My research addresses questions related to the ecology of marine invertebrates, particularly coastal species of crabs. Many marine invertebrates have complex life cycles encompassing both planktonic larval stages and benthic juvenile and adult stages. The transition from planktonic to benthic life represents a critical stage in development of invertebrates. What cues a larva to settle to the bottom of the ocean and metamorphose to a juvenile? My research focuses on habitat characteristics that stimulate or inhibit the settlement and metamorphosis (molting) of late-stage larvae of crabs, called megalopae, both in the laboratory and the field. In addition, since the late 1990s my lab group has been investigating the ecological impacts of the invasion of the Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus, on coastal ecosystems, focusing on the potential effects of the Asian shore crab on resident crab species and the incorporation of the crab into food webs as both predator and prey.
