Marine Biology and Ecology

Department Faculty

Joseph Serafy

Research Professor & Editor, Bulletin of Marine Science

jserafy@rsmas.miami.edu

(305) 361-4255
Grosvenor South
4600 Rickenbacker Cswy
Room 219

My current research has three foci:

  1.  Examining the role of the seagrass-mangrove-reef complex in the ontogeny of     economically-valuable coral reef fishes (i.e., groupers, snappers, grunts, great barracuda);
  2.  Developing methods for, and assessing the effectiveness of, ecosystem restoration;
  3.  Furthering knowledge of the early life history, movement and conservation of pelagic fishes.

Elizabeth A Babcock

Associate Professor

e.babcock@miami.edu

(305) 421-4852
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I work on fisheries stock assessment and quantitative ecological modelling, with focal species including sharks, tunas, billfishes, sturgeons, conchs and lobsters. The use of innovative data sources and analysis methods to inform conservation and management of fisheries for which traditional fisheries data are lacking is a primary focus of my...
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Andrew Charles Baker

Assoc. Professor

a.baker1@umiami.edu

(305) 421-4642
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Andrew Baker is an Associate Professor of Marine Biology and Fisheries at the University of Miami. His research focuses on the responses of coral reefs to climate change. 
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Larry E. Brand

Professor

l.brand@miami.edu

(305) 421-4138
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Physiology, ecology and evolution of phytoplankton
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Douglas L Crawford

Professor

d.crawford@miami.edu

(305) 421-4121
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My academic interests are to understand the basic properties of adaptation (e.g., the importance of standing genetic variation, are many of loci involved in adaptation, are there conserved pathways to resolve specific selective pressures,etc.).  Knowing this information provides insights into human health and diseases and how organisms...
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Evan K D'Alessandro

Lecturer
Director, Master of Professional Science Program

e.dalessandro@umiami.edu

(305) 421-4848
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Publication Shulzitski, K., Sponaugle, S., Hauff, M., Walter, K., D'Alessandro, E.K., Cowen, R.K. (2015) Close encounters with eddies: oceanographic features increase growth of larval reef fishes during their journey to the reef. Bio. Letters 11(1) DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2014.0746
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Lynne A. Fieber

Assoc. Professor

l.fieber@miami.edu

(305) 421-4906
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Lynne Fieber is Associate Professor in the Department of Marine Biology & Ecology. She studies the nervous system of marine animal models using behavioral, electrophysiological, and molecular techniques.
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Martin Grosell

Professor

mgrosell@miami.edu

(305) 421-4623
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Martin Grosell, PhD is the lead PI and director of the GoMRI funded research consortium RECOVER (http://recover.rsmas.miami.edu/). Dr. Grosell is a Maytag professor of ichthyology with specialty in environmental physiology and toxicology at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (RSMAS) in the...
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Gary L Hitchcock

Assoc. Professor

g.hitchcock@miami.edu

(305) 421-4926
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Our laboratory studies the environmental factors that regulate primary production and respiration in pelagic ecosystems, and more recently, the trophic transfer from primary to secondary producers. Our main regions of interest are the Florida shelf and estuaries as well as the eastern Gulf of Mexico, including the Mississippi River plume and...
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Chris Langdon

Professor

c.langdon@miami.edu

(305) 421-4614
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Chris Langdon is a Professor of Marine Biology and Ecology at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. He is an expert in matters relating to carbon cycling on coral reefs and climate change impacts on coral biology and ecology. Teaching and Mentoring Langdon teaches introduction to marine science...
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Diego Lirman

Assoc. Professor

d.lirman@umiami.edu

(305) 421-4168
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Diego Lirman currently works at the Department of Marine Biology & Ecology, University of Miami. Diego does research in Phycology, Marine Biology and Ecology. Their current project is 'Rescue A Reef Citizen Science Program.
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Kevin Grant McCracken

Assoc. Professor

k.mccracken@miami.edu

(305) 284-9058
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KUSHLAN CHAIR IN WATERBIRD BIOLOGY & CONSERVATION AREAS OF FOCUS Evolutionary Biology Tropical Ecology
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M Danielle McDonald

Assoc. Professor

dmcdonald@rsmas.miami.edu

(305) 421-4856
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Danielle McDonald is an Associate Professor of Marine Biology and Ecology at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS). She is an expert in fish physiology and behavior with a focus on how physiology and behavior may change during times of environmental stress such as social stress, pollution...
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John W McManus

Professor

j.mcmanus@miami.edu

(305) 421-4814
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John W. McManus, PhD. is a Professor of Marine Biology and Fisheries, and Director of the National Center for Coral Reef Research (NCORE) at the Rosenstiel School of the University of Miami. In 2007, he chaired the Five-Year Review of the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, which led to major changes in its structure and activities. As the...
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Liza Merly

Senior Lecturer

l.merly@miami.edu

(305) 284-3629
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Liza Merly is a senior lecturer of Marine Biology and Ecology at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.  She is interested in comparative immunology and marine biomedicine using diverse animal models.  She is interested in the use of the shark as a model for the evolution of the...
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Marjorie F Oleksiak

Professor
Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education

m.oleksiak@miami.edu

(305) 421-4341
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Margie Oleksiak is the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education and a Professor in the Department of Marine Biology and Ecology.  Her research focuses on the importance of biological variation and how populations adapt to environmental change.
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Peter B. Ortner

Research Professor

portner@miami.edu

(305) 421-4619
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Physical regulation of biological systems; coastal zone management, ecosystem restoration, and fisheries management science and policy; coastal ecosystem effects of hurricane landfall; coastal ecosystem implications of regional and global climate change and climate variability; trophic relationships in marine plankton communities; phytoplankton...
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Michael C. Schmale

Professor
Associate Dean for Infrastructure

m.schmale@miami.edu

(305) 421-4140
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Associate Dean for Infrastructure diseases of marine organisms, carcinogenesis
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Nikki Traylor-Knowles

Asst. Professor

ngt14@miami.edu

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I am integrative biologist interested in the evolution of immunity and regeneration. I work with cnidarians (corals, sea anemones) to understand how their innate immune system evolved, and how it reacts to changes in their environment, such as those seen during El Niño events, or due to anthropogenic stressors such as pollution. I am...
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