I am interested in how predation and competition interact to produce population and community structure. Specifically, my research focuses on the ecology of Caribbean reef octopus, Octopus briareus, in the Florida Keys. I am particularly interested in the impacts that octopus have on fauna occupying the same habitat and shelter types as octopus, such as Caribbean spiny lobster, Panulirus argus. My thesis research demonstrated negative correlations between octopus and lobster abundance, and that predation rates on lobster by octopus increases at higher octopus densities. However, previous work has shown that lobster chemically detect octopus, suggesting that lobster may be avoiding areas containing these predators. My research has also demonstrated that octopus can readily displace lobster from crevice shelters, and that the presence of lobster conspecifics and alternative prey significantly reduces predation rates, perhaps allowing for co-occurrence of these two species. My dissertation research focuses on the impact that the presence of a predator has on interspecific competition and species diversity/abundance in hardbottom communities in the Florida Keys.

Photo by D. Behringer