Will Figueira's Homepage

Dr Will Figueira


Current Appointment: Postdoctoral Research Fellow Contact: Department of Environmental Sciences University of Technology, Sydney P.O. Box 123 Broadway NSW 2007 Australia Office: Building 4, Room 5.45A Phone: +61 2 9514 4159 Fax: +61 2 9514 4079 E-mail: William.Figueira@uts.edu.au Qualifications Doctor of Philosophy (Marine Ecology), 2003 – Duke University, USA Bachelors of Science (Biology), 1993 – University of California, San Diego, USA Link to full CV for Will Figueira Research Interests My general interests lie in the area of fish population ecology and my research has focused on the behavior and demographics of individual fish populations as well as the large scale connectivity between these populations. The small scale studies are typically conducted on SCUBA or snorkel and employ tools such as tagging, mapping and standard underwater census and behavioural observation techniques. These studies have been conducted in a variety of locations including the Florida Keys (USA), Lee Stocking Island (Bahamas), and One Tree Island (Australia). My interest in the larger scale dynamics of reef fish involves understanding the mechanisms and consequences of metapopulation, and specifically source-sink, dynamics in these systems. While the spatial structure of these systems (distinct areas of occupied habitat) and the connectivity within them (larval exchange between areas) lend themselves nicely to descriptions invoking metapopulation theory, our current understanding of system dynamics is quite low. My work on this topic has run the spectrum from the highly theoretical exercise of creating conceptual and analytical models to allow for the application of metapopulation theory to marine systems in general to the much more applied topic of using metapopulation theory for citing marine reserves and creating effective, biologically interacting reserve networks. I use individually-based, stage-structured spatially realistic computer simulation models to study the impact of variations in habitat quality and network connectivity on system dynamics and specifically source-sink structure. Current Research Projects Expatriation of tropical fish into Temperate SE Australia (ARC funded project with David Booth, UTS) This project studies the spatial and temporal patterns of transport and settlement of tropical vagrant species into subtropical regions. Though these species rarely survive the cold water temperatures which occur during winter in the higher latitudes, there is much to be learned about connectivity patterns and their variability by studying this unique system. We are combining life history information obtained from otolith and lipid analysis with properties of transport at large (East Australian Current), regional (wind-driven surface current), and local (headland eddying) scales to better understand connectivity with upstream reefs and alterations to these patterns that may result from large-scale climate change such as ENSO and global warming. Such climate change has the potential to dramatically alter distributional patterns near the edge of the species range and in so doing can have very interesting metapopulation-level ramifications. Click here for a PDF of a poster presented on this project at the 2004 International Coral Reef Symposium in Okinawa Japan. Mechanisms of Settlement of Reef Fishes (ARC funded project with David Booth, UTS) Newly settled reef fish typically experience a very high rate of mortality due to predation and competition. Recent work has demonstrated that the condition of newly settled fish, as expressed by their lipid concentration, can affect their susceptibility to predation in both lab and field experiments. In this project we are expanding upon this previous work to more fully explore how fish condition affects the mortality and competitive ability of newly settled fish. This research is being conducted at One Tree Island using both controlled lab and more natural field experiments. Connectivity and metapopulation modeling of SE Australia coastal habitats (UTS ECRG funded project, UTS) This project builds upon my previous work modeling the source-sink structure of the Florida Keys reef system and focuses on the SE coast of Australia. I am combining benthic habitat information with modeled flow data from CSIRO Project Bluelink to look at coastal connectivity and source sink structure for a variety of fish life history types. Commercial and recreational catch in United States Marine fisheries (Pew Charitable Trusts funded project with Felicia Coleman, Florida State University, USA and Larry Crowder, Duke University, USA) This project has collected the complete suite of data available on marine commercial and recreational fish landings in the United States and processed the various data sets so that they are compatible and can be combined for meta-analysis. We have used this database to make comparisons between commercial and recreational fishing in different regions around the United States and for various sets of species differentiated by their threatened status. We are currently looking in more detail at the breakdown of catch within the recreational sector (private versus for-hire) along these same lines. Biological links between NSW coastal habitats for Yellowfin Bream (DPI-Recreational Fishing Trusts with Dave Booth, UTS) This project will be applying Laser Ablation - Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA-ICPMS) techniques to the study of otolith microchemisty in the popular coastal sport fish yellowfin bream (Acanthopagrus australis). The goal is to trial the technique and see if core signatures differ from peripheral ones in juvenile fish and if there is variability in either in different areas around the Port Stephens estuary. Previous Position Conference Papers Invited Presentations Grants Peer-reviewed Publications Reports