Oceanography/Expert Profile

Expertise

Many areas of marine biology, although my special areas of expertise are coral reefs, fishes, and ecology.

Experience in the area

30 years of teaching (university level, graduate and undergraduate) in general biology, marine biology, coral ref ecology, ichthyology. 30 years of research on coral reefs and the ecology of marine fishes. Many peer-reviewed publications in international scientific journals on these subjects. and several popular books.

Publications

1994. Pisces’ Guide to Caribbean Reef Ecology. Gulf Publishing, Houston. 1994. Beachcomber’s Guide to Florida’s Marine Life. Gulf Publishing, Houston. 1989. (with L. Greene) Comparative accuracies of visual assessment methods for coral reef fishes. Bull. Mar. Sci. 44:899-912. 1989. (with J. Gorham) The effects of artificial reef deployment on nearby resident fishes. Bull. Mar. Sci. 44:646-661. 1988. (with B. Blonder) Prey discrimination and electroreception in the stingray Dasyatis sabina. Copeia 1988:33-36. 1985. A ten-year cinematographic comparison of reef biota off Key Largo, Florida: 1974 vs. 1984. Final Report to U.S. National Marine Sanctuary Program (NOAA), Washington, D.C. 1985. (with R. Richardson, P. Pitts, and G. Serviss) Coral zonation and patterns of community structure in Bahamian reef fishes. Bull. Mar. Sci. 36:304-318. 1985. (with R. Richardson, S. McCarthy, and J. Gorham) Use of man-made reefs to concentrate grunts (Haemulidae) and snappers (Lutjanidae) in Bahamian waters. Bull. Mar. Sci. 37: 3-10. 1984. (with D. Landmeier) Variability in the population structure of four western Atlantic parrotfishes. Env. Biol. Fish. 10:149-158. 1983. (with D. Colton) Feeding ecology of bonefish in Bahamian waters. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society 112:178-184 1983. (with D. Colton) Movement patterns of bonefish (Albula vulpes) in Bahamian waters. Fish. Bull. 81:148-154. 1983. (with S. Freeman) Aspects of territoriality and habitat distribution in the fairy basslet (Gramma loreto). Copeia 1985:829-835. 1981. (with D. Colton) Diurnal variability in a Bahamian reef fish assemblage. Env. Biol. Fish.6:341-345. 1975. (with M. Brooks) The comparative structure of two western Atlantic reef-fish assemblages. Bull. Mar. Sci. 25:482-490.

Education/Credentials

Ph.D. 1973. Ichthyology and Marine Ecology. Marine Science Inst., Dept. Biological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara CA M.A. 1971. Ichthyology and Marine Ecology. Marine Science Inst., Dept. Biological Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara CA B.A. 1969 (Biological Sciences) California State University, Fullerton, CA

Past/Present Clients

Government of the Bahamas NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY URI DAMES AND MOORE, MIAMI METROPOLITAN WATER DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES Government of Honduras GOVERNMENT OF MALAYSIA Government of Nicaragua DADE CO. DEPT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

What do you like about this subject?

It allowed me to earn a living doing what I like best - being on or under the sea. Hopefully, it also allowed me to make some contributions that will reduce human impact on our oceans.

What do you still hope to achieve/learn in this field?

I am retired from active teaching and research. I still contribute as an adviser and consultant to international efforts to conserve threatened coral reefs and reef life. I also continue to expand and improve my educational web site on coral reefs.