PhD Students -- Karen Neely
Lab
2, #4
Box: 135 Duke Marine Lab Rd.
Beaufort, NC 28516
Phone: 305-766-4856
Fax: 252-504-7648
email: kln3@duke.edu
Research Interests:
- Coral reef ecology
- Reef fish behavior
- Reef fish recruitment to artificial reefs and temperate systems
Education:
- B.A. Environmental Biology. University of Colorado, Boulder
Bio: I grew up in Colorado with a passion for the outdoors and an unexplainable love of the ocean. Following my undergraduate work, I spent four years doing research on dolphin behavior, oyster mortality, sea turtle nesting, and fish predation on corals. I also taught marine science camps from Australia to Boston to the Florida Keys.
My
work at DUML seeks to understand the implications of declining coral health.
Bleaching, disease, and other disturbances have caused massive dieoffs of
corals, but the effects of this mortality on reef fish and invertebrates,
whether through cascading food web effects, chemical signaling, or other
means, is unknown. I am studying fish habitat preferences, colonization
of artificial reefs, and changes in species abundances in relation to bleaching
events in an attempt to shed light on this question.
Hobbies: On the water: SCUBA, sailing, swimming, you name
it.
In the snow: Skiing, sledding, skating, etc.
Bad weather: reading, flute playing