Rolando Santos

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rolando

I was raised in Puerto Rico and graduated from the University of Puerto Rico Rio Piedras Campus with a dual BSc degree in environmental science and geography in 2004. I moved to South Florida in 2006 for my graduate studies. In 2010 I received a dual MSc degree in marine biology and coastal management from Nova Southeastern University, and in 2014 I received my Ph.D. in marine biology and fisheries from the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

Research

I am collaborator of the Benthic Ecology Lab working with Dr. Lirman and students on projects aimed to assess and understand the processes of seagrass habitat loss and fragmentation, and faunal responses to seagrass habitat spatial characteristics. My research mainly focuses on the restoration and resilience of marine habitats and faunal responses to multi-scale habitat characteristics. Also, my research interests center on the application of landscape ecology concepts in marine ecosystems to study the influence of spatial structure and habitat heterogeneity on the patterning of marine communities, and species interactions, distribution, and movement.

Publications

Santos, R., D. Lirman, S. Pittman, and J. Serafy. 2018. Spatial patterns of seagrass and salinity regimes interact to structure marine faunal assemblages in a subtropical bay. Marine Ecology Progress Series (In Press).

Santos, R., D. Lirman, and S. Pittman. 2016. Long-term spatial dynamics in vegetated seascapes: fragmentation and habitat loss in a human-impacted subtropical lagoon. Marine Ecology, doi/10.1111/maec.12259.

Santos, R. and D. Lirman. 2012. Using habitat suitability models to predict changes in seagrass niche distribution caused by water management practices. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 69:1380-1388.

Santos, R., D. Lirman, and J. Serafy. 2011. Quantifying freshwater induced fragmentation of submerged aquatic vegetation communities using a multi-scale landscape ecology approach. Marine Ecology Progress Series 427:233-246.