My research focuses on the ecology and behavior of tropical sea anemones and reef-building corals.
I am interested in questions
at the level of the individual, in terms of elucidating the physiological and behavioral mechanisms
that control ecological interactions between cnidarians on reefs. My work investigates the impacts of biological interactions on
populations and communities of cnidarians, especially outcomes of competition, benthic locomotion (i.e.: by free-living corals),
and symbiosis with other macro-organisms (i.e.: hosting of obligate fishes by giant sea anemones). This has led me to model the
population dynamics and reproductive strategies of tropical sea anemones and corals, with the goal of understanding the factors that
cause population fluctuations on coral reefs. Most of my research ultimately contributes to understanding the role of behavioral and
ecological forces in shaping the evolution of life histories and other adaptive traits in benthic cnidarians. I also am interested in
the conservation biology of cnidarians, especially impacts of diving tourism and overfishing on population parameters, tissue damage
and regeneration. Projects in my group incorporate laboratory studies and/or field work in the Caribbean Sea, Red Sea, and Pacific Ocean.
Completed Theses/Dissertations:
- Dalit Mohar, M.S. 1997. Patterns of sedimentation on coral reefs at Eilat
and effects on coral growth and energy reserves.
- Olivia Langmead, M.S. 1997. Interspecific competition in the tropical
corallimorpharian Rhodactis rhodostoma (Ehrenberg): Deployment of
specialized marginal tentacles (Co-supervisor for thesis at the University of
Wales).
- Oren Levi, M.S. 1998. Behavior of tentacle expansion and contraction in
corals.
- Michael Spiegel. 1998. Sexual and asexual reproduction in the
corallimorpharian Discosoma (=Rhodactis) rhodostoma in the northern Red
Sea.
- David Zakai, M.S. 1998. Aspects of skeletal damage and reproduction in
reef-building corals: Biological impacts of intensive diving tourism on coral
reefs.
- David Glassom, Ph.D. 2002. Reproductive ecology and reef dynamics: A
study on corals at Eilat, northern Red Sea.
- Dalit Porat, M.S. 2002. Effects of symbiotic clownfish Amphiprion
bicinctus on host sea anemones Entacmaea quadricolor on coral reefs
at Eilat
- Jeffrey Wielgus, Ph.D. 2003. Estimation of ecological and economic damage
of anthropogenic coral reef stressors in the Gulf of Eilat.
- Einat Lapid, M.S. 2004. Aggressive behavior of brain corals: Induced
development and ecological impacts of sweeper tentacles.
- Osnat Chomsky, Ph.D. 2004. Population genetics and ecology of the sea
anemone Actinia equina on the Mediterranean coast of Israel.
- Barak Guzner, M.S. 2005. Survival and regeneration of branching corals following
skeletal breakage on Red Sea reefs.
- Modi Roopin, M.S. 2007. Symbiotic benefits to sea anemones from the metabolic byproducts of anemonefish.
Theses/ Dissertations in Progress:
- Keren-Or Amar, Ph.D. candidate. Fitness effects of chimera formation in stony corals.
- Baraka Kuguru, Ph.D. candidate. Ecology and physiology of Red Sea corallimorpharians.
- Kathy Morrow, Ph.D. entering. Effects of microbial assemblages on community level interactions in corals.
- Michael Nelsen, M.S. entering. Population dynamic modelling of giant sea anemones on Caribbean coral reefs.
Recent Publications:
-
Amar, K.O., Chadwick, N.E., Rinkevich, B. 2007. Coral planulae as dispersion vehicles: Biological properties of early- and late-season released larvae. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 350: 71-78.
-
Guzner, B., Novoplansky, A., Chadwick, N.E. 2007. Population dynamics of the reef-building coral Acropora hemprichii as an indicator of reef condition. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser 333: 143-150.
-
Kuguru B., Winters, G., Santos, S.R., Beer, S., and Chadwick, N.E. 2007. Adaptation strategies of the corallimorpharian Rhodactis rhodostoma to irradiance and temperature. Mar. Biol.151: 1287-1298.
- Lapid, E.D., and Chadwick, N.E. 2006. Long-term effects of competition on coral growth and sweeper tentacle development. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 313: 115-123.
- Glassom, D., and
Chadwick, N.E.
2006. Dynamics of juvenile stony corals on reefs at Eilat, northern Red Sea.
Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 318(in press).
- Lapid, E.D., and Chadwick, N.E. 2006. Long-term effects of
competition on coral growth and sweeper tentacle develpment.
Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 313:115-123.
- Zakai, D., Dubinsky, Z., Avishai, A., Caaras, T., and Chadwick, N.E.
2006. Lunar periodicity of planula release in the reef-building coral
Stylophora pistillata. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 311:93-102.
- Wielgus, J., Glassom, D., and Chadwick, N.E. 2006. Patterns of polychaete worm infestation of stony
corals in the northern Red Sea and
relationships to water chemistry. Bull. Mar. Sci. 78(2): 377-388.
- Porat, D., and Chadwick-Furman, N.E. 2005. Effects of anemonefish
on giant sea anemones: Ammonia uptake, zooxanthella concentration and tissue
regeneration. Mar. Freshw. Behav. Physiol. 38: 43-51.
- Glassom, D., Chadwick Furman, N.E., and D. Zakai. 2005. Methods
and interpretation of coral recruitment studies: Effects of anthropogenic
disturbance? Mar. Poll. Bull. 50: 1021-1025.
-
Chadwick, N.E.,
and M. Arvedlund. 2005. Abundance of giant sea anemones and patterns of
association with anemonefish in the northern Red Sea. J. Mar. Biol.
Assoc. U. K. 85: 1287-1292.
- Wielgus, J., Dubinsky, Z., and
Chadwick-Furman, N.E.
2004. Coral cover and partial mortality on anthropogenically impacted coral
reefs in Eilat, northern Red Sea. Marine Pollution Bulletin 48: 248-253.
- Chomsky, O., Kamenir, Y., Hyams, M., Dubinsky, Z., and
Chadwick-Furman, N.E. 2004. Effects of feeding regime on growth rate in the
Mediterranean sea anemone Actinia equina (Linnaeus). J. Exp. Mar.
Biol. Ecol. 299: 217-229.
- Glassom, D., Zakai, D., and Chadwick-Furman, N.E. 2004. Are coral
recruitment patterns consistent? A spatio-temporal analysis along the coastline
of Eilat, northern Red Sea. Mar. Biol. 144: 641-651.
- Porat, D., and Chadwick-Furman, N.E. 2004. Effects of anemonefish
on giant sea anemones: Expansion behavior, growth and survival. Hydrobiologia
530/531: 513-520.
- Lapid, E.E., Wielgus, J., and
Chadwick-Furman, N.E. 2004. Sweeper tentacles of the brain coral
Platygyra daedalea: induced development and effects on competitors. Mar.
Ecol. Prog. Ser. 282: 161-171.
- Chomsky, O., Kamenir, Y., Hyams,
M., Dubinsky, Z., and Chadwick-Furman, N.E. 2004. Effects of temperature
on growth rate and body size in the Mediterranean sea anemone Actinia equina.
J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 313: 63-73.
- Goffredo, S. and Chadwick-Furman, N.E. 2003. Comparative
demography of mushroom corals (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) at Eilat, northern Red
Sea. Mar. Biol. 142: 411-418.
- Wielgus, J., Chadwick-Furman, N.E., Zeitouni, N., and Shechter, M.
2003. Effects of coral reef attribute damage on recreational welfare. Marine
Resource Economics 18: 225-237.
- Chadwick-Furman, N.E.,
and Weissman, I.L. 2003. Effects of allogeneic contact on life history traits of
the colonial ascidian Botryllus schlosseri in Monterey Bay. Biol.
Bull. 205: 133-143.
- Zakai, D. and Chadwick-Furman, N.E. 2002. Impacts of intensive
recreational diving on reef corals at Eilat, northern Red Sea. Biol. Conserv.
105(2): 179-187.
- Wielgus, J., Chadwick-Furman, N.E., Dubinsky, Z.and Schechter, M.
2002. Dose-response modeling of recreationally important coral reef attributes:
a review and application of economic valuation of damage. Coral Reefs
21(3): 253-259.
- Wielgus, J., Glassom, D., Ben-Shaprut, O., and Chadwick-Furman, N.E.
2002. Aberrant growth form of Red Sea corals caused by polychaete infestations.
Coral Reefs 21(3): 315-316.
- Levy, O., Mizrachi, L., Chadwick-Furman, N.E. and Achituv, Y.
2001. Factors controlling the expansion behavior of Favia favus (Cnidaria:
Scleractinia): Effects of light, flow and planktonic prey. Biol. Bull. (Woods
Hole), 200: 118-126.
- Goffredo, S., and Chadwick-Furman, N.E. 2000. Abundance and
distribution of mushroom corals (Scleractinia: Fungiidae) on a coral reef at
Eilat, northern Red Sea. Bull. Mar. Sci. 66: 241-254.
- Chadwick-Furman, N. E.,
Goffredo, S. and Loya, Y. 2000. Growth and population dynamic model of the reef
coral Fungia granulosa at Eilat, northern Red Sea. J. Exp. Mar. Biol.
Ecol. 249: 199-218.
- Zakai, D., Levy, O. and Chadwick-Furman, N.E. 2000. Experimental
fragmentation reduces sexual reproductive output by the reef-building coral
Pocillopora damicornis. Coral Reefs, 19: 185-189.
- Chadwick-Furman, N. E.
and Spiegel, M. 2000. Abundance and asexual reproduction of the tropical
corallimorpharian Rhodactis rhodostoma. Invert. Biol. 119:
351-360.
Chadwick-Furman, N. E.,
Nir, I. and Spiegel, M. 2000. Sexual
reproduction in the tropical corallimorpharian Rhodactis rhodostoma.
Invert. Biol. 119: 361-369.
