Education

B.S.- Bates College; M.S. Marine Biology- University of Maine; M.S. Marine Policy- University of Maine

Research interests

In order to “confront the coral reef crisis” we must understand better what key processes are driving coral reef resilience.  Logically, for coral reef ecosystems to persist, rates of coral recruitment and growth must match or exceed rates of disturbance. Thus, I am conducting long-term recruitment studies, in Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles, and the MesoAmerican Barrier Reef, that are critical to bridge the gap between the variation in initial settlement rates and the number of individuals actually adding to the local population.  The thrust of my dissertation examines the spatial (from regional to millimeter) and temporal scales (greater than four years) at which coral recruitment operates.  I seek to 1) describe where we can measure most of the variance in the system by comparing rates of recruitment in regions with varying fish populations, algal biomass and productivity, 2) identify ecological processes that are positive regenerative forces for reefs, and 3) propose plausible management solutions to steer reefs towards increased resilience. 

 

Publications

• Steneck, R. S., Paris, C. B., Arnold, S. N., Ablan-Lagman, M.C, Alcala, A. C., Butler, M. J., McCook, L. J., Russ, G. R., Sale, P. F. 2009. Thinking and managing outside the box: coalescing connectivity networks to build region-wide resilience in coral reef ecosystems. Coral Reefs, 28:367-378.
• Ritson- Williams, R. Arnold, S. N. Fogarty, N., Steneck, R., Vermeij, M., and Paul, V. 2009. New perspectives on ecological mechanisms affecting coral recruitment on reefs. Smithsonian Contributions to Marine Science. In press.

Grants

• 2008 to 2009 — 15000.00 — from International Society for Reef Studies

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