Marine science remains a dynamic and growing field in FAU’s Department of Biological Sciences. Students and scientists can easily access a great variety of marine habitats ranging from estuarine to coastal to blue water. Mangrove communities abound, as do coastal reefs and the nearby Gulf Stream Current. Tropical and subtropical fauna and flora characterize the region. The proximity to both natural coastline and urbanization provides intriguing opportunities for comparisons of pristine and degraded habitats. FAU and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution (HBOI) partner to provide students and faculty with an extraordinary combination of facilities, opportunities and locations for training and research in marine science. FAU’s marine biologists are locally, nationally and internationally respected for their research in marine conservation, physiology and behavior, sensory biology of marine vertebrates (particularly sea turtles and fishes) and invertebrates and for coastal ecology and nutrient cycling. HBOI is internationally known for its coastal, ship, and submersible-based research in marine science, biomedical marine research, aquaculture, and ocean engineering.
FAU’s Department of Biological Sciences faculty members view integration of disciplines as a defining characteristic to understanding scientific principles. The department offers a Ph.D. Program in Integrative Biology, Masters degrees and Bachelors degrees.
| Name | Area of Emphasis | Institution | Ajemian, Matthew | Fisheries ecology and conservation | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Beckler, Jordon | Developing and applying autonomous biogeochemical sensing technologies to constrain fundamental elemental cycling mechanisms and rates in redox environments | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Carlsson, Leif | Composite Material and Sandwich Structures, Solid Mechanics, Finite Element Analysis | FAU College of Engineering and Computer Science | Chaves-Fonnegra, Andia | Processes that structure marine habitats, especially coral reefs ecosystems; interactions among organisms and the surrounding environment; reproduction, evolution and connectivity of populations, particularly of sponges, corals and algae; how ecosystems and ecological interactions are altered by anthropogenic activities | FAU Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College | Cherubin, Laurent | Ocean and ecosystem dynamics, and marine connectivity. Tools consist of numerical modeling and field observations using autonomous platforms such as glider and advanced aerial and underwater sensing techniques. | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Coen, Lauren | Oyster reef ecology, functioning and associated ecosystem services; marine habitat restoration; remote sensing and monitoring of intertidal habitats and water quality; benthic and shoreline ecology, plant-animal interactions | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Cook, Clayton | Marine science | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Curet, Oscar | Biological propulsion, the interconnection of fluid dynamics and animal locomotion, biomimetics, energy harvesting, bat flight, fish swimming, and direct simulation of freely swimming fish. | FAU Ocean and Mechanical Engineering | Dalgleish, Fraser | Underwater laser imaging and communications, optical properties in marine environments, sensor networks and fluorescence imaging | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Davis, Megan | Develop aquaculture species for food, stock enhancement and to ease fishing pressure on wild stocks | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Devlin , Donna J. | Plant-invertebrate effects on community composition, primarily in estuarine and marine settings (mangrove and salt marsh communities) | Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi | Encomio, Vincent | The oyster reef restoration project: restoration of the oyster beds of the St. Lucie River and Indian River Lagoon | Florida Oceanographic Society | Goodbody-Gringley, Gretchen | Understanding how coral reef ecosystems function in order to maintain biodiversity; health, evolution, and resilience of coral reefs, ranging from shallow inshore reefs to the mesophotic zone | Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences | Guzman, Esther | Discovery of novel cancer therapeutics including both development of novel molecular target based assays and determination of the mechanism of action of compounds | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Hanisak, M. Dennis | Physiological Ecology of Marine Plants (Macroalgae and Seagrasses), Nutrient Dynamics, Coral Reef Ecology, Biology of Deep-water Macroalgae, Aquaculture (particularly Marine Plant Cultivation) | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Herzing, Denise | Marine mammal behavior | Wild Dolphin Project | Hueter, Robert | Anatomy, physiology, behavior, ecology, and fisheries biology of sharks worldwide | Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium | Jiang, Mingshun | Estuarine and coastal dynamics, ocean iron and carbon cycles, water quality, ecosystem functioning, and coastal inundation. | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Lapointe, Brian | Algal physiology and biochemistry, seagrass and coral reef ecology, eutrophication, marine bioinvasions, marine conservation | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Laramore, Susan | Aquatic animal health issues, including biosecurity and disease prevention; aquatic diseases of aquacultured species, with an emphasis on viral diseases of crustaceans and parasitic diseases of bivalves | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Mansfield, Kate | Marine biology and vertebrate zoology with an emphasis on sea turtle ecology, behavior, habitat use, and conservation | University of Central Florida | Mari, Frank | Peptides and proteins of marine origin, especially those from predatory venomous mollusks belonging to the genus Conus (cone snails), biochemically and functionally characterize components of interest | Hollings Marine Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology | Markwith, Scott | Biogeography, biogeomorphology, population and conservation genetics, vegetation dynamics and disturbance, aquatic systems | Department of Geosciences, FAU | McCarthy, Peter | Cultivation and identification of the symbiotic microbes present in deep-water marine sponges; screening for novel antimicrobial agents from marine invertebrates and microbes; and finding biotechnological applications for microbial products | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | McCoy, Krista | Understanding how environmental pollutants alter development, physiology, and behavior, and to devise ways to ameliorate their negative effects- from molecules to populations. | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Miller, Debra | Pathology of wildlife and exotic species (especially amphibians, sea turtles and marine mammals) | Department of Forestry, Wildlife and Fisheries, University of Tennessee | Osman, Rick | Ecology of populations and communities of marine and estuarine animals that live on the seafloor or in the seafloor sediments | Smithsonian Environmental Research Center | Page-Karjian, Annie | Investigating the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and disease ecology of infectious diseases and neoplasia of marine mammals and turtles. | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Paul, Valerie | Ecological roles of marine natural products, impact of toxic cyanobacterial (Lynbya spp.) blooms on coral reef habitats | Smithsonian Marine Station | Proffitt, C. Edward | Ecology of marine macrophytes and invertebrates | Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi | Riche, Martin | Nutrition and physiology of aquatic animals, larval marine fish | FAU Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Smith, Ned | Physical oceanography, air-sea interaction in estuarine and continental shelf waters, wind-driven and tidal transport processes, low-frequency variations in water levels, local air-water heat energy exchanges | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Stewart, Kelly | Marine vertebrate ecology and behavior, population dynamics and genetics, biogeography, threatened species biology and conservation and field biology | Southwest Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | Sutton, Tracey T. | Quantitative ecology and structure of marine ecosystems | Department of Marine and Environmental Sciences, Nova Southeastern | Thompson, Nancy | Marine science | Keys Marine Laboratory | Voss, Joshua | Coral reef ecology, development of advance molecular technologies with field-based ecological applications, molecular profiling of bacterial communities, marine conservation and management, integration within and among academic disciplines | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | West, Lyndon | Discovery of pharmacologically-active metabolites from marine invertebrates, anti-cancer and anti-microbial agents, use of stem cells in developing new drugs for cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases | FAU Chemistry and Biochemistry | Widder, Edith | Protection and restoration of marine ecosystems, and the species they sustain | Ocean Research and Conservation Association | Wills, Paul | Aquaculture of finfish for food and stock enhancement; development of new fish species for aquaculture | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Wright, Amy | Investigation of marine natural products from marine invertebrates and associated bacterial symbionts | Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute | Young, Joy | Spawning dynamics | Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation |
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