PhD Students -- Leigh
G Torres
DUML Lab 2, Room 3
135 Duke Marine Lab Rd
Beaufort, NC 28516
252-504-7629
Fax: 252-504-7648
Research Interests:
Cetacean habitat use and preference; Delphinid foraging ecology; Spatial Ecology; Marine Conservation; Reducing fisheries by-catch; Environmental Education
Education:
- B.A. Visual Media (focus on Photography), American University, Washington, D.C. 1997.
- Master's of Environmental Management (concentration in Coastal Environmental Management), Duke University, 2001.
Bio:
The focus of my PhD is to determine upper trophic level habitat use in Florida
Bay. Florida Bay is a unique ecosystem located at the tip of the Florida
peninsula within the Everglades National Park. It is a shallow bay comprised
of hundreds of mangrove islands and mud banks which help to create the
drastic variation in habitat quality observed within the bay. For the
past four summers I have been doing fieldwork in Florida Bay focused on
the distribution of bottlenose dolphin and piscivorous birds (osprey,
pelicans, terns, cormorants, frigates). Additionally, I have been doing
fish sampling (trawls, gillnets, castnet) to collect data on fish abundance,
diversity and size throughout the different regions of the bay. Essentially,
I am trying to establish habitat use and preference patterns by dolphins
and birds and relate this data to fish community composition and habitat
quality (temperature, salinity, turbidity, chlorophyll, bottom sediment).
The dolphins of Florida Bay exhibit very unique foraging strategies which
appear to be site specific. I plan to examine the spatial distribution
of these foraging strategies relative to prey, predators and environmental
factors. Recently, I have added sharks to the picture through collaboration
with Mike Heithaus from Florida International University. During the summer
of 2005 we conducted surveys for dolphins and birds with associated fish
trawls while simultaneously sampling for sharks at a similar temporal
and spatial scale. Through these methods I hope to determine if dolphins
and sharks are using the same habitat as competitors for similar prey
species or if there is a predation effect by sharks pushing dolphins out
of "good habitat".
Publications:
Torres, L.G., P.E. Rosel, C. D'Agrosa & A.J. Read.
2003. Improving management of overlapping bottlenose dolphin ecotypes
through spatial analysis and genetics. Marine Mammal Science 19: 502-514.
Torres, L.G., and D. Urban. 2005. Using spatial analysis to assess bottlenose dolphins as an indicator of healthy fish habitat. pages 423-436 in: Esturine Indicators. Ed: Stephen A. Bortone. CRC Press.
Torres, L.G, W.A. McLellan, E.M. Meagher, and D.A. Pabst. In Press. Seasonal distribution and relative abundance of bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus, along the US mid-Atlantic Coast. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management.
Johnston, D.W., A.S. Friedlaender, L.G. Torres, and D.M. Lavigne. In Press. Variation in ice cover on the east coast of Canada, 1969-2002: climate variability and implications for harp and hooded seals. Journal of Climate Research.
Hobbies:
I love to be outdoors. You can find me there doing field work, playing soccer
or ultimate frisbee, running/walking with my precious dog Mango, sailing
with my soon-to-be-husband Todd, playing on the beach or taking photographs
of everyday beauty.