My research focuses on the biology of marine larvae and early juveniles. My work involves a combination of field observation, laboratory experimentation, and mathematical modeling. Current Projects Transport of blue crab larvae in buoyancy-driven coastal circulation. Our work concentrates on the processes that control the dispersal of larvae on the continental shelf and their eventual transport back to estuarine nurseries.
Ongoing studies focus on the genesis and maintenance of larval patches in coastal waters.
Dispersal and recruitment of vent crab larvae in geothermal systems in the eastern Pacific . Hydrothermal vent sites are found along rift valleys that are associated with sea floor spreading in each of the major ocean basins. Newly formed hydrothermal vents are rapidly colonized by endemic species, and the faunal composition at widely separated vent fields is quite similar. Our NSF-supported investigation utilizes innovative laboratory techniques in addition to field observations from the deep submersible Alvin. The role of biofilms and chemical cues in the induction of settlement and metamorphosis of mud crab larvae.