Prof. Su Sponaugle
RSMAS/MBF
University of Miami
4600 Rickenbacker Causeway
Miami, FL 33149
Telephone: 305.421.4069
Telephone: 305.421.4600
ssponaugle@rsmas.miami.edu

The overarching research focus of my lab is directed at the dynamics of population replenishment and connectivity in marine organisms. We are particularly interested in the transition between the pelagic larval stage and the reef-based juvenile stage in tropical coral reef fishes and invertebrates. Some of our efforts have focused on identifying the physical and biological processes creating temporal and spatial pattern in larval supply. Other efforts are directed at identifying the linkages between the pelagic life of larvae and subsequent recruitment of juveniles to the reef. For over five years, we have been measuring monthly fish recruitment to cross-shelf habitats in the upper Florida Keys. These data will be useful for quantifying overall population replenishment, interpreting future environmental changes, and designing and evaluating marine reserves. Our current NSF-sponsored project is highly interdisciplinary and involves the integration of intensive field sampling and biophysical modeling to begin to define dispersal kernels for reef fish populations in oceanographically dynamic regions such as the Florida Keys. High-resolution shipboard ichthyoplankton and physical oceanographic sampling is linked with simultaneous reef-based sampling of larval supply and juvenile recruitment. Fishes will be “tracked” across this transitional period by analysis of their otolith growth trajectories and by the incorporation of empirical data into coupled biophysical models. Co-PIs on this project are Robert Cowen (MBF/RSMAS), Claire Paris (AMP/RSMAS), and Villy Kourafalou (MPO/RSMAS).