Research in our lab centers on fishes over a wide range of disciplines e.g. anatomy, physiology, natural history, and distribution. Current funding, and attendant research, centers primarily on distributional and assessment studies as well as artificial reef function relative to fishes and coral reef restoration.

Completed Ph.D:

Robin Sherman - Studies on the roles of reef design on juvenile fishes

Completed M.S.:

Robert Baron- The nearshore hardbottom fishes of Broward County

Lance Jordan- The effects of isolation distance and reef size on reef fishes

Brian Ettinger - Coral reef fishes of Broward county, Florida

Brian Walker - Biological assessment of three artificial reef materials

Stacy Wolf - Age and Growth and annual cycles of a surgeonfish

Daniel Fahy - Diel activity patterns, space utilization in yellow stingrays

Fleur Ferro - Spatial variability of the coral reef fish assemblages

In Progress Ph.D:

Paul Arena - Fish assemblages on sunken-vessels and natural reefs

Lance Jordan - Ecological determinants of haemulid distribution

Pat Quinn - Multivariate hypotheses-Based Restoration Study

In Progress M.S.:

Brian Buskirk - Age and growth of the yellow ray

Robert Patterson - Inshore fishes of Eleutheria

David Bryan - ROV examination of fishes in 50-150m water depth

Bethany Basten - Anatomical development of yellow ray

Selected Publications (Complete publication list)

Dere E, M.A. De-Souza-Silva, B. Topic, R.E. Spieler, H.L. Haas and JP Huston. 2003. Histidine-decarboxylase knockout mice show deficient nonreinforced episodic object memory, improved negatively reinforced water-maze performance, and increased neo- and ventro-striatal dopamine turnover. Learn Mem 10:510-519.

Arena, P.T., Jordan, L.K.B., Sherman, R.L., Harttung, F.M. and R.E. Spieler. 2002. Presence of Juvenile Blackfin Snapper, Lutjanus buccanella, and Snowy Grouper, Epinephelus niveatus, on Shallow-water Artificial Reefs. Proceedings of the 55th Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute 55: 700-712

Burns, T.A., J.P. Huston and R.E. Spieler. 2002. Circadian variation of brain histamine in goldfish. Brain Res. Bull. 59(4): 299-301.

Walker, B., B.Henderson and RE. Spieler. 2002. Fish assemblages associated with artificial reefs of concrete aggregates or quarry stone offshore Miami Beach, Florida USA. Aquat. Living Resour. 15: 95-105.

Spieler R.E. 2001. Circadian Timing of Meal-Feeding and Growth in Fishes. Reviews in Fisheries Science. 9(3): 115-131.

Sherman, R.L., D.S.Gilliam and R.E. Spieler. 2001. Site-dependant differences in artificial reef function: Implications for coral reef restoration. Bull. Mar. Sci. 69 (2):1053-1056.

Spieler R., D. Gilliam, and R. Sherman. 2001. Artificial substrate and coral reef restoration: What do we need to know to know what we need. Bull. Mar. Sci. 69(2): 1013-1030.

Sherman, R.L., Gilliam, D.S. and R.E. Spieler. 2001. Artificial reef design: void space, complexity and attractants. ICES Journal of Marine Science. 59(s): S196-S200.

Manire, C., R. Hueter, E. Hull, R. Spieler, 2001: Serological changes associated with gill-net capture and restraint in three species of sharks. Trans. Am. Fish Soc. 130 (6), 1038-1048.

Sherman, R.L., D.S. Gilliam and R.E. Spieler. 2001. Effects of refuge size and complexity on recruitment and fish assemblage formation on small artificial reefs. Proc. 52nd Annual Gulf Caribb. Fish. Instit. 455-467.

Mattioli, R., J.P.Huston, and R.E. Spieler.2000. ACTH4-10, Substance P and Dizolcipine (MK-801). Accelerate Functional Recovery After Hemilabyrinthectomy in Goldfish. Neuroplasticity. 7(4): 291-301.