Research Interests and Activity

My primary interests deal with the ecology and physiology of fishes, although students seeking to pursue other topics in marine and aquatic biology are welcome. Research undertaken in my laboratory by graduate, undergraduate and high school students is listed elsewhere.

My personal research focuses on two general areas:

Specific topics addressed in this research are described in more detail below, as are the geographic locations where I have conducted field work and some of the colleagues with whom I have had the great fortune to interact.

Please contact me or refer to my publications for additional information.


Herbivory in Reef Fishes

My work on this topic grew from natural history studies of feeding and gut morphology of a temperate reef herbivore, the monkeyface prickleback (Stichaeidae: Cebidichthys violaceus), in Central California. Later work involved studies of

Serendipitous discoveries made while studying herbivorous surgeonfishes in the Red Sea led to my two major research foci at this time:

Other discoveries in the Red Sea led to work, described below, on mass spawning aggregations and local migrations of surgeonfishes.

Reproductive Biology of Fishes

Studies of reproductive biology of fishes have included:

Research Sites

Los Frailes, Baja California Sur, Mexico

Los Frailes is a large, granitic mountain on the East Cape area of Baja California Sur. Located immediately below the Tropic of Cancer, Los Frailes and the Cabo Pulmo Marine Reserve immediately to the north, are excellent sites for behavioral and ecological study of tropical marine fishes. General information about the Los Frailes area is contained in the Hotel Los Frailes web page.

Noel Paul's Brook, Newfoundland, Canada

In the early 1980's, the Noel Paul's Brook station produced eggs and fry of the Exploits River stocks of Atlantic salmon. The station also had an observation chamber where one could observe and film salmon behavior.

Interuniversity Institute, Steinitz Marine Biology Laboratory, Eilat, Israel

This famous Red Sea laboratory is well-equipped for both field and laboratory studies, with fringing coral reefs as well as deep, "blue-water" habitats immediately off the lab. Resident and afiiliated faculty usually hold appointments at Hebrew University, Tel Aviv University, or Bar Ilan University, although work is conducted here by faculty from other Israeli instutions as well.

Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Ramat Aviv, Israel

Most of my collaborations with Israeli colleagues have been with members of this broad-based Department. It includes a variety of both terrestrial and marine/aquatic biologists. Equipment not available in the Department is often available in the nearby medical school.

Gump Biological Laboratory, Moorea, French Polynesia

This laboratory is operated by the University of California, Berkeley. The laboratory is close to a variety of terrestrial, aquatic and marine environments, as it is to a French national laboratory.

Lizard Island Research Station, Australia

Operated by the Australian Museum, the station is the most northerly of Australian marine laboratories. The island is home to a large varanid lizard, is close to a variety of reef and lagoon habitats, and is a relatively short run by larger vessel from the outer Great Barrier Reef and Coral Sea.

Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, Oahu

The laboratory is located In Kaneohe Bay, just over a precipitous ridge from Oahu and its home University of Hawaii campus. It is well-equipped for both field and laboratory work.

Other Lower Hawaiian Islands

Our studies have taken us to Hawaii (the "Big Island"), Maui and Kauai. Information about these islands is available from web sites maintained by the State of Hawaii and others.
Northwest Hawaiian Islands

The islands extending north and west of the "lower" islands are contained in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Most are accessible only by boat, although small planes land at French Frigate Shoals under special circumstances and larger military and commercial planes can land at Midway. We have worked at French Frigate Shoals, Pearl & Hermes atoll, and Midway courtesy of a National Marine Fisheries Service cruise aboard the Townsend Cromwell.

Ishigaki Island, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan

Ishigaki Island, one of the most southerly Japanese islands, is the site of one of the newest Japanese National Fisheries Laboratories (the lab opened in 1996). Personnel working there in 1996 were involved in both fisheries and conservation work, and included specialists in reef fish ecology, coral and other invertebrate ecology, and sea turtle biology. Reefs are well-developed and in superb condition.

Recent Collaborators

Katsutoshi Arai
Dr. Arai, with the Laboratory of Aquaculture at Hiroshima University, specializes in the genetics of freshwater fishes.
Kendall Clements

Dr. Clements, now with the University of Auckland, has published on the morphology and ecology of reef fishes, digestive physiology of herbivorous fishes, and the identity and biology of gut microbes from herbivorous reef fishes.
Renee Galzin

Dr Galzin is a leading French specialist on tropical fish ecology, and has conducted research at French laboratories in Moorea, French Polynesia, and elsewhere.
J. Norman Grim
Dr. Grim, an Emeritus Professor of Biology here at NAU, continues active research on protozoa, particularly ciliates. He has authored several systematic and ultrastructural studies on protozoan material collected during our surveys of the gut microbiota of surgeonfishes.
Anthony Mazeroll

Dr. Mazeroll is on the faculty at West Texas A&M University. His doctoral research dealt with migrations by surgeonfish to feeding and spawning sites in the northern Red Sea. He has continued research there on the ecology of anemonefish.
Heisuke Nakagawa

Professor Nakagawa, of the Laboratory of Aquaculture at Hiroshima University, is an authority on lipids and lipid metabolism of fishes.
Peggy Pollak

Dr. Pollak, a Lecturer in the Department of Biological Sciences at Northern Arizona University, directs our introductory botany course. Trained as a cell biologist and microscopist with primary interests in higher plant reproduction, she has worked extensively on the identity, structure and biology of giant bacteria from surgeonfishes.
Takuro Shibuno

Dr. Shibuno, now on the staff of the new (1996) Ishigaki Tropical Station, specializes in the ecology of reef fishes.
Tetsuya Umino

Dr. Umino, with the Laboratory of Aquaculture at Hiroshima University, has conducted research on reproduction, genetics, nutrient composition and growth of fishes.