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

My current research is focused on the transition between the pelagic larval stage and the reef-based juvenile stage in tropical coral reef fishes and invetebrates. I am interested in the dynamics of larval supply and the physical and biological (behavioral) processes creating temporal and spatial pattern. My research goals are directed at identifying the linkages between the pelagic life of larvae and subsequent recruitment of juveniles to the reef. My students and I are engaged in an NSF-sponsored study designed to examine the early survival of young fishes during and immediately after settlement and the role of selective mortality of fishes with particular early life history traits. Through study of naturally recruiting populations as well as several experimental manipulations, we are exploring aspects of early predator-prey relationships in protected (i.e. marine reserves) and unprotected areas. Other projects include the identification of the physical and biological processes involved in the delivery of larvae to reefs for settlement, the role of larval behavior in the delivery of larvae to reefs, a collaborative National Sea Grant study of the degree of population connectivity among snappers along the east coast of the US, and an EPA and NCORE supported project on the trophodynamic role of herbivorous fishes in the Florida Keys, a collaborative NSG project on the nearshore movements of gray snapper, and an interdisciplinary NSF-sponsored study on the transport, growth, and survivorship of Atlantic billfish larvae.