Dr. Su Sponaugle

Associate Professor, Marine Biology and Fisheries

My research is focused on the transition between the pelagic larval stage and the reef-based juvenile stage in tropical coral reef fishes and crabs. I am interested in the dynamics of larval supply and the physical and biological (behavioral) processes creating temporal and spatial patterns. My research goals are directed at identifying the linkages between the pelagic life of larvae and subsequent recruitment patterns of juveniles on the reef. For example, my students and I are engaged in efforts to examine the early survival of young fishes during and immediately after settlement and the role of selective mortality of fishes with particular early life history traits. Other projects include the identification of the physical and biological processes involved in the delivery of larvae to reefs for settlement, the role of larval behavior in larval delivery, the trophodynamic role of herbivorous fishes in the Florida Keys, nearshore movements of gray snapper, and an interdisciplinary NSF-sponsored study on the transport, growth, and survivorship of Atlantic billfish larvae.