 'Biology of Marine Mammals' (OCB 4303).

View Dr. Kiszka's full profile

Dr. Mukherjee's 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. He has 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, he is investigating factors influencing the dynamics of predator-prey foraging decisions in a model aquatic system. Specifically, he is 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. Thomson's research interests are relatively broad and lie at the intersection of behavior, ecology and conservation in marine systems. He has been working on marine turtles with the Shark Bay Ecosystem Research Project since 2005. His PhD work at Simon Fraser University focused on quantifying spatiotemporal variation in the dive-surfacing behavior of green and loggerhead turtles in Shark Bay and examining its implications for detection probabilities during transect-based population surveys.

Dr. Thomson's postdoctoral research examined the effects of tiger shark predation risk on turtle behavior and uses stable isotope analysis and video data logging technology to study turtle foraging ecology. He has also begun investigations of a recent dieback of seagrasses in Shark Bay.

A postdoc in the lab from 2006 to 2008, Aaron 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.