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My research interests lie
in invertebrate behavior and ecology with much of my work centering on the
behavioral ecology of stomatopod crustaceans, a group of tropical marine
predators. The initial focus of this research was on how the evolution of
potentially lethal weapons influenced stomatopod biology. These studies
dealt mainly with communication and the function of aggression. More recent
research has expanded to include the evolution of mating systems,
interspecific communication, sensory ecology, prey selection and larval
biology. We are currently initiating studies on the genetic structure of
stomatopod populations attempting to deduce the timing and pathways of
dispersal. We are also using stomatopod populations as bioindicators to
assess the health of tropical coastal habitats. Recently, I have become
interested in the behavior of blue-ringed and other pygmy octopuses. We are
currently studying the reproductive and aggressive behavior of several
Indo-Pacific species.
Graduate students in my
laboratory are not constrained to working on tropical marine invertebrates
although an emphasis is maintained on invertebrate behavior and ecology.
Students in my laboratory are currently studying the impact of blast
fishing on Indonesian coral reefs, the role of stomatopods structuring prey
populations, monogamous mating systems in stomatopods deep-sea isopod
evolution and behavior and octopus behavior and systematics.
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