Craig W. Osenberg

personal site

Professor
Ph.D. Michigan State University (Kellogg
Biological Station), 1988

627 Bartram
Box 118525
Gainesville, FL
32611-8525
Voice: (352)392-9201
Fax: (352)392-3704
osenberg@zoology.ufl.edu

Research Interests

I am a population and community ecologist, working in freshwater and marine systems. I combine field observation, laboratory and field experimentation, mathematical modeling, and quantitative synthesis. My basic research aims to challenge existing dogma and advance new theoretical insights, while at the same time using innovative tools to solve environmental problems related to the management of aquatic resources. My recent research projects examine: (1) fish population dynamics: the role of stage-structure, spatial structure, and the effects of density dependence; (2) the development and application of statistical tools designed to quantify effects (e.g., of marine reserves, human impacts, artificial reefs, phenotypic plasticity); (3) the development and application of meta-analysis as a tool to synthesize ecological data; and (4) restoration of Florida spring ecosystems and coral reefs. These projects have been supported by the Florida and National Sea Grant Programs (NOAA), the National Science Foundation, NSF's ‚s National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, the Southwest Florida Water Management District, and the French-American Cultural Exchange.

Students Currently Supervised

Adrien Stier (PhD)
Marine ecology and fish population dynamics.

Gabriela Blohm (PhD)
Foodweb ecology; seagrasses and marsh plants.

Carol Chaffee (PhD)
Marine ecology and coral-microbe interactions.

Jess Beasley (PhD, co-sponsored with Tom Frazer in Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences)
Estuarine ecology; life in moving fluids.

Representative Publications

Osenberg, C.W., G.G. Mittelbach and P.C. Wainwright. 1992. Two-stage life histories in fish: the interaction between juvenile competition and adult performance. Ecology 73:255-267.

Schmitt, R.J. and C.W. Osenberg (editors and contributing authors). 1996. Detecting ecological impacts: Concepts and applications in coastal habitats. Academic Press, San Diego.

Osenberg, C.W., O. Sarnelle, S.D. Cooper, and R.D. Holt. 1999. Resolving ecological questions through meta-analysis: goals, metrics and models. Ecology 80:1105-1117.

Osenberg, CW, CM St. Mary, RJ Schmitt, SJ Holbrook, P Chesson, B Byrne. 2002. Rethinking ecological inference: density dependence in reef fishes. Ecology Letters 5:715-721.

Shima, J. and C.W. Osenberg. 2003. Cryptic density dependence: effects of spatio-temporal variation among reef fish populations. Ecology 84:46-52.