Our goal is to help expand the knowledge and understanding of sub-tidal benthic epifaunal population dynamics.  Our research focuses on individual, population, and community level responses to environmental change such as species invasion, global warming and anthropogenic influences.  We use a number of methods to monitor benthic epifaunal population dynamics including recruitment, larval abundance, adult community composition, and physical site characteristics such as temperature, salinity, and food availability.  We hope you enjoy learning more about this area of research and encourage you to contact us with your questions and comments.

Why Monitor Benthic Communities?

Little is known about the environmental cues controlling recruitment, establishment and persistence of marine benthic epifaunal communities.  In particular, the timing and quantity of recruitment of invasive species is not well understood.  As global biological invasion events increase, through range expansions of native species and introduction of exotic species, it becomes increasingly important to understand the spatial and temporal processes controlling epifaunal community dynamics. Invasive species are of special concern when they threaten ecosystem diversity and commercially important species.  Our current monitoring program focuses on temporal and spatial population dynamics for a number of native and invasive hard-substrate benthic animals at several sites along the northern coast of eastern Long Island Sound.

 

Learn more about:

Monitoring recruitment

Site characteristics

Recruitment species

Recruitment patterns

          Temperature response by recruitment site

          Temperature response by species

          Seasonal recruitment (individual ascidian species)

          Seasonal recruitment (native vs. invasive ascidian species)

          Overall ascidian recruitment (by species and site)

          Long-term recruitment

          

Support for this Site

Support for this site is provided by National Science Foundation Grant (OCE - 0002251) to Dr. Robert B. Whitlatch (University of Connecticut), and Dr. John J. Stachowicz (University of California, Davis). This grant is part of the NSF program for Long-Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB), which promotes the further development of established long-term environmental monitoring research. If you would like to learn more about the NSF - LTREB program visit their web site.