• Functional morphology and evolutionary biology of organisms.
• Comparative anatomy and physiology.
• Feeding mechanics and locomotion.
• Integration of morphology, behavior and phylogeny in organismal biology.

  My research interests center on the functional morphology and evolution of behaviors that are key to individual survival, such as feeding and locomotion in fishes. I use the comparative approach to investigate how changes in the morphology of a musculoskeletal system affect its function. A comprehensive knowledge of the morphology and function of a musculoskeletal system as well as the physical environment is essential in understanding how form and function evolve. Laboratory experiments coupled with field studies and phylogenetic research can provide this information. This integration of function, morphology, ecology and phylogeny is essential to accurately interpret the evolution of structure and function in a system.

 Swimming Behavior in Sharks and Sturgeon:

• Function of the heterocercal tail in sharks: wake dynamics during steady horizontal swimming.
• Functional Morphology of the Pectoral Fins in Bamboo Sharks, Chiloscyllium plagiosum: Benthic versus Pelagic Station Holding.
• Motor activity of the pectoral fins during maneuvering in leopard sharks, Triakis semifasciata.
• Three-dimensional kinematics and wake structure of the pectoral fins during locomotion in leopard sharks, Triakis semifasciata.
• Locomotion in sturgeon: function of the pectoral fins.

 

Evolution of Musculoskeletal Systems in Sharks, Rays and Bony fishes:

• Evolution of upper jaw protrusion mechanisms In elasmobranchs.
• A functional analysis of jaw suspension in elasmobranchs.
• Evolution of jaw depression mechanics in aquatic vertebrates: Insights from Chondrichthyes.

 

Feeding Behavior in Sharks and Rays:

• Advances in the study of feeding behaviors, mechanisms, and mechanics of sharks.
• Conservation and variation in the feeding mechanism of the spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias.
• The feeding mechanism of the Atlantic guitarfish Rhinobatos lentiginosus: Modulation of kinematic and motor activity.
• Durophagy in sharks: feeding mechanics of the hammerhead shark, Sphyrna tiburo.

 

Morphology of Sharks:

• Anatomy of the feeding apparatus of the nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum.
• Anatomy of the feeding apparatus of the lemon shark, Negaprion brevirostris.

 

Graduate Student Projects:

• Abby Zias, Feeding behavior in whitespotted bamboo sharks Chiloscyllium plagiosum.
• Brain Gervelis, Age and growth of thresher sharks, Alopias vulpinas.
• Brian Gervelis, Functional morphology of upper jaw protrusion in lamniform sharks.

 

Undergraduate Student Projects:

• Jessica Powell, Prey capture success in bamboo sharks.
• Jocelyn Dolce, Respiratory cycles during feeding in sharks.