Regional variation in seagrass complexity drives blue crab ( Callinectes sapidus) mortality and growth across the northern Gulf of Mexico. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, Volume 557, 151808, ISSN 0022-0981, Habitat suitability of drift macroalgae in two shallow coastal estuaries of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Drift macroalgae distribution in northern Gulf of Mexico seagrass meadows. Burrowing behavior of marsh periwinkles Littoraria irrorata in response to predator cues. Induced defenses as a management tool: Shaping individuals to their environment. Predator signaling of multiple prey on different tropic levels structures trophic cascades. Common fear molecules induce defensive responses in marine prey across trophic levels. Rapidly changing range limits in a warming world: critical data limitations and knowledge gaps for advancing understanding of mangrove range dynamics. Hurricane effects of seagrass and associated nekton communities in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
Additionally, she headed the benthic ecology lab studying the effects of freshwater discharge on soft-sediment infaunal communities in the St Lucie Estuary adn Indian River Lagoon.Īt DISL she maintains a long-term monitoring program on south Texas oyster reefs and investigates the feeding physiology of oysters to improve local aquaculture.ĭr. She studied the effects filter feeders, primarily bivalves, can have on mitigating harmful algal blooms. She was a postdoctoral fellow with the Smithsonian Institute at the Smithsonian Marine Station in Fort Pierce, FL. Her dissertation was on how abiotic factors, particularly turbidity and wave action, shape oyster reef communities. from Texas A&M University and TAMU- Corpus Christi. Jessica Lunt is a research scientist in the Studies of Marine Ecology and Evolution (SMEE) Lab and the undergraduate program coordinator for DISL.
Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Research Scientistĭr. M.S., Georgia Southern University, 1998Ĭurrent research topics in his lab include oyster reef ecology, mangrove encroachment, pesticide effects on blue crabs, and biogeography of seagrass communities in the Gulf of Mexico.Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2006.Smee is an Eagle Scout and Scoutmaster of Troop 292 in Mobile, Alabama. His lab has conducted studies in rocky intertidal communities in Maine as well as oyster, marsh, and seagrass communities in the Gulf of Mexico.ĭr. from Georgia Tech where he investigated how small-scale turbulence affected chemical signaling between predators and prey and influenced top-down forcing in soft sediment communities. He is a Professor of Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of South Alabama. Lee Smee is Chair of University Programs and Senior Marine Scientist III.