Heithaus lab: Current students

	The Heithaus Lab


	Dr. Aaron Wirsing (Postdoctoral Fellow)
			Predators kill and scare their prey. I am interested in both of these types of interactions. With respect to the former, my research is focused on the factors that determine whether predators make a successful kill, as well as those governing whether particular prey individuals are attacked and, if so, able to escape. As to the latter, my research is focused primarily on the degree to which behavioral adjustments of frightened prey transmit top-down effects of apex predators on community structure, particularly in marine settings.

	Jeremy Vaudo (PhD candidate)
			Predators can exert strong top-down influences on prey populations and can ultimately structure communities through both density- and trait-mediated interactions. However, the role of predators in structuring soft bottom communities is not clear. Rays are important predators in soft bottom communities and their foraging behavior may be important in structuring infaunal communities through removal of prey items and distrubance to the sediments. However, ray predators such as large sharks may influence stingray foraging behavior, and thus indirectly affect soft bottom communities. The importnace of such behaviorally-mediated indirect interactions in marine communities is largely unknown. My research focuses on the effects of stingray foraging behavior and habitat use on the structure of soft-bottom communities in Shark Bay, Western Australia and how these effects change in the presence of stingray predators.

	Derek Burkholder (PhD candidate)
			My primary research interests are predator-prey behavioral interactions and their impact on both prey populations and the structure of marine communities. My current research examines the ecological role of green turtles (Chelonia mydas) and tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) in the pristine shallow sea grass ecosystem of Shark Bay, Western Australia. My main focus is the importance of non-lethal impacts of tiger sharks on green turtles. Green turtles feed primarily of sea grasses and may have a strong effect on the community composition and structure of sea grass ecosystems. Therefore, if tiger sharks modify green turtle gazing locations they may help to structure sea grass communities. In Shark Bay, I will examine the impacts of green turtle foraging on sea grass beds and the potential behaviorally mediated indirect interaction (BMII) of tiger sharks on sea grass beds via green turtle foraging behavior and habitat use.

	Meagan Dunphy-Daly (MS candidate)
			My initial research focused on temporal variation in dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) habitat use and group size off Great Abaco Island, the Bahamas. However, my primary interests are in the diving behavior of air-breathing aquatic animals, especially how predators influence these decisions. Surprisingly, few studies have addressed this question. Currently, I am conducting laboratory experiments to test theoretical predictions of optimal diving under the risk of predation using red-eared slider turtles (Trachemys scripa elegans) threatened by a model of a heron (a common turtle predator). In the future, I plan to expand my work in this area by developing new optimality models of diving under the risk of predation and initiating field studies of pied cormorants (Phalacrocorax varius) diving under the risk of tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) predation in Shark Bay, Western Australia.

	Katy Cameron (PhD candidate)
			My primary interests revolve around non-lethal effects of predators on their prey and the role of physical habitat structure on these interactions. I will examine whether regional variation in habitat structure affects habitat preference of tiger sharks (Galeocerdo cuvier) and their prey in Shark Bay, Western Australia. I will use a combination of acoustic tracking of tiger sharks and transect surveys of their primary prey items including dugongs, sea turtles, sea birds, and dolphins. Ultimately, I hope to determine how physical habitat stucture mediates trait-mediated indirect effects of tiger sharks on the larger community.

	Adam Rosenblat (MS candidate)
			I am interested in linking an understanding of behavioral decisions to conservation and management strategies. My current research focuses on the Florida Everglades, which is a heavily managed ecosystem that is in the process of being restored. I am studying how movement and habitat use patterns of American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), are influenced by environmental variables like salinity and patterns of freshwater flow. Understanding how alligators respond to changes hydrology will aid in Everglades management and conserving alligator populations. In addition, my work will test the efficacy of two tracking methods (passive acoustic telemetry and GPS telemetry) for studying habitat use of crocodilians.

	LAB ALUMNI
	Bryan Delius (MS)
			My research interests include consumer-mediated nutrient transport, predator-prey interactions, and foraging ecology. My research explored the possibility that juvenile bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) mediate nutrient-transport from the Gulf of Mexico into the nutrient-limited Shark River in the Florida Coastal Everglades. I analyzed stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes to determine the relative feeding locations and trophic levels of the bull sharks within the estuary. My research suggests that bull sharks feed in marine habitats and then move upstream where they might deposit limiting nutrients.