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Peter
J. Auster
University of Connecticut,
National Undersea Research Center
and Department of Marine Sciences
1080 Shennecossett Road
Groton, CT 06340
voice: (860) 405-9121
fax: (860) 445-2969
e-mail:
peter.auster@uconn.edu
web: Big
Mouth Fishes
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I
am the Science Director for the National Undersea Research
Center and an Associate Research Professor of Marine
Sciences. My research focuses on the ecology and conservation
of fishes. This work has allowed me to participate as
scientist or chief-scientist on 37 major research cruises
and a multitude of day trips in the northwest Atlantic,
Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, Caribbean Sea, South China
Sea, Indian Ocean, Sea of Cortez, and in the equatorial
Pacific. I have also participated in research expeditions
to Lake Baikal in Russia and Lakes Victoria and Malawi
in the Rift Lake Valley of East Africa.
For the past 15 years, I have conducted studies to define how underwater landscapes mediate the distribution and abundance of fishes, understand the linkages between habitat level processes and population-community dynamics, and develop methods for monitoring habitat dynamics. From an applied science perspective, I have focused on understanding the environmental impacts of fishing and on developing a scientific basis for using marine reserves as a conservation tool in outer continental shelf regions.
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My basic approach to fieldwork has been to use the same types of techniques underwater that wildlife biologists use on land. That is, making direct underwater observations to study how individual animals react to variations in nature. I have used scuba, research submersibles, remotely operated vehicles, and autonomous vehicles for this work. While studies in the field are used primarily to quantify patterns in nature, laboratory experiments are used to develop a mechanistic understanding of processes and collect data on rates of particular interactions (e.g., how habitat variability mediates rates of predation and predator recognition of prey). Computer modeling is then be used to extrapolate results to population and regional scales.
I serve on a number of panels and committees that are focused on marine resource management and conservation and I am involved in several outreach initiatives that are targeted at informing the public about marine conservation issues.
Some Representative Publications
Auster, P.J. and K. Barber. 2006. Atlantic hagfish exploit
prey captured by other taxa. Journal of Fish Biology.
68:618-621.
Auster, P.J., B. Semmens, and K. Barber. 2005. Pattern
in the co-occurrences of fishes inhabiting the coral reefs
of Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles. Environmental
Biology of Fishes. 74:187-194.
Link, J., F. Almeida, P. Valentine, P. Auster, R. Reid,
and J. Vitalano. 2005. The effects of area closures on
Georges Bank. American Fisheries Society Symposium.
41:345-368.
Cook, R.R. and P.J. Auster. 2005. Use of simulated annealing
for identifying essential fish habitat in a multi-species
context. Conservation Biology 19:876-886.
Auster, P.J. 2005. Are deep-water corals important
habitats for fishes? p. 747-760. In: A. Freiwald and
J.M. Roberts (eds.) Cold-water Corals and Ecosystems,
Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg.
Watling, L. and P.J. Auster. 2005. Distribution of deepwater
alcyonacea off the northeast coast of the United States.
p. 279-296. In: A. Freiwald and J.M. Roberts (eds.) Cold-water
Corals and Ecosystems, Springer-Verlag, Berlin
Heidelberg.
Auster, P.J., J. Moore, K. Heinonen, and L. Watling. 2005.
A habitat classification scheme for seamount landscapes:
assessing the functional role of deepwater corals as fish
habitat. p. 761-769. In: A. Freiwald and J.M. Roberts
(eds.) Cold-water Corals and Ecosystems,
Springer-Verlag, Berlin Heidelberg.
Lindholm, J., P. Auster, and P. Valentine. 2004. Role
of a large marine protected area for conserving landscape
attributes of sand habitats on Georges Bank (Northwest
Atlantic). Marine Ecology Progress Series
269:61-68.
Auster, P.J., J. Lindholm, and P.C. Valentine. 2003. Variation
in habitat use by juvenile Acadian redfish, Sebastes fasciatus.
Environmental Biology of Fishes 68:381-389.
Auster, P.J., J. Lindholm, S. Schaub, G. Funnell, L.S.
Kaufman, and P.C. Valentine. 2003. Use of sand wave habitats
by silver hake. Journal of Fish Biology
62:143-152.
Lindholm, J. and P. Auster. 2003. Site utilization by
Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in offshore gravel habitat
as determined by acoustic telemetry: implications for
the design of marine reserves. Marine Technology
Society Journal 37(1):27-34.
Auster, P.J. 2002. Representation of biological diversity
of the Gulf of Maine region at Stellwagen Bank National
Marine Sanctuary (Northwest Atlantic): patterns of fish
diversity and assemblage composition. p. 1096-1125. Managing
Protected Areas in a Changing World. S. Bondrup-Nielson
et al. (eds.). Science and Management of Protected Areas
Association, Wolfville, Nova Scotia.
NRC. 2002. Effects of Trawling and Dredging on
Seafloor Habitat. National Research Council,
National Academy Press, Washington, D.C. (co-author with
11 other panel members)
Auster, P.J. and J. Lindholm. 2002. Pattern in the local
diversity of coral reef fishes versus rates of social
foraging. Caribbean Journal of Science
38:263-266.
Lindholm, J.B., P.J. Auster, M. Ruth, and L. Kaufman.
2001. Juvenile fish responses to variations in seafloor
habitats: modeling the effects of fishing and implications
for the design of marine protected areas. Conservation
Biology 15:424-437.
Auster, P.J., K. Joy, and P.C. Valentine. 2001. Fish species
and community distributions as proxies for seafloor habitat
distributions: the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
example (Northwest Atlantic, Gulf of Maine). Environmental
Biology of Fishes 60:331-346.
Auster, P.J. 2001. Defining thresholds for precautionary
habitat management actions in a fisheries context. North
American Journal of Fisheries Management 21:1-9.
Auster, P.J. and N.L. Shackell. 2000. Marine protected
areas for the temperate and boreal Northwest Atlantic:
the potential for sustainable fisheries and conservation
of biodiversity. Northeastern Naturalist
7:419-434.
Auster, P.J., and R.W. Langton. 1999. The effects of fishing
on fish habitat. p. 150-187. In: L. Benaka (ed.). Fish
Habitat: Essential Fish Habitat and Rehabilitation.
American Fisheries Society, Bethesda, Maryland.
Lindholm, J., P.J. Auster, and L. Kaufman. 1999. Habitat
mediated survivorship of 0-year Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua).
Marine Ecology Progress Series 180:247-255.
Freese, L., P.J. Auster, J. Heifetz, and B.L. Wing. 1999.
Effects of trawling on seafloor habitat and associated
invertebrate taxa in the Gulf of Alaska. Marine
Ecology Progress Series 182:119-126.
Moser, M.L., P.J. Auster and J.B. Bichy. 1998. Effects
of mat morphology on large Sargassum-associated fishes:
Observations from a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and
free-floating video camcorders. Environmental
Biology of Fishes 51:391-398.
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