| Dr. Charles A. Acosta Associate Professor Email:acostac@nku.edu Phone: 859-572-5300 |
Department of Biological Sciences SC346 Northern Kentucky University Highland Heights, KY 41099 USA |
My research focuses on population
and community ecology. My research projects often have theoretical underpinnings
but mainly emphasize real-world applications for conservation in both
marine and freshwater ecosystems.
In
the recent past, I have worked on marine larval recruitment dynamics
with
Dr. Mark Butler of Old Dominion University, one of the preeminent
lobster
biologist in the US. I have also worked on crayfish ecology in
Everglades
National Park with Dr. Sue Perry, US National Park Service. Over the
past 9 years, I
have collaborated closely with
the International Marine Program of the Wildlife Conservation Society
(WCS) as a
research associate on marine
conservation
issues in Belize, western Caribbean. From our base at the
WCS
Glover's Reef Marine Research Station in Belize, I have been
studying
fisheries ecology, biodiversity patterns on coral reefs, and the design and function of marine reserves
as a conservation tool. These projects are summarized below.
My current collaborators in these research initiatives are Dr. Denice
Robertson
(NKU CINSAM), Dr.
Kevin Kirby (NKU Dept. of Computer Science), and Dr. Gail Mackin (NKU
Dept. of Mathematics). Efficacy of Marine
Reserves
as Harvest Refuges for Exploited SpeciesCaribbean spiny lobster Panulirus argus in coral habitat Postlarval
(left)
and first-stage juvenile (right) spiny lobsters.
Biodiversity
Inventory
of the Glover's Reef Coral Atoll, BelizeWe are conducting systematic species inventories of the marine fauna and flora of the Glover's Reef atoll, Belize. The Belize Barrier Reef is the largest contiguous coral reef ecosystem in the western Atlantic. Three atolls (Lighthouse Reef, Turneffe Atoll, and Glover's Reef) lie off the coast of Belize and a fourth lies off the Yucatan coast (Banco Chincorro). Glover's Reef is an isolated and relatively pristine coral atoll 45 km off the coast of Belize. It is surrounded by deep water - 400 to 2000 m depth less than 2 km from the reef crest! The coral formations on the forereef slope are among the most massive and diverse found anywhere in the Caribbean. The reef crest breaks the surface, almost totally enclosing a shallow lagoon except for a few small breaks. The lagoon is dotted with more than 700 shallow patch reefs surrounded by seagrass or sand-rubble substrate. We use standardized survey methodologies (underwater video, belt transects, line transects, percent cover) to record the abundance and distribution of benthic assemblages (corals, sponges, macroalgae) and resident fishes. NKU undergraduate students in the biological sciences have conducted extensive surveys and have analyzed much of the data.
Acosta, C. A. and D. N.
Robertson. 2002. Diversity in coral reef
fish
communities: the effects of habitat patchiness revisited.
Marine Ecology Progress
Series 227:87-96.
Age and Growth
Determination of Coral Reef Fishes Using Otolith MetricsWe have developed a protocol modified from standard methods for processing and analyzing fish otoliths. We have collected otoliths of lutjanid snappers, serranid groupers, and hogfish wrasses from an on-going fishery monitoring project at Glover's Reef, Belize. We are using both light and scanning electron microscopy to document otolith growth patterns, and we are testing a new electron dispersive x-ray analyzer for utility in determining microchemistry signals. Seed funding for this project was provided by the NSF Kentucky EPSCoR, by the Southeast Regional Fly Fisher's Association, and by NKU. The photos below show light and scanning electron micrographs of hogfish otoliths.
Other PublicationsAcosta, C. A. and S. A.
Perry. 2002. Spatially-explicit population
responses
of crayfish Procambarus alleni to potential
shifts in vegetation
distribution
in the marl marshes of Everglades National Park, USA. Hydrobiologia
477:221-230
Acosta, C. A. and S. A. Perry. 2002.
Spatio-temporal variation in
crayfish
production in disturbed marl prairie marshes of the
Florida Everglades. Journal
of Freshwater Ecology 17:641-650.
Acosta, C. A. and S. A. Perry.
2001. Impact of hydropattern
disturbance
on crayfish population dynamics in the seasonal
wetlands of Everglades
National
Park, USA. Aquatic Conservation: Marine & Freshwater Ecosystems
11:45-57.
Acosta, C. A. 2000. International conservation education. Conservation Biology 14:492.
Acosta, C. A. and S. A. Perry. 2000. Differential growth of crayfish
Procambarus
alleni in relation to hydrological conditions
in marl prairie wetlands
of Everglades National Park, USA. Aquatic Ecology 34:389-395.
Acosta, C. A. and S. A. Perry.
2000. Effective sampling area: a
quantitative
method for sampling crayfish populations in
freshwater marshes. Crustaceana
73:425-431.
Acosta, C. A. and M. J. Butler IV.
1999. Adaptive strategies that
reduce
predation on Caribbean spiny lobster postlarvae
during onshore transport.
Limnology
& Oceanography 44:494-501.
Acosta, C. A., T. R. Matthews, and
M. J. Butler IV. 1997. Temporal
patterns
and transport processes in recruitment of spiny
lobster Panulirus argus
postlarvae to south Florida. Marine Biology 129:79-85.
Acosta, C. A. and M. J. Butler IV.
1997. The role of mangrove
habitat
as a nursery for juvenile Caribbean spiny lobster
Panulirus argus in
Belize. Marine & Freshwater Research 48:721-729.
Acosta, C. A. and M. A. Poirrier. 1992. Grooming behavior and
associated
structures of the mysid Mysidopsis bahia.
Journal of Crustacean
Biology 12:383-391.
