Assessment co-author
James Fourqurean

The first comprehensive analysis of coastal seagrass habitat shows 58% of seagrass meadows in decline.
Download the news release (June 29, 2009).

Vanessa Haley

Ms. Vanessa Haley, with the support of Bonefish & Tarpon Trust and Bahamas National Trust, has been pursuing rigorous research into the maintenance and preservation of a robust bonefish fishery in the Bahamas. Ms. Haley and her work were honored at a celebration on June 8, 2009 at Atlantis, Paradise Island, Bahamas. The event was filmed as part of an ESPN program about the Bahamas bonefishing fishery. Please join us in congratulating Ms. Haley for her past work, as well as welcoming her as a Ph.D. student in Fall 2009.

Jeremy Vaudo

On March 1st at 9:00pm on the Discovery Channel, Ph.D. student Jeremy Vaudo was featured in an episode of "When Animals Strike". Congratulations Jeremy!

Doug Wartzok

University Vice President and Professor of Biology Doug Wartzok recently moderated a panel put together by the Center for Independent Experts that reviewed three models used by the Navy in their Environmental Impact Statements for the impact of sonar operations on marine mammals in their East Coast, West Coast and Hawaiian training ranges. Two models were created by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, RI and one was created by SAIC, a Navy contractor, located in Arlington VA. The report is not yet a public document, but should be cleared for release in the next couple of months.

Rebecca Vega-Thurber

Deron Burkepile

The Marine Sciences program is excited to announce the recent hires of two outstanding young scientists.

Deron Burkepile is an ecologist that focuses on how biotic and abiotic forces affect the community organization and ecosystem function of marine and terrestrial systems, with particular emphasis on the cascading effects of altering trophic interactions and ecosystem productivity. Deron received his Ph.D, under the mentoring of Dr. Mark Hay at Georgia Tech and recently served as the Brown Post-doctoral Fellow at Yale University. He joined us in August 2008.

Rebecca Vega-Thurber uses metagenomics and molecular biology to explore viral ecology of tropical reefs with a focus on how viruses may contribute to coral health. She received her Ph.D. at Stanford University and is currently a National Science Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow based at San Diego State University. She joined us in January 2009.

Craig Layman

Mike Heithaus

Marine Sciences Director Mike Heithaus and Assistant Professor Craig Layman have both been awarded prestigious National Science Foundation "Career" awards. Dr. Heithaus' 5 year project will be carried out in Shark Bay, Australia, with a focus on how behavioral interactions among top predators (e.g., tiger sharks) and herbivores (e.g., dugongs, sea turtles) may affect ecosystem function in seagrass habitats. Dr. Layman's project is focused on examining the effects of ecosystem fragmentation (road construction across tidal wetlands) from a food web perspective. Both projects will have exciting and innovative efforts to directly integrate scientific research and educational outreach to the public. Funding will exceed $1.5 million over the next 5 years. Congratulations Drs. Heithaus and Layman!

'No Turning Back'

'Future Wave'

A series of beautiful sculptures, designed by internationally-renowned artist Ross Power, now are on display adjacent to the Marine Sciences Building.

FIU Press Release

Ross Power's Website