For some twenty years I have been conducting research in coral reef ecology. Initially studies were confined to the effects of grazing by benthic invertebrates (such as sea urchins, fish, and crabs) on algae, newly settled coral recruits, and other sessile epibiota. More recently, my research has expanded into the margins of ecology and evolution such that I have been involved primarily with interdisciplinary marine research on coral reefs, melding ecology with the fields of physics, chemistry, and geology. My present research interests concern:

(i) Larval dispersal and recruitment processes, particularly as they pertain to the continuum from highly localized dispersal and recruitment to distant dispersal. Corals have been the primary target of these studies; (ii) Chemical ecology, particularly the ecological functions of secondary metabolites produced by alcyonacean soft corals. Thus far, these compounds function in predator deterrence, competition for space via allelopathy, antifouling, and enhancement of reproduction; (iii) Bioerosion of corals, particularly as an indicator of nutrient enrichment in the inshore waters of the Great Barrier Reef Lagoon (Australia); (iv) Stable isotope geochemistry as applied to living systems. By examining 13C and 15N levels in living coral tissue and zooxanthellae, my collaborators and I have determined that corals are ultimately dependent upon terrestrial sources of carbon and nitrogen in inshore waters of the Great Barrier Reef. This has important implications for land management bordering coral reef ecosystems; (v) Environmental policy/science policy. I spent two years with the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet in Australia with the Resource Assessment Commission, the Prime Minister's special commission on key natural resource issues and related environmental issues. Thus, I became interested in using our current scientific knowledge to mold present and future environmental policy and to create a framework within which new funding priorities could be assigned for future scientific research. One of the Commissions major functions was resolving conflicts between multiple users of key natural resources in Australia. My research interests in aquatic systems are broad, but I am particularly interested in the ecology of estuaries and coastal and freshwater wetlands. My current research examines the relationships between physical and biological factors an nekton communities (fishes and decapod crustaceans) of tidal marshes. Although estuaries have long been recognized as important in supporting fisheries species, we have only recently begun investigating some estuarine habitats or comparing ecological functions among different habitats. For example, there is much to learn about the functions of tidal marshes in providing food resources and refuge or cover to estuarine species and how this contributes to the secondary productivity of estuaries.

My research approach includes using quantitative sampling (i.e., field observations) to develop hypotheses and controlled field experiments to test these hypotheses. I am currently examining the relationship between tidal flooding regime (frequency and duration of flooding) and use of the marsh surface by nekton by comparing nekton densities on tidal marshes of various elevations. The relative capacity of these marshes to provide food for aquatic organisms will be evaluated by conducting controlled field experiments in which growth of nekton is compared among marshes of different elavations.

Understanding the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on estuarine communities and how habitat functions can be restored to degraded estuarine environments is another area of research interest. I am currently investigating the effects of pipeline canals on the use of marshes by nekton and examining the feasibility of restoring fisheres habitat by backfilling pipeline canals.