2024 update!

Our lab has had a lot of success so far in 2024, so we wanted to share it here!

Funding

Dr. Mark Butler IV

  • Butler, M.J. 2024. “Restoring coral reefs in the Florida Keys via stocking of corals and herbivorous crabs: Part 2”, FWC – Florida’s Wildlife Protection Program, $244,896

  • Butler, M.J. 2024. “The Role of Sponges in Transforming Coral Reef Water Quality in the Florida Keys”, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, $183,60

Leah Cifers

  • FIU NSF CREST CAChE Fellowship

Morgan Jarrett

  • The Crustacean Society Fellowship in Graduate Studies ($1,000)

  • Association of Marine Laboratories of the Caribbean ($2,000)

  • FIU Oceans and Coastlines Student Grant ($1,400)

Brandon Sosa

  • International Women's Fishing Association ($3,000)

Sarah Pezeshk

  • Vassigh, S., Pezeshk, S., & Butler, M. (2024). Biodiversity Improvement by Optimizing Coastal Adaptation and Performance (BIOCAP) Project. Funded by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Total Project Period Cost: $560,375.00.

Publications

Public Outreach

  • Jarrett, M.L. 2024. FIU Family STEAM festival. Various schools throughout Miami Dade & Broward County, FL.

  • Butler, M.J. 2024. Invited scientist for a week-long public education program (“Sea & Learn”) on the Caribbean island of Saba.

  • Jarrett, M.L. & Sosa, B. 2024. Scientist Spotlight at Newfound Harbor Marine Institute (Seacamp). Big Pine Key, FL.

  • Jarrett, M.L. 2024. Meet the Expert at Florida International University’s Camp Explore. North Miami, FL

  • Butler, C.B. "Lobster science in the Florida Keys – it’s all about the pee!” Newfound Harbor Marine Institute (Seacamp) Science Night. Big Pine Key, FL.

Milestones Passed

Brandon Sosa

Dissertation Proposal Defense

Evan Worden

Thesis Qualification Exam

Thesis Proposal Defense

Joe Kerigan

Thesis Qualification Exam

Presentations

students underlined

  • Sosa, Brandon. 2024 “Igniting Your Research: Crafting Questions, Bridging Gaps”, Florida Education Fund McKnight New Fellows Orientation, Tampa FL.

  • Butler, M.J. 2024. “The Bottom Line on GOLT: Oxygen Availability and its Consequences for Benthic Water-breathing Ectotherms”, 2024 FishBase Symposium, Thessalonikki, Greece. KEYNOTE SPEAKER.

  • Butler, M.J. 2024. “If management of the fishery for Caribbean Spiny Lobster were based on ecology”, 52nd Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting, Charleston, SC.

  • Pezsechk, Sara, Shahin Vassigh, and Mark Butler. 2024. “Eco-Design Solutions for Coastal Habitats: The Impact of Textured Infrastructure on Marine Biodiversity”, 52nd Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting, Charleston, SC

  • Cifers, Leah and Mark J. Butler IV. 2024. “A Novel Approach to Restoring Coral Reefs in the Florida Keys: Coral Sources, Herbivorous Crabs, and a Heatwave”, 52nd Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting, Charleston, SC

  • Butler, Casey B, Butler, Mark, J., IV, and Matthews, Thomas R. 2024. “Spiny lobsters provide a lens for looking at shifts in coral reef food webs”, 52nd Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting, Charleston, SC

  • Evans, Nick and Mark J. Butler IV. 2024. “Facilitating Coral Reef Restoration by Enhancing the Density of a Native Herbivorous Crab”, 52nd Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting, Charleston, SC

  • Barros, Lorena and Mark J. Butler IV. 2024. “Does the Gill Oxygen Limitation Theory Apply to Sponges?”, 52nd Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting, Charleston, SC

  • Worden, Evan, Mark Butler IV. 2024. “Ecosystems Examined: Contrasting Water Quality in Seagrass Beds and Sponge Hardbottom of the Florida Keys.” 52nd Annual Benthic Ecology Meeting, Charleston, SC

  • Sosa, Brandon, Mahadev Bhat, Mark Butler IV. “Blueprints for the Blue: Practical Considerations and Economic Strategies of Grazer Stocking for Reef Management in the Florida Keys”, Dissertation Proposal Defense, April 2024

  • Butler, C.B., Butler, J., Hannah, C.M., Ross, E., and T.R. Matthews. "Lobster health – a key driver of fishing effort, landings, and commercial value." Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Science Symposium. May 2024. Lightning talk.

  • Sosa, Brandon, Mahadev Bhat, Mark Butler IV. “Valuing the Use of Marine Grazers in Coral Reef Restoration”, FIU Earth and Environment Symposium. 2024. Lightning talk.

  • Butler, C.B., Butler, M.J. IV, and T.R. Matthews. “Idiosyncratic effects of coral reef degradation on the trophodynamics of lobsters with contrasting life-histories.” FIU Biosymposium, Miami, FL, February 2024. Oral Presentation.

  • Pezeshk, S. (2024, May). BIOCAP and SMART Seawall Sensing and Monitoring for Aquatic Restoration Tracking. Talk presented at Rob|Arch 2024 Conference, Canada.

  • Pezeshk, S. (2024). SMARTE Seawall: Sensing and Monitoring for Aquatic Restoration, Tracking, and Evaluation. Booth presentation at Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.

  • FIU 2024 Biosymposium Poster Presenters

    • Leah Cifers, Morgan Jarrett, Evan Worden

 

  • Butler C.B., Butler, J., Sharp, W.C., Matthews, T.R. Refining spiny lobster (Panulirus argus) escape and mortality estimates in Florida’s lobster trap fishery using long-term video. Fisheries Research (In Press)

  • Ross, E.P., Butler, C.B., Hannah, C.M. and Matthews, T.R., 2024. Reflex impairment as a predictor of mortality in Panulirus argus: Implications for the live export market. Fisheries Research, 278, p.107117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2024.107117

  • Butler, MJ (in press) “Forward to: Breathing Water in a Warming World: Principles and Applications of the Gill-Oxygen Limitation Theory”, Pauly, D. and J. Müller, Leiden Press, Leiden, the Netherlands

  • Jackquet, J. and 99 co-authors (including M.J. Butler IV). 2024. “Support US OCTOPUS Act to keep octopuses wild”. Science. 10.1126/science. adr3813

  • Butler, MJ IV, Duran, A, Feehan, CJ, Harborne. AR, Hykema, A, Patterson, JT, Sharp, WC, Spadaro, AJ, Wijers, T and Williams, SM. 2024. Restoration of herbivory on Caribbean coral reefs: are fishes, urchins, or crabs the solution? Frontiers in Marine Science 11:1329028. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2024.1329028

  • Martinangeli, L., M. Fourt, M. Butler, A. C. Tsikliras, N. Smith, M.L.D. Palomares, B. Derrick, E. Chu and D. Pauly. 2022. The global catch of commercial sponges (1950 to 2019), p. 85-106. In: D. Pauly and E. Chu (eds).Marine and Freshwater Miscellanea IV. Fisheries Centre Research Reports 30(4). Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, Vancouver.

  • Garlock, T., Asche, F., Butler, C.B., Matthews, T.R., Ross, E. 2024. Price variation in the Caribbean spiny lobster fishery: Incentives for ongrowing wild-caught lobsters in Florida. Fish. Res., 273:106960. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2024.106960

  • Renchen, G.F., Butler, C.B., Hutchinson, E., Matthews, T.R. 2024. Escape gaps in wire lobster traps reduce bycatch of coral reef fish while maintaining catch of harvestable lobsters in Florida’s Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus), fishery. Fish. Res., 270:106904. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2023.106904

  • Hutchinson, E, Matthews, TR, Ross, E., Hagedorn, S. and Butler, MJ IV. 2024. “Gastric mill ossicles record chronological age in the Caribbean spiny lobster (Panulirus argus)”. Fisheries Research.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2024.107083

  • Jarrett, M.L., Smith, A.L., Langford, G.J., and Gravinese, P.M. (In Press). Lower seawater pH reduces the foraging activity of the Florida Stone Crab, Menippe mercenaria (Say, 1818) (Decapoda: Brachyura: Menippidae). Journal of Crustacean Biology. 44(2). https://doi.org/10.1093/jcbiol/ruae024

  • Pezeshk, S., & Vassigh, S. (2024). Symbiotic Shoreline Infrastructure for Biodiversity and Climate Resilience. In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Computational Design and Robotic Fabrication (CDRF 2024). Springer.